New
New
Year 4

Dangers to food chains (non-statutory)

I can describe the impact on food chains when humans cause habitats to change.

New
New
Year 4

Dangers to food chains (non-statutory)

I can describe the impact on food chains when humans cause habitats to change.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Some plants and animals in different food chains are in danger.
  2. Humans can cause the habitats of plants and animals to change by cutting down trees or hunting.
  3. When habitats change, the number of plants and animals living there may also change.

Keywords

  • Danger - Danger is the possibility of death or harm to something.

  • Extinct - Animals or plants that have died out completely are extinct.

  • Habitat - The place where a plant or animal lives is called its habitat.

  • Impact - The impact of something is the effect it has.

Common misconception

Pupils may think that different parts of a food chain are independent of each other and are not impacted by changes elsewhere in the food chain.

Clear explanation of how each part of a food chain is linked to other parts of the chain and how even small changes can have a big impact throughout a food chain.

Observing food chains in the school grounds or local area will give pupils an insight into how small changes to a habitat can have a big impact.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Pupils may wish to use age-appropriate secondary sources of information to find out more about dangers to food chains, including endangered animals.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a habitat?
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a type of food that animals eat
an animal that is eaten by other animals
Correct answer: a place where plants and animals live
Q2.
Which of these statements is true?
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A food chain always starts with an animal.
Correct answer: A food chain always starts with a plant.
Correct answer: A plant in a food chain is called a producer.
A plant in a food chain is called a consumer.
Q3.
A robin eating a worm is an example of ...
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prey eating a predator.
Correct answer: a predator eating prey.
a producer eating a consumer.
a consumer eating a producer.
Q4.
A sheep eating some grass is an example of ...
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a predator eating prey.
prey eating a predator.
a producer eating a consumer.
Correct answer: a consumer eating a producer.
Q5.
Changes in food chains can lead to plants and animals dying out completely. This is known as becoming ...
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endangered.
predators.
Correct answer: extinct.
consumers.
Q6.
Red pandas are at risk of becoming extinct. Which word do we use to describe plants or animals that are at risk of becoming extinct?
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Correct Answer: endangered, vulnerable, threatened, at risk

6 Questions

Q1.
If a plant or animal in a food chain is in danger ...
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it is extinct.
there are plenty of them.
Correct answer: it could be at risk of harm or death.
Q2.
If an animal or plant is extinct ...
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there are many of them that are alive.
there are only a few of them still living.
Correct answer: there are no more living on Earth.
Q3.
What is the name for the place where a plant or animal lives?
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Correct Answer: habitat, Habitat
Q4.
How can humans cause the habitats of plants and animals to change?
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Correct answer: by hunting animals
by observing animals
by recording types of plants
Correct answer: by cutting down trees
Q5.
When habitats change ...
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Correct answer: the number of plants and animals living there may also change.
only the number of plants living there may also change.
only the number of animals living there may also change.
Q6.
Izzy's mum collects snails and removes them from the garden. What impact could this have on a food chain in this habitat?
An image in a quiz
There will be more food for animals that eat snails.
Correct answer: There will be less food for animals that eat snails.
Correct answer: There will be more leaves and bark because there are less snails eating them.
There will be less leaves and bark because there are more snails eating them.