Food Chains: Arts Lesson
I.
Purpose:
This lesson will be taught on the fourth day of the food chain unit plan. The purpose of
this lesson is for students to create a visual aid arts and craft that represents a food chain
consisting of a producer, consumer, and decomposer.
 VA Science SOL 3.5: Food Chains

The student will investigate and understand relationships among organisms in aquatic
and terrestrial food chains. Key concepts include
a) producer, consumer, decomposer;
b) herbivore, carnivore, omnivore; and
c) predator and prey.
 VA Fine Arts SOL 3.6
-The student will create works of art that communicate ideas, themes, and feelings.
II. Objectives:
 The student will be able to create a food chain diagram/mobile with a hanger, string,
construction paper, and animal cut-outs with a producer, consumer, and decomposer in
the correct sequence without error.
III. Procedure:
Introduction
 The teacher will introduce the lesson by telling the students they will be continuing to
learn about food chains by creating an arts project. “Who can tell me what a producer is?
Can you give me an example? Who can define a consumer and a good example? What’s
a decomposer? Name at least one for me.”
The students will be instructed to use their newly learned knowledge of food chains to compose
an arts and craft food chain that includes: producer, consumer, decomposer, predator, and prey.
Their finished product will be their food chain diagram placed on a hanger properly labeled and
sequenced.
Development
 The teacher will hand out to each student a hanger, piece of construction paper, string,
and a paper of grassland organisms (tree, giraffe, lion, bacteria) The students will then be
instructed to cut their piece of construction paper in four equal parts so they can glue each
grassland organism on one piece.
 The teacher will then pass out a hole puncher for each cluster of desks for the students to
punch two holes on the top of their construction paper pieces. After the students have
holes punched in their pieces of construction paper, the teacher will show the students
how to use the string to tie a knot onto their hangers and through the holes in their pieces
of construction paper. (Auditory, visual) This step will take about 15-20 minutes.
 When the students have created the base of their hanger diagram, they will cut out the
grassland organisms given and glue each one on their pieces of construction paper in the
correct sequence. Students will then be instructed to label each of their organisms as
producer, consumer, and decomposer. Students will also be instructed to label the correct
predator and prey in their food chain. After the students have glued and labeled the
organisms, their final task is to color them! This step will take about 10-15 minutes.


The teacher will monitor and check for understanding by asking students why they placed
their grassland organisms in a particular location. The teacher will observe students while
they are working to ensure comprehension.
 For students who are having difficulties, the teacher can assist the student individually to
help create their craft. The teacher can also have a pre-assembled hanger diagram so the
student will only need to cut out, glue, label, and color the given terrestrial organisms.
 For the students who master the concept easily, they can expand their food chain arts and
craft by drawing, gluing, and labeling other terrestrial organisms such as a hawk and
squirrel.
Summary
 The teacher will close the lesson by summarizing the food chain arts and craft the
students created today. Students will share their work with the person next to them and
will explain which organism is a producer, consumer, decomposer, predator, and prey.
This task will take about 5-10 minutes.
IV. Materials:
 Hangers, string, construction paper, organisms handout, glue, hole puncher, pencil,
crayons/markers/colored pencils.
V. Evaluation Part A:
 The teacher will assess the student’s knowledge by checking the sequence of the food
chain and if each organism is properly labeled with producer, consumer, decomposer,
predator, and prey.
Evaluation Part B:
 Did the students meet your objectives?
 How do you know?
 Did your lesson accommodate the needs of all of your learners?
 What were the strengths of your lesson?
 What were the weaknesses?
 How would you change the lesson if you could teach it again?