Grades 3–5
Herbivore, Carnivore or Omnivore?
Sort twelve animals by what they eat: plants, meat or both.
Science worksheet · Food chains and ecosystems
Producers, Consumers and Decomposers
Sort twelve living things into producers, consumers and decomposers.
- Grade level
- Grades 3–5
- Time
- About 20 minutes
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Food chains, Producers and consumers, Ecosystems
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- Producers make their own food from sunlight. Consumers eat other living things. Decomposers break down dead plants and animals.
- Write each living thing in the right column.
- What would happen to a forest with no decomposers?
Words on this sheet
deerfrogoak treealgaemoldrabbitowlgrass
Teacher tip
Show a photo of mushrooms on a log to explain decomposers.
How to use it
- Use a ball of yarn to build a food web in a circle of kids.
- Start every food chain with the sun so kids see where energy comes from.
- Start with a two-minute “I notice, I wonder” talk about the picture on the sheet.
Watch for
Arrows in a food chain point to the eater: they show where the energy goes.
Talk about it
- What would happen if one link in the chain disappeared?
- What question do you still have?
Take it further
Make a hanging food chain mobile from paper and string.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More food chains and ecosystems worksheets
Grades 3–5
Build a Food Chain
Draw a four-link food chain for a habitat you choose, then label the levels of an energy pyramid.
Grades 3–4
Put the Food Chains in Order
Write three food chains in order, from the producer to the top predator.
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