12A | APRIL 29, 2021 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL © 2021 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 37, No. 21 decomposers sun food chain links plants and animals to each other for survival. For example, a plant gets eaten by a small animal. That animal is also food for another, larger animal. Ultimately, when plants and animals die, decomposers cause them to turn back into soil that will grow more plants and the circle of life continues. The diagram at right illustrates a basic food chain. grasses Complete the Food Chains Below are three unfinished food chains. Complete each chain by drawing, naming or pasting a picture of one of the choices of plants or animals who lives in that plant community. Think about which animals are herbivores, omnivores and carnivores. Food chains all start with the sun. The sun gives energy to all living things because the energy from the sun goes into the plants. When primary consumers eat plants, they get energy. That animal will give energy to the animal that eats it. Food webs show how different food chains are connected. For example, a mouse and a rabbit both eat plants and seeds. Like a spider web, a food web can be very complicated since there are so many different creatures. eagle rabbit Evergreen Forest Community snake The forest community has many different kinds of trees. Ferns and mosses can also be found. PRODUCER PRIMARY CONSUMER SECONDARY CONSUMER FINAL CONSUMER DECOMPOSER bay nuts • leaves madrone berries quail • squirrel deer fox • bobcat mountain lion coyote worm • fungi bacteria SECONDARY CONSUMER FINAL CONSUMER DECOMPOSER Creekside Community The area along the banks of a creek is mostly moist and shady. PRODUCER PRIMARY CONSUMER Let’s Talk! Underwater plants algae aquatic insects fish newt frog raccoon scrub jay worm • fungi mushroom Grassland Community This can be a dry and hot area. Mostly low, dense bushes and a few wildflowers can be found there. PRODUCER PRIMARY CONSUMER SECONDARY CONSUMER FINAL CONSUMER DECOMPOSER flowers • seeds berries rat • mouse insect snake • bobcat lizard owl hawk worm • fungi mushroom Community Connections Look through the newspaper for five or more people or places that are connected to your life. (Example: A grocery store where your family shops. What other connections can you find? Standards Link: Research: Use the newspaper to locate information. Draw the thing that should come next to continue the pattern in each row. CONSUMER CHAIN BACTERIA CIRCLE BOBCAT AQUATIC LIZARD ALGAE FUNGI FINAL FROG FISH MICE WORM WEB Children are born curious. From their earliest days, sensory exploration brings delight and wonder. New discoveries expand their minds. When they unlock the joy of reading, their world widens further. Magic happens. Kid Scoop opens the doors of discovery for elementary school children by providing interactive, engaging and relevant age-appropriate materials designed to awaken the magic of reading at school, at home, and throughout their lives. For more information about our literacy non-profit, visit kidscoopnews.org A C R B U E A I T R Q U E R R A L G A E This week’s word: U W E C V C F N D M DECOMPOSER A O T F I S H U R U The noun decomposer means an organism that breaks down dead plants and animals. T R A R V M O F A S I M C H A I N S Z N C L B O L D W E I O E G O R F I N A L C B S B A C T E R I A Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns. Advertising Math Fungi are important decomposers at the end of the food chain. Try to use the word decomposer in a sentence today when talking with your friends and family members. Plan a Picnic ANSWER: Because he was a real fungi! Find an ad in today’s paper that is especially interesting to you. Using the subject of the ad, write a two-step word problem. Then, have a classmate try to solve your problem. What would happen if all of the plants and animals in one of the links in a food chain disappeared? Talk it over with a parent or family member. What would happen if one animal in a food web became extinct? Standards Link: Language Arts: Understanding meanings from context clues. Where would you go on a family picnic? What would you bring? Thank you to our Newspaper in Education sponsors, do you want to be a Newspaper in Education sponsor? Contact us today! 541-942-3325 THE OO MIN