The focus of this activity is for students to be able to write about what they learned regarding herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and their roles within the food chain. 

Materials

• Pictures of different animals to represent different classifications within the food chain

• Labels of animals in English and students' home languages 

• pencil/paper or whiteboards and markers 

Setup 

• Lay out pictures of animals with their labels next to them

•  Give each student a pencil and paper for the reflection afterwards

•  Teacher will need to be in front of a whiteboard for the introduction

• Introduce the lesson by telling students about how all living organisms need food to survive

  • Introduce the food chain as a way of energy flowing from one living thing to another

• Show figures of carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores and introduce them in both English and students' home language

  •  Discuss each component and its role in the food chain

• Provide each pair of students with pictures of these animals and be sure to include the names of them in all necessary languages

•  Ask pairs to put these pictures into the correct order to create a food chain

• Check students' food chains for accuracy, and have a discussion (1 min) with them about their food chains

• Lastly, have students write a short paragraph describing their food chain, using key vocabulary (e.g., producer, consumer, predator, prey). Students can write this in their preferred language, but will need to produce a second draft in English. 

Add a writing scaffold, such as a sentence frame:

• "The food chain starts with the ____, which is a ____. Then, the ____ eats the____, because it is a ____."

• Peer editing: have students exchange their writing with a partner and provide feedback 

• Checking students' food chains for accuracy is an informal assessment 

•  Have a discussion with students about their food chains to assess understanding

• Lastly, have students write a one to two sentence reflection on what they learned, or what they wish to learn more about. They may do this in their home home language if they would prefer