How can you tell they’ve got it: Simple Food Chains?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Draw a simple food chain with at least three organisms using arrows to show energy flow; Explain that food chains always start with a plant (producer) that makes its own food; Use the terms 'producer' and 'consumer' correctly when describing a food chain. Or just try it together: Can your child draw a food chain showing how a caterpillar eats a leaf and then a bird eats the caterpillar?

Science Ecosystems & Habitats Ages 6–7

Simple Food Chains

Your child can draw a simple food chain. A leaf feeds a caterpillar, and a bird eats the caterpillar. Every food chain starts with a plant.

In curriculum terms

Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify different sources of food

Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Draw a simple food chain with at least three organisms using arrows to show energy flow
Explain that food chains always start with a plant (producer) that makes its own food
Use the terms 'producer' and 'consumer' correctly when describing a food chain

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Try this together

Can your child draw a food chain showing how a caterpillar eats a leaf and then a bird eats the caterpillar?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivoresages 5–6Must know carnivore/herbivore/omnivore to understand food chains

Habitats & Basic Needsages 6–8Must know about habitats and interdependence before learning food chains

Minibeasts in the food chainages 5–7Garden minibeast food chains provide concrete examples for curriculum simple-food-chains

Ocean Food Chainsages 5–7Ocean food chain parallels curriculum simple food chain concept

Rainforest Animalsages 5–7Rainforest animals provide rich examples for simple food chains (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)

Simple Food Chainsthis skill · ages 6–7

Unlocks

Food Chains & Energy Transferages 8–9Must understand simple food chains before constructing complex ones with producer/predator/prey terminology

Changing Environmentsages 8–9Food chain knowledge helps understand knock-on effects of environmental change

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.

Show candidate curriculum codes · 3 ACARA · 2 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9S1U01low confidenceYear 1 · Science understanding

identify the basic needs of plants and animals, including air, water, food or shelter, and describe how the places they live meet those needs

AC9TDE2K03low confidenceYear 1–2 · Knowledge and understanding

explore how plants and animals are grown for food, clothing and shelter

AC9SFU01low confidenceFoundation · Science understanding

observe external features of plants and animals and describe ways they can be grouped based on these features

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2S4U03high confidenceScience · Levels 3 and 4 · Science Understanding strand

VC2TDE4C02low confidenceDesign and Technologies · Levels 3 and 4 · Technologies Contexts strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Habitat Vocabularyages 6–8 Habitats & Basic Needsages 6–8 Living, Dead & Never Aliveages 6–7 Local Plants & Animalsages 6–8

All Ecosystems & Habitats skills →