Munchline Monitors

Programme: MUNCHLINE MONITORS (exploring food chains and energy flow)

Suitable for Key Stage 2 and available as a half day activity.

Munch Line Monitors offers an innovative approach to the understanding of how living things are dependent upon the food chains in their environment to survive. Through a series of hands-on activities it enforces the concept of food chains, trophic levels and energy flows and the feeding relationships between living things in the wild.

ACTIVITY DETAILS

Munch Line Monitors begins with a discussion about who eats who and who eats what! Children are asked to consider what they eat, where their food comes from and how it is produced. Using the children as part of a practical example the idea of a munch line (food chain) is introduced and sun munchers (producers), plant munchers (consumers) and animal munchers (secondary consumers) are discussed. Children are then invited to become munch line monitor trainees.

Munch Line Monitor Training

The session leader takes the class outside to begin their munch line monitor training which consists of three parts.

1. Signs of munching -Children search the surrounding area for signs that munching has taken place and count how many signs they can see.

2. Munch trays - Using specially designed munch trays children collect actual evidence of the three different types of munching (sun, plant and animal). In the outdoor classroom the results of this collection are collated to form a pyramid of numbers and reasons for the pyramid are discussed.

3. Munch bags -Children work in small groups and are given a munch bag containing illustrated cards. Children must compile a food chain to include all the living things illustrated. The groups then demonstrate and explain their food chain to the rest of the class.

Return to Classroom

After completing the three munch line monitor activities children return to the classroom to reinforce the work on food chains. They are shown slides of different living things and asked to consider predator prey relationships. What might a particular creature require as a food source and would the creature become a food source for something else? Examples are used from local wildlife.

Munch Line Monitors ends with all the children becoming qualified munch line monitors and learning what they can do to monitor the health of food chains.

CURRICULUM LINKS

Key Stage 2

Munch Line Monitors links with National Curriculum attainment targets in English and Science.

English The whole speaking and listening section.

Science Scientific enquiry (2i, 2j, 2l).

Life processes and living things (1c, 5a, 5d, 5e).

Breadth of study (2a).

This activity sheet is available to download as a word document from the right hand side.