Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Mehrin and I'm really looking forward to learning all about producers in a food chain with you.

Let's begin.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit "More about food chains." Your learning outcome is, I can identify and name producers in different food chains.

Now we are going to be touching upon some of your previous learning of food chains in today's lesson.

And I know that learning can sometimes be a little bit challenging, but that's okay because it just means that we are going to work really hard together and we're going to learn lots of fabulous new things.

Let's begin.

So before we start our lesson, here are your five keywords for today, along with the definitions on the right-hand side.

Now I am going to be referring to all of these throughout today's lesson, but if you find it helpful, you can pause the video here and you can jot them down.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

So our lesson today is split into two parts.

Let's begin with the first part.

Plants need food to survive.

Plants are living things that grow on Earth.

And plants often have roots, a stem, and leaves, and some plants have flowers too.

And like all living things, plants have requirements.

These are the things that plants need to grow and stay healthy and to survive.

And here we have a beautiful picture of some woodland trees.

Now Aisha and Sofia are talking about the requirements of plants.

Aisha says, "I know that plants need water.

This is absorbed by roots from soil." Sofia says, "I know that plants need food.

Do plants need to hunt for food like animals do?" What do you think? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

Right, we're going to talk about this a little bit more in just a moment.

Before we do, let's do a quick check-in of your learning.

Now plants are living things.

Which of these is not a plant? Banana tree, a butterfly, or daffodils? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Wonderful.

Well done.

It's the butterfly.

Now although plants are alive and can move in place, they can't move from one place to another to hunt for food.

So you might be familiar with, for example, the Venus flytrap, and that's an example of you being able to see a plant moving, because it will close up if an insect or something else goes near it.

The plant will close up and you can see it moving.

So let's have a look at some plants here.

We've got a coconut tree, daisy plants, and tomatoes, and those are much harder to see moving.

But plants can move in place.

They just can't move from one place to another place in order to hunt for food.

And so therefore, they are different to animals because they have to make their own food since they can't hunt for it.

Now what would happen to a plant if it could not make its own food? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Well done.

So if plants could not make their own food, they would become unhealthy and they would not survive.

They would eventually die out, just like the plants here.

Especially the first and the third picture here, we can see that the plants have died.

They've wilted and they've died.

And the one in the middle is starting to curl up and it's in the process of dying.

Because if plants can't make its own food, it's not going to survive.

Now true or false? Plants move from place to place to hunt for food.

Is that true or false? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Wonderful.

Well done.

The answer is false.

Now let's see if you can justify your answer.

Is that because plants can't move from place to place, so they eat small animals that land on them? Or B, plants can't move from place to place, so they make their own food.

I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

The answer is B.

Now Aisha and Sofia are talking about how plants make food.

And Aisha says, "I don't understand how plants can make their own food when they don't have hands and can't move around." Sofia says, "Well, I think soil could be food for plants." What do you think? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

So Sofia is incorrect.

Soil is not food for plants.

And that is quite a common misconception that people have that soil is food for plants, but it's not.

So let's find out what soil does.

So the roots of a plant absorb water and minerals from soil.

So the soil does have benefits to the plant.

It's needed in order for it to survive.

But the plants are absorbing water and minerals from the soil, but that is not food for plants.

Plants use water, something called carbon dioxide, which is gas from the air, and sunlight in order to make a sugar that it can use as food.

So that is what is food for plants.

And here we have got some trees in sunlight.

Isn't that a beautiful picture? Now Sofia says, "Oh dear, it sounds very complicated.

I will ask my big sister to explain it to me." Now Sofia's sister says, "I can break it down for you.

Plants need three things in order to make their food.

Number one, they need water.

Two, they need carbon dioxide.

And three, they need sunlight." So what do plants use to make their own food? Remember, there might be more than one correct answer here.

So A, water.

B, carbon dioxide.

C, soil.

Or D, sunlight.

So I'll give you five seconds.

Let's see if you can remember what Sofia's sister said.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

You've got A, B, and D.

Water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight is needed for plants to make their own food.

Now Sofia's sister says, "Plants absorb water through their roots." And here we've got a lovely close-up picture of plant roots in soil.

"And plants also absorb a gas in the air called carbon dioxide through tiny holes on the underside of their leaves." And you'll probably be able to see that with a microscope.

"Now plants use light from the Sun to turn water and carbon dioxide into the food it needs.

