Teachers Notes Food and Feeding

Teachers’ notes – Food and feeding

Synopsis

The aim of this activity is for learners to explore how animals and plants feed and the interdependence of plants and animals within different environments. Initially, they explore their ideas about why humans and other animals eat food. Using photographs, learners consider the range and diversity of foods eaten by various animals and where and how they obtain food. They use their ideas to group different animals and explain their reasoning. Learners explore their own and others’ ideas about how plants feed, before discussing and developing simple food chains. They are asked to define ‘food chain’ and encouraged to check and develop their understanding by searching secondary sources for definitions. Learners consider different plants and animals and use food chains to show how some of these plants and animals might be linked. Finally, they search for information that will allow them to define terms used to describe food chains and provide examples based on their fieldwork enquiries.

Curriculum links

Interdependence of organisms:

2. the need for a variety of foods and exercise for human good health

4. through fieldwork, the plants and animals found in two contrasting local environments, e.g. identification, nutrition, life cycles, place in environment

5. the interdependence of living organisms in those two environments and their representation as food chains

6. the environmental factors that affect what grows and lives in those two environments, e.g. sunlight, water availability, temperature

The sustainable Earth:

1. the daily and annual movements of the Earth and their effect on day and year length

Skills

Communication: 1 & 2

Enquiry – Planning: 2 3

Enquiry – Developing: 5, 6 & 7

Enquiry – Reflecting: 5 & 6

Activities

Tab 1

/ In the first tab in this activity learners are asked why they think humans and other animals eat food. Rollover questions aim to support discussion about the reasons living things consume food and the range of foods needed.
All animal activity requires energy. Animals acquire this energy from the food they eat. This food may consist of plants, other animals or a combination of both, depending on the animal in question.
People who eat a healthy, balanced diet are perceived to have plenty of energy for work and play and are ill less often than others. Children who eat well usually grow well; pregnant women on a good diet are more likely to produce healthy babies. The effects of poor diet and malnutrition in humans can be all too obvious.
It is important to understand the different types of food and how different combinations of food produce healthy balanced meals.
Food provides – energy for activity and growth and different functions of the body such as digesting food and breathing. It also provides materials for the growth and repair of the body and keeps the immune system healthy. Mammals require large amounts of carbohydrates, fats and proteins and small amounts of minerals and vitamins.
‘5-a-day’ is now part of the rhetoric of most children. They will be aware that eating fruit and vegetables is ‘good’ for you and that a diet lacking in fruit and vegetables is ‘not so good’ for you. However, many children are unsure about what a balanced diet is and will think that eating just salad three times a day constitutes a healthy diet. The essential ideas to promote with learners are moderation and balance.

Tab 2

/ In this tab buttons generates photographs of a range of different animals that are familiar to learners. Learners are asked to consider what they think each animal might eat and where and how it obtains its food.
animal / what it eats / where and how it obtains food
1. Spider / Whole array of insects – mainly flying ones like flies, wasps and butterflies. / Predator – most spiders trap prey in a web.
2. Owl / Rodents – Rats, mice, moles. Spiders, beetles, small birds and other smallanimals. / Predator – nocturnal hunting birds
3. Cow / Cows are ruminants – plant eating animals. Usually eat grass and other legumes. / Beef cattle usually graze and eat fresh grass.
Dairy cows might never graze so might be given feed, silage and different supplements.
4. Worm / Generally, worms will eat any organic material they find in soil.
Worms that live close to the surface eat dead grass, leaves (containing very small organisms), etc. The small organisms provide the worms with bacteria, fungi and algae that they require.
Worms that live deeper under the ground eat mainly soil that contains the bacteria, fungi and algae they need. / An earthworm has strong mouth muscles and does not have any teeth.Many worms pull fallen leaves down into their burrow. As the leaf decomposes or softens they pull off small pieces to eat.Worms also ‘swallow’ soil as they burrow and extract nutrients from it.
5. Tiger
/ Depending on habitat and the area of the world where they live tigers might feed on buffalo, boars, zebras, deer, antelopes, monkeys, camel, wild horses etc. / Carnivores - They hunt mainly between sunset and dawn.
6. Tortoise / Vegetables – cabbage, spinach, lettuce, etc.
7. Fly / The house fly does not have teeth and absorbs food like a sponge. It turns many solid foods into a liquid by spitting or vomiting on them. They will eat any wet or decaying matter, but are particularly attracted to pet waste because of the strong odour.
8. Fish / Different fish eat different things. Some are carnivores, some herbivores and others are omnivores.
Fish might eat, for example, algae, sea grasses, sponges, plankton, other fish, crustaceans, small invertebrates, parasites.
Algae form a major part of the diet of herbivorous fish and also omnivorous fish along with crustaceans which they hunt for. Fish that feed at the bottom of the ocean are usually omnivorous and their diet might include worms and small fish as well as almost anything else that is edible. / Examples:
Sharks – might feed on seals, smaller fish, plankton and even their own species.
Dolphins – feed on a variety of fishes including squid and especially mackerel due to the large fat content.
Salmon – krill, herrings and other small fish.
Jelly fish – lacks a fully developed digestive system. Generally eat zoo plankton and small fishes.
Gold Fish – omnivore – diet ranges from plankton, detritus, worms and insects to larvae.
9. Frog / Other animals – mainly bugs, worms and insect pests
Larger species have been known to eat other frogs, small fish, reptiles and mammals.
10. Robin / Seeds, berries, worms and bugs.
Can’t digest hard fruits or grains. / Generally feed off the ground.

Tab 3

/ In this tab a button generates photographs of different animals that are mostly familiar to learners. Learners are asked to consider what each animal usually eats and to group the animals on this basis. Two overlapping circles are provided for learners to use for groupings. Learners will need to view and discuss all of the animals before they consider how to group them. It should be noted that some learners may wish to have more groups than are catered for by the two overlapping circles.
animal / what it might eat
1. pig / Omnivorous – eating both animals and plants. They will eat almost any kind of food, for example, dead insects, worms, tree bark and waste food and so on. In the wild, pigs will forage for their food, eating mainly grass, leaves, roots, flowers and fruit.
2. red kite / Mainly carrion (dead animals, but will also take live prey including, for example, birds, small mammals, large insects and earthworms.
3. cat / Domestic cats obviously eat commercial cat food but will kill and eat mice, rats and birds as well. Wild cats are carnivores and will kill and eat almost any mammal – the main limiting factor being risk of injury. The larger the cat the larger the mammals it will eat.
4. snail / Typically a land snail is herbivorous and will most likely eat any ingredient that might be included in a garden salad.
5. ladybird
/ Some eat aphids but not all. Some species are herbivores and others eat mildew and other fungi.However, most eat other things like insects, ripe fruit, nectar and pollen.
6. bat / Different types of bats eat different foods.
There are bats that eat, for example, insects, nectar, pollen, fruit, frogs, fish, rodents, birds and other bats.
7. mouse / When living in the wild, mice will eat fruits and seeds from the ground. Some mice might eat insects or grasshoppers. Mice living near farms might eat grain and other crops. Mice usually try to live inside when it starts to get cold. It is at this time that they might try and eat anything that they find.
8. snake / This will depend on the type of snake. Snakes are predators that eat other animals. Generally, they will eat any animal that they are able to overpower and swallow. There are snakes that eat warm-blooded and cold-blooded vertebrates and invertebrates.
9. puffin / Eat different fish but particularly keen on sand eels.
10. prawn / Prawns eat plankton – organic life that may be found at several different depths in salt or fresh water.

Tab 4

/ In this tab learners are told that animals feed by eating plants and/or other animals. Then they are asked for their ideas about how they think plants ‘feed’. They are then encouraged to share and discuss these ideas.

Tab 5

/ This tab provides learners with a series of children’s ideas about how plants feed. The ideas appear on grey cards one at a time. Learners are required to discuss each idea and decide if they agree or disagree with the statement, dragging the grey card into one of three boxes – agree, disagree or unsure. They are encouraged to explain why they have placed each idea in a particular box. The additional learners’ ideas have been chosen to facilitate the discussion of common misconceptions and the enhancement of learners’ understanding. These provide a basis for discussion and exploration of ideas and are invaluable for moving learner’s thinking forward.

