Give each student a labeled card. For students who don’t have producers, have the student
write what type of consumer is on the card (herbivore, omnivore, carnivore, etc.). Punch
holes in the cards, and give each student a piece of yarn so that the card can be hung
around his/her neck. Have students stand in a circle in the classroom.
3. Have students identify food sources for their organism. As each one is identified, pass a ball
of yarn between the two students. If one student is a grasshopper, he would pass the ball
of yarn to grass, because the grasshopper gets its energy from the grass. The student with
grass would pass the yarn to the sun, because the grass gets its energy from the sun. When
a string gets to the sun, snip it off, and start the ball of yarn in another place.
4. Continue making the web with all the other students in the class. Students can be in as
many chains as time will allow. Discuss the food web that the class has formed.
5. Discuss how an energy pyramid diagram can show the energy levels in a food web. Discuss
the producer level, the first-order consumer level, the second-order consumer level, and
the third-order consumer level. Draw students’ attention to the concept that just as the
pyramid narrows at the top, so does the amount of energy available.
6. Give each student a copy of the blank “Energy Pyramid” handout. Have students complete
the diagram with the organisms from the food web they demonstrated