LESSON PLAN