Tab 6

/ This tab provides learners with a simple ‘food chain’ showing grass, a rabbit and a fox. Each plant or animal appears in a box and each pair of boxes is inked by an arrow. They are asked to consider what this represents. Learners are provided with 3 blank boxes linked by arrows and invited to draw their own food chain. Rollover questions ask them to explain and define what they think a ‘food chain’ is and they are encouraged to check and develop their understanding and definitions by searching secondary sources for definitions.

Tab 7

/ This tab requires learners to consider the plants and animals in one of the habitats they studied. They are required to use a food chain to show how some of these plants and animals might be linked.

Tab 8

/ This tab provides learners with four empty recording boxes that are linked by arrows.
A generator provides learners with photographs of different plants and animals:
Dragonfly, berries, gannets, nuts and badger.
The aim of this tab is for learners to explore possible food chains that might contain one or more of these plants and animals.
When considering the berries and nuts then these must be placed at the start of the food chain as they are both producers and cannot eat anything. Nuts are typically eaten by squirrels, birds including pigeons and ducks, mice and some deer. Berries are eaten by a wide range of different animals, including, bears, foxes, deer, some birds, monkeys, porcupines and squirrels.
Dragonflies are insects that typically eat butterflies, mosquitoes and flies. They may be eaten by spiders, frogs and birds in the main.
Gannets mainly eat small fish and squid. Gannet eggs and young might be eaten by some birds and red foxes. The bald eagle is the only natural predator of the adult gannet, however, it has been known for some seals and sharks to catch and eat gannets at sea.
Badgers are omnivores with a diet mainly consisting of worms, grubs and insects. However, when available or if chanced upon badgers will eat fruit, carrion, small mammals, frogs, snakes and lizards, for example. Badgers will also eat cultivated cereals like wheat and dig for roots, bulbs and tubers. Small badgers might be eaten by birds of prey but adults have few natural predators. The main threat to badgers comes from being knocked down or shot by humans.
These three animals could each be placed in different boxes in the blank food chain provided. Food chains will again differ depending on where they are placed.

Tab 9

/ The final tab in this activity requires the learners to find answers to the following questions in the context of food chains and the interdependence of plants and animals:
What is a ‘predator’?
What is a ‘consumer’?
What is a ‘producer’?
What is ‘prey’?
The purpose of the activity is for learners to share ideas and to search for information and discuss their findings to find answers to each of the four questions. Learners are provided with a table in which the first column poses the questions. They are required to record the answer to the question, how and where they found the answer and include an example of each from their habitat enquiries.

Background information

Information relating to Tab 5:

Plants gain the essential nutrients for their growth from a number of sources:

• the necessary energy is gained by the leaves from sunlight,
• the leaves also absorb carbon dioxide from the air,
• water and minerals are taken up from the soil by the roots.

A process called photosynthesis occurs during daylight hours when the energy in sunlight enables chlorophyll in the leaves to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen. The carbohydrates and the minerals form the plant material and the oxygen is released by the leaves into the atmosphere.

Information relating to Tab 6:
All living things need to obtain energy to live. Many plants get energy from sunlight, some animals eat plants, some eat other animals and some eat both plants and animals.
In terms of the KS2 Programme of Study a food chain might be thought of as representing ‘the interdependence of living organisms’ in an environment. Generally, they are seen as a way of showing the relationships between different predators and prey within a habitat.

In its simplest form a food chain shows what eats what to obtain nutrition. It starts with the ‘producer’ – at KS2 this is usually a green plant. Next come organisms that eat ‘producers’. These are called primary consumers and are usually ‘herbivores’. The next link in the food chain is an animal that eats herbivores. These are called secondary consumers and in turn these may be eaten by tertiary consumers. A food chain will continue until it ends with the ‘top predator’ – an animal that usually has no natural enemies. The arrows in a food chain are often thought of as meaning ‘is eaten by’ but are designed to show the flow of energy from a producer to a top predator. The same producers and consumers can form parts of several different food chains. In consequence these food chains can be linked together into a network of feeding relationships termed a food web.

Information relating to Tab 9:

A predator is an animal that hunts and eats other animals. Prey is an animal that gets hunted and eaten by predators.

A ‘producer’ is an organism that produces its own nutrition using a primary energy source like sunlight. All plants are producers. A ‘consumer’ is a living organism that obtains energy by eating something else. In this sense all animals are consumers. Following on from the notes for tab 6.