Arrows Show the Flow of Energy

Start with something students can look at or think about: a photo, a short video, a jar on the windowsill, or a question like "what do you already know about food chains and food webs?" Then let them work through it independently, since students at this age benefit more from productive struggle than from being walked through each step, keeping a word bank or anchor chart in view so the vocabulary stays available. When you review, ask students how they knew, and let them point to the part of the diagram or reading that told them. These food chains and food webs worksheets work well as a lead in before an investigation, as a way to capture what students noticed afterward, or as review before an assessment.

Draw arrows to show energy flowing through three food chains. Energy moves through a food chain when one living thing eats another. Each arrow points from the food to the eater. The directions on the page read: Draw an arrow on each dashed line to show which way energy flows. Then, use the chains to answer the questions. The answer key shows every answer.

Yes, both. We made it for 4th Grade ecosystems, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with food chains and food webs. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

A food chain is one path of food energy, like grass to rabbit to fox. A food web joins many food chains in one place, so it shows that most animals eat, and are eaten by, more than one living thing.

Each arrow points from the food to the animal that eats it. The arrow shows the way energy moves, so grass points to the rabbit, not the other way around. One sheet starts a chain with the eater on purpose to check this.

Plants are producers. They make their own food from sunlight, so they bring the sun's energy into the chain. Every animal after them is a consumer that gets energy by eating.

Yes. All seven food chain sheets have an answer key that shows every answer, including sample answers for the questions children explain in their own words.

7 printable worksheets, all free to preview. Downloads are included with a ClassWeekly free trial, and every page prints on standard 8.5 x 11 paper.

These are written for 4th Grade students, roughly ages 9-10. Many teachers also use them a grade up for review or a grade down as an extension, so use the preview to judge the fit for a particular child.

Yes. Each one shows the NGSS code it covers on its own page, so you can check the alignment yourself rather than taking our word for it.