Food Chain Role Play
This simulation shows students how plants use energy from the sun to
create carbohydrates during photosynthesis. Then students act out the flow
of energy from one organism to another as consumers eat plants (and are
in turn eaten by other animals). This role play helps students see how all of
the energy in animals’ food originated from the sun.
Next Generation Science Standards:
 5-PS3-1. Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food
(used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body
warmth) was once energy from the sun.
 5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of
matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the
environment.
Materials: game cards, large bag of Skittles candy or 4 sheets of
carbohydrate cards, zip-top sandwich bags and paper cups (one
for each child in the class)
Preparation:
1. Print one sheet of animal cards (6 caterpillars, 3 sparrows,
and 1 cat) and four sheets of plant, water, and energy from
the sun cards.
2. Print carbon dioxide and oxygen cards back-to-back, so the
cards say “carbon dioxide” on one side and “oxygen” on the
other.
3. Print several copies of the carbohydrate cards OR use Skittles
candy to represent carbohydrates created during
photosynthesis.
4. Put 10 Skittles in each paper cup. (For a food-free option, put
10 carbohydrate cards into each cup.) Set cups aside until they
are needed. Attach an “energy from the sun” card to each cup
of candy.
Procedure:
1. Have students stand or sit in a large circle.
2. You may choose to have one or two children act as “Mother
Nature” and give them the job of distributing cards as you
explain the process.
3. Give 75% of the students in the class a plant card, and give the
other 25% a caterpillar card. Give each student a zip-top
sandwich bag.
4. Ask students what plants need to survive. Answers may
include air, soil, space, water, and sunlight. Remind students
that while plants get some nutrients from the soil, plants can
live without soil if sufficient nutrients are dissolved in their
water. Explain that plants use energy from the sun, carbon
dioxide from the air, and water to make their own food in a
process called photosynthesis.
5. Ask students what materials the plant needs to photosynthesize
(carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight).
6. Give “plant” students a carbon dioxide card and a water card to
place in their plastic bags. Remind students that plants must
have these materials to survive, but they cannot do anything
with these materials without the energy to do so. Where does
this energy come from? The sun.
7. Give the “plants” a cup labeled “energy from the sun.” Light
gives plants the energy they need to photosynthesize. Using
this energy, plants can transform the carbon dioxide and water
into carbohydrates (sugars) and oxygen. Have students remove
the water and carbon dioxide cards from their bags and pour in
the Skittles or carbohydrate cards. Students can toss the
oxygen cards in the air as they take them out of the bags to
show that this oxygen is released back into the air.
8. The plants now have 10 Skittles to represent the carbohydrates
created during photosynthesis, but what about the caterpillars?
Caterpillars are animals that must eat food, so they are
consumers. They consume food energy created by the plants.
9. Before the caterpilars can eat anything, though, the plants must
use some of the energy they stored as carbohydrates to grow
and survive. Let “plants” eat 9 of the 10 Skittles from their
bags. (If using carbohydrate cards, students can remove them
and pretend to eat them.)
10. Now the caterpillars can go and “eat” the plants, getting the
remaining Skittle from the “plants.” Caterpillars will likely
complain that they did not get as many Skittles as the plants.
Explain that this is because plants use most of the energy they
get from the sun to make carbohydrates for their own survival.
Only 10% of the energy they create is stored in the plant’s
structures to be passed to the consumer when the plant is
eaten. Where did the energy to make the carbohydrates come
from? The sun. So without the sun, the caterpillars would not
have any energy at all.
11. Some caterpillars only ate one or two Skittles. What happens if
an animal does not get enough food to live? It dies. How can we
support a larger animal population? We need more plants.
12.Collect the cards and refill the cups with 10 Skittles as needed.
Redistribute plant and animal cards so students have different
roles in the food chain. This time, distribute 4 caterpillar cards,
2 sparrow cards, and 1 cat card. All other students get two
plant cards each.
13. Tell students that the number of plants has doubled because we
must have many more plants than animals on Earth. Since
plants can harness energy from the sun and use it to produce
chemical energy in the form of carbohydrates, plants are called
producers. Organisms that must eat to obtain their energy, like
animals, are consumers. Without a large number of producers,
there is not enough energy for the consumers to use to survive.
14. Repeat the photosynthesis simulation, doubling the amount of
energy (Skittles) produced during photosynthesis. Plants again
use up (eat) 90% of the energy and only have 10% stored in the
plant when they are eaten.
15.Caterpillars “eat” the plants, collecting Skittles in their bags as
they do so. Before allowing the caterpillars to eat their
Skittles, explain that the caterpillars are primary consumers
because they are the first consumers to eat anything. The
caterpillars use 90% of the energy they get from the plants to
grow and survive, so let the caterpillars eat 90% of what is in
their bag (leaving at least one Skittle in the bag).
16. The sparrows “eat” the caterpillars, taking the remaining
Skittles from the caterpillars’ bags. Where did this energy
stored in the caterpillars come from? The plants. And where
did the plants get the energy? From the sun.
17. The sparrows will use 90% of the energy they get to grow,
heal, move, maintain body temperature, and other life
processes, so sparrows eat 90% of the energy (Skittles) they
collect. The sparrows were the second organism to have to eat
something to get energy to survive, so they are secondary
consumers.
18. There is very little energy left for the cat! The cat collects the
remaining Skittles from the sparrows and eats all but one. The
cat is the third organism to eat something to get its energy, so
it is a tertiary consumer. Why doesn’t the cat eat all the
remaining Skittles? It uses 90% of the energy it receives to
survive, but the other 10% is stored in the cat’s body. Even if
nothing eats the cat, the energy stored in its body will still be
passed on to decomposers when its body decays.
Questions for discussion following the role-play activity:
 Why are there more plants and very small animals (such as
insects) in the world compared to larger animals (like
people)?
 What is the ultimate source of energy in all food?
Energy from the Sun
Energy from the Sun
Energy from the Sun
Energy from the Sun
Energy from the Sun
Energy from the Sun
Energy from the Sun
Energy from the Sun
Energy from the Sun
Energy from the Sun
Green Plants
Green Plants
Green Plants
Green Plants
Green Plants
Green Plants
Green Plants
Green Plants
Green Plants
Green Plants
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
(Primary Consumer)
(Primary Consumer)
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
(Primary Consumer)
(Primary Consumer)
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
(Primary Consumer)
(Primary Consumer)
Sparrow
Sparrow
(Secondary Consumer)
(Secondary Consumer)
Cat
Sparrow
(Tertiary Consumer)
(Secondary Consumer)
Carbon Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon
Oxygen
Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon
Dioxide
Oxygen
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
Oxygen
(from air)
Carbon
Oxygen
Dioxide
(from air)
Carbon
Dioxide
Oxygen
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
Oxygen
(from air)
Carbon Dioxide
Oxygen
Carbon Dioxide
Oxygen
Carbon Dioxide
Carbon Dioxide
Oxygen
(from air)
Oxygen
(from air)
(from air)
(from air)
Water
Water
Water
Water
Water
Water
Water
Water
Water
Water
Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates
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Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates
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Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates
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Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates
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Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates Carbohydrates
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