Rainforest Food Webs

CONCEPTUAL

Science›Rainforests|Ages 7—9|ID: mt_1LFVPjdGg-

Understand how energy and nutrients flow through a rainforest food web — from plants (producers) to herbivores (primary consumers) to predators (secondary consumers) — and that decomposers like fungi and insects break down dead material on the forest floor, recycling nutrients back into the soil for plants to use again

Mastery Evidence

Construct a simple rainforest food chain with at least three levels: producer → herbivore → predator
Explain the role of decomposers in breaking down dead material and returning nutrients to the soil
Use the terms producer, consumer, and decomposer correctly

Assessment Prompt

“Can [child] explain a rainforest food chain — like how a fruit tree feeds a monkey, the monkey might be hunted by a jaguar, and when things die, tiny organisms break them down to feed the trees again?”

Prerequisites2

Rainforest Plants
hardAges 5—7
Rainforest Animals
hardAges 5—7

Show full prerequisite tree

Rainforest Plants hard
Must know rainforest plants (producers) before constructing food webs
- Rainforest Layers hard
  Plants taught in context of layers (epiphytes in canopy, lianas climbing trunks)
  - What Is a Rainforest? hard
    Must know what a rainforest is before learning its four layers
Rainforest Animals hard
Must know rainforest animals before constructing food chains with them
- Rainforest Layers hard
  Animals are taught in context of which layer they inhabit
  - What Is a Rainforest? hard
    Must know what a rainforest is before learning its four layers

Unlocks2

Nutrient Cycling in Thin Soil
hardAges 9—11
Food Chains & Energy Transfer
softAges 8—9