Making or finding food
I can explain that animals, including humans, cannot make their own food.
Making or finding food
I can explain that animals, including humans, cannot make their own food.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- All living things need food to stay alive.
- Plants can make their own food using sunlight, carbon dioxide and water.
- Animals, including humans, cannot make their own food.
- Wild animals find their sources of food within the habitats they live in.
- Pets, or animals in captivity, rely on humans to replicate their natural diets.
Keywords
Basic needs - A living thing's basic needs must be met for them to stay alive.
Food - Food gives living things energy and helps them to stay healthy.
Wild - Wild animals or plants live or grow in natural surroundings and are not looked after by people.
Habitat - The place where a plant or animal lives is called its habitat.
Captivity - Animals who live under human control or care are in captivity.
Common misconception
All plants and animals 'eat' food.
Explanation of how plants can make their own food and that animals cannot.
To help you plan your year 3 science lesson on: Making or finding food, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 3 science lesson on: Making or finding food, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 science lessons from the Healthy eating unit, dive into the full secondary science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
The animal fact files included in the additional materials for this lesson are required to support Task B.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Starter quiz
6 Questions











Exit quiz
6 Questions







