Today’s Episode: I’ve got a bad case of the Carnivores Simon Stinkysocks’

Objectives Content: S-TWBAT identify and describe the roles of animals and plants in a food chain or food web. Language: S-TWBAT compose food chains or food webs and refer to the parts using the proper vocabulary.

Vocabulary Words! Food chain- how energy goes from one living thing to another. Food web- the overlapping of food chains in a community. Producer- a living thing that makes its own food. Consumer- a living thing that cannot make its own food. Herbivore- an animal that eats only plants. (“herb” meaning plant) Carnivore- an animal that eats other animals. (“carn” meaning meat) Predator- a hunter Prey- the hunted Scavenger- an animal that feeds on the remains of dead animals. Omnivore- an animal that eats both plants and animals. (“omni” meaning both or all )

First up… Every food chain begins with the SUN. The sun creates all the energy that is needed to start any food chain.

Next… The sun’s energy is received by a producer. A producer makes its own food. On land producers include grasses, trees and any organisms that can turn sunlight into food. In the ocean, the producers are usually algae.

Where’s the energy go next? Producers are usually eaten by first level consumers called herbivores. A consumer doesn’t make its own food. Herbivores only eat plants.

Hey, ma?! What’s for dinner? After producers make the food and herbivores (first level consumers) digest it, then predators (second level consumers) are introduced into food chains. A predator eats others animals for food. The animals they eat are called prey. All meat eaters are called carnivores.

Apex Predators Apex predators are top level predators. They are not preyed upon and die usually only due to human beings, old age, or because they were in a fight with another predator or prey. They are usually not eaten.

Other members… Scavengers do the important job of helping to get rid of those stinky bodies that predators and disease create.

What turns body back to “dust?” Decomposers break down dead things into materials that can be used by the producers to make food (Think soil.) They are the final part of the food chain and then the process begins again.

A food chain is… Producers make food First level consumers (herbivores) Second level consumers (carnivores) Apex Predator (carnivores) Scavengers (carnivores) Decomposers (worms, fungi, insects, bacteria)

Awkward Animal Kingdom Thank you for watching….