Fourth Grade
Worksheets
A Backyard Food Chain
Your backyard is a busy place. Grass grows there. Grass uses sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make its own food. Like all plants, grass is a primary producer in the food chain. The grass grows. It makes more food energy than it needs. Some of the food energy is stored in the plant as grass seed.
A mouse comes to eat the grass seed. It is an herbivore. Herbivores are animals that eat only plants as food. The mouse is a consumer. It can't make its own food; it must eat or consume food from plants. The mouse is a first-level consumer. It is first in line getting food from the plant producers.
A snake sneaks into your yard. It is looking for food. It sees the mouse! It eats the mouse. The snake is a carnivore. It is an animal that eats other animals. What is its place in the food chain? It is a second-level consumer.
