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
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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
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THE
OO MIN