Create a Food Chain
Follow the instructions below to complete the activity.
NAME
DATE
Use the items pictured below to complete the food chain diagram. Write each picture’s
corresponding letter in the correct box.
FOOD CHAIN
Sun
Decomposer
Omnivore
Herbivore
Parasite
Carnivore
Producer
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Nature’s Food Chains
Decomposers
Reference: Pages 4–5
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Fill in the Blanks
Follow the instructions to complete the activity.
NAME
DATE
Using information found in the book, fill in the missing information below.
1. All living things need
2. Without decomposers,
3. Decomposers help keep an
plants and animals that have died.
to survive.
would not have plants to eat.
clean by clearing away the material left by
4. Some decomposers break down dead plants and animals using
5.
are the main producers in a food chain.
6.
make up the biggest group of decomposers.
.
7. Scientists who study organisms, or living things,
s,
that are too small to see are
.
called
Nature’s Food Chains
Decomposers
Reference: All Pages
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Mapping Decomposers
Follow the instructions to complete the activity.
NAME
DATE
Read through the list of decomposers below. Then, write the letter of each decomposer in the
part of the map where the animal is found in nature. Finally, note in which habitat—desert,
forest, grassland, polar ice, or tundra—each decomposer lives.
ARCTIC
OCEAN
NL
LA
GGRREEEE N
ANNDD
Northeast Greenland
National Park
Gates of the Arctic
National Park
NORTH
AMERICA
Taunus Mountains
NORTH
AMERICA
ASIA
A SIA
S IA
A
E U RO
R OPE
OPE
EUROPE
O
Gila Desert
PACIFIC
OCEAN
PACIFIC
OCEAN
A
A FRICA
FRICA
INDIAN OCEAN
OU
UT
SS O
TH
H
ME
ER
R II C
AAM
CAA
AUSTRAL
A U STRALIA
S T R A L IA
A
Addo Elephant
National Park
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
SOUTHERN
OCEAN
1000 Miles
E
W
S
0 1000 KM
Parallel scale at
0 north 0 east
AN
CTTIICCAA
A NTT A
AR
RC
A
B
Arctic Tundra Moss
BIOME
C
D
E
Nematode
Desert Subterranean
Termite
Morel
Dung Beetle
BIOME
BIOME
BIOME
BIOME
BIOMES TO USE
DESERTS, FORESTS, GRASSLANDS, POLAR ICE, TUNDRA
Nature’s Food Chains
Decomposers
Reference: Pages 16–17
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Describing Decomposers
Follow the instructions to complete the activity.
NAME
DATE
What physical characteristics make decomposers different from other types of animals? In what
ways are they similar to other animals? Using what you have learned about decomposers, write
a descriptive paragraph describing the characteristics that make decomposers unique.
A descriptive paragraph is a group of sentences that describes a noun. A noun is a person,
a place, or a thing. To write a descriptive paragraph, you will need many describing words.
Describing words are called adjectives.
A descriptive paragraph has three parts. The first part is the topic sentence. The topic sentence
is usually the first sentence. It tells readers what the paragraph will be about and catches their
attention. Supporting sentences generally follow the topic sentence. They provide details
explaining or supporting the topic sentence. At the end of a descriptive paragraph, a sentence
wraps up, or summarizes, the ideas expressed in the paragraph.
This is called the concluding sentence. It is usually a strong statement.
Topic Sentence
Supporting Sentence
Concluding Sentence
Nature’s Food Chains
Decomposers
Reference: All Pages
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Describing Decomposers
Follow the instructions to complete the activity.
NAME
DATE
Nature’s Food Chains
Decomposers
Reference: All Pages
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Decomposer Energy Pyramid
low the instructions to complete the activity.
NAME
DATE
Choose a decomposer from the book. Then, use the decomposer you selected as part of an
energy pyramid. Next, use online research and your local library to research plants and animals
that might belong in the same energy pyramid as your chosen decomposer. Make sure your
pyramid shows the flow of energy through a food chain. This includes the producer, primary
consumer, and tertiary consumer.
Energy Pyramid
Plant/Animal
Category
Sun
Plant/Animal
Category
Plant/Animal
Category
Nature’s Food Chains
Decomposers
Reference: Pages 20–21
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Quiz
Test your knowledge of decomposers by answering these
quiz questions. Check your answers in the activity pack.
NAME
DATE
1
What is material left behind by plants and animals that have died?
2
What are three types of detritivores?
3
How long do maggots live?
4
How many cells do bacteria have?
5
What is the largest group of fungi?
6
What type of decomposer is used to make some cheeses?
7
Are many types of decomposers endangered?
8
Is it safe for humans to eat morel mushrooms?
9
When did the United States issue a recovery plan for the American burying beetle?
10
What do scientists believe is the smallest known living thing?
Nature’s Food Chains
Decomposers
Reference: All Pages
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Key Words Match-Up
Write the words from the list below in the box above the
correct definition for each word. Check your answers on
page 23 of the book.
consumers
ecosystem
energy
enzymes
habitat
matter
microscope
nutrients
producers
species
1.
Your
Score is
NAME
DATE
= %
6.
an instrument with a lens for
making small things look larger
the substances all things are made up of
7.
2.
a group of the same kind of living things,
whose members can produce young
animals that feed on plants or
other animals
3.
8.
substances that help the process
of decomposition
4.
living things, such as plants, that
produce their own food
9.
the environment in which an animal
or a plant lives
5.
substances that provide food for plants
and animals
Nature’s Food Chains
Decomposers
Reference: All Pages
the usable power living things
receive from food that they use
to grow, move, and stay healthy
10.
a community of living things and
the environment where they live
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Quiz Answer Key
Compare your quiz answers with the answer key below.
A type of bacteria
10.
1991
9.
Yes
8.
No
7.
Mold
6.
Ascomycetes
5.
One
4.
Eight to ten days
3.
Earthworms, maggots, and termites
2.
Detritus
1.
Nature’s Food Chains
Decomposers
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