A food web is a complex network of interconnected food chains within an ecosystem, illustrating how different organisms are related through feeding relationships. Unlike a simple food chain, which shows a linear path of energy flow from producers to top predators, a food web provides a more accurate representation of nature by showing how various species consume and are consumed by multiple others. At the base of the web are producers like plants and algae that create energy through photosynthesis. These are consumed by primary consumers (herbivores), which are in turn eaten by secondary and tertiary consumers (carnivores and omnivores). Decomposers like fungi and bacteria play a crucial role by breaking down dead organisms and recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem. Food webs highlight the delicate balance of ecosystems, where changes to one species can ripple through the entire web.

In this food web activity, students will begin by dragging images of various organisms into the correct categories: producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and decomposers. Once sorted, they will draw arrows to show the feeding relationships between organisms, with arrows pointing from the food to the organism that consumes it (e.g., grass → rabbit → fox → hawk). Each organism should be connected to at least one other, and the web should begin with producers and include at least one decomposer. Students will then review their completed food web and reflect on how energy flows through the ecosystem and what might happen if certain organisms were removed.