Look at the pictures. Which animal only eats plants (herbivore)? eats other animals (carnivore)? eats both plants and animals (omnivore)?
Read the dictionary entry. How is it related to the diagram?
food chain − N−COUNT usu sing. a series of living things which are linked to each other because each thing feeds on the next one in the series
Read the text and complete the gaps (1−8) with the correct word. Listen and check. Explain the words in bold.
What’s a producer?
All energy originally comes from 1) _ sun. Green plants can’t hunt or shop for food, so they simply use sunlight and water to make it. Green plants usually start food chains. They 2) _ called producers.
What’s a consumer?
Animals such 3) _ grasshoppers get their energy from eating green plants like leaves. As they only eat plants, 4) _ are called herbivores. Carnivores, like lions or some birds, only eat meat. Omnivores eat plants and animals. Anything that eats another plant or animal to get energy is called a consumer.
What’s a decomposer?
The food chain ends with dead animals that fungi and bacteria use as food. 5) _ organisms break down the complex organic compounds which then return to the soil so that plants can use 6) _ again. That’s how the food chain starts all over again.
Why is the food chain important?
The food chain provides the energy that all living things need in order to survive. If 7) _ is a break in the link in the chain, then all organisms above this link are in danger of extinction. Imagine 8) _ world without plants. How would animals survive?
Read again. Use the diagram to explain the food chain to your classmates.
Portfolio: Make your own food chain. Draw a diagram and add pictures and labels. Present your food chain to the class.