This mainly takes place in the leaves of a plant." "So, sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide are needed to make a type of food for plants." And Sofia's sister said, "Yes, the whole process has a tricky name.

It's called photosynthesis! This is when plants use water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight to make a sugar that they can use as food." Now let's do a quick true or false.

Plants survive by eating parts of other plants.

Is that true or false? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

The answer is false.

Let's see if you can justify your answer.

Is it because A, plants don't need to eat, as they are not living? Or B, plants make a sugar that they can use as food.

Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

The answer is B, plants make a sugar that they can use as food.

Now here is your first task for today.

I would like you to draw a picture of a plant.

I want you to use labels to show which parts are responsible for helping the plant to make its own food.

And I want you to remember to show where the plant absorbs water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight.

So I'd like you to pause the video here and have a go at doing this activity.

Off you go.

Wonderful.

Well done.

Now this might be what yours looks like.

So we have the leaves absorbing the sunlight and the carbon dioxide.

Plants use light from the Sun to turn water and carbon dioxide into the food it needs.

This mainly takes place in the leaves of a plant.

And the roots absorb water.

So now we are on to the second part of our learning, which is producers in a food chain.

Now Jacob has been learning about food chains and he says, "A food chain shows how living things depend on each other for food." So here we have leaves, caterpillar, and blackbird.

And Andeep says, "I have noticed that food chains always start with a plant.

I wonder why this is." And Jacob says, "Is it because the plant is the smallest living thing in the food chain?" What do you think? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

"So the order of a food chain does not depend on its size.

Some plants are bigger than some animals!" So Jacob says, "I think it might be because plants can't eat animals." What do you think? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Wonderful.

Well done.

So, Jacob is correct.

So if you think about what the arrows represent, remember the arrows represent are food for, is food for.

So leaves are food for the giraffe, and the giraffe is food for the leopard.

But what is food for the tree then? Because the leaves cannot eat the giraffe.

So what is the food for the tree and for this plant? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

So remember, plants make their own food using a process called photosynthesis.

And Andeep says, "Yes! So that is why each food chain begins with a plant.

Plants do not depend on other living things for food but animals do." Now in a food chain, the plant is called the producer.

Do you know why? There's a clue in the name producer.

So I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Wonderful.

Well done.

So plants are called producers because they make, or produce, their own food.

So here we have leaves and the leaves are food for the slug, and the slug is food for the frog.

Now which other producers can you name? So we've looked at leaves.

Which other producers can you name? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

So it could be any plant.

You might have thought of strawberries.

You might have thought of grass.

There's so many different producers that you could have thought of.

Now let's do a quick check-in of your learning.

So food chains begin with a plant.

Is that true or false? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Wonderful.

Well done.

The answer is true.

Now let's see if you can justify your answer.

Is it because A, a plant is the producer in a food chain because it produces its own food? Or B, a plant is the producer in a food chain because it produces food for all the other animals.

Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Wonderful.

Well done.

The answer is A.

A plant is the producer in a food chain because it produces its own food.

Now which photograph shows a producer in a food chain? So remember there could be more than one answer here.

I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

So you've got the bamboo and the cacti.

Now here is your final task for today.

Jacob says, "Can you spot anything wrong with my food chain?" I want you to draw Jacob's food chain correctly and explain the changes that you've made.

And I also want you to explain what the producer in this food chain could be.

So I'd like you to pause the video here and have a go at doing this activity.

Off you go.

Wonderful.

Well done.

So, seaweed would be the producer and he missed that one out.

The seaweed would be food for the crab.

The crab would be food for the octopus.

And the octopus is food for the shark.

Now all food chains must start with a plant, and Jacob's food chain started with a crab, which is an animal.

So I've now added a plant, which is seaweed, that can be food for a crab.

The seaweed is the producer in this food chain.

I've also drawn all the arrows in the food chain in the correct direction.

Because Jacob had drawn the arrow between the octopus and the shark in the wrong direction.

Now we are on to the summary of your learning today.

So plants are living things that cannot move around to hunt for food.

They must make their own food to survive.

Plants use water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide to make a sugar that it can use as food.

The food chain begins with a plant, and this is the producer in the food chain.

Plants are called producers because they make, or produce, their own food.

You have worked so hard and you've really used your critical thinking today.

Well done!.