Food+Web+Tangle

=__**Food Web Tangle **__=

Food chains and food webs are a part of every ecosystem, and we have all seen many diagrams showing the relationships between organisms. While these types of diagrams are one way of demonstrating food chains and webs, they can also be demonstrated in a “hands on” way which students find very engaging.
 * Description: **

Scissors, string, 50 arrow cut outs, Animal and plant cut outs with holes punched either side to allow string to be tied on

** Activity Plans: **

 * 1) Arrange the animal and plant cut outs into groups that can create a food chain. Place these in an envelope or ziplock bag with the number of organisms written on the outside – this will help you put the students into groups.
 * 2) Handout the envelopes/ziplock bags to groups of students.
 * 3) Each student is to take an organism. As a group they should create a food chain by linking the organisms together in order of hierarchy.
 * 4) Once the students have a food chain, hand out the arrows for them to clip to the strings to show direction of energy flow. //Deliberately clip an arrow on in the wrong direction to “demonstrate” how the arrows go on the string.// This will ensure the students think about which way the energy flows!
 * 5) Once the food chains are created in full, get each group to read out their food chain – each group member should read out their card.
 * 6) Clear all the chairs and tables to the side of the room. Get the students to build a food web from all the food chains. This is done by joining all the same organisms together, and creating any other links that can be made.
 * 7) With each student holding onto an organism, ensure the food web is held out tight.
 * 8) Using a pair of scissors, show students what happens if a top predator is removed by cutting all the linking strings. The rest of the food web will stay intact.
 * 9) Show students what happens if the primary producers are removed, by cutting the linking strings. Cut each consequential link as the primary consumers “die off” from starvation – this demonstrates a food web collapse.

Cards with animals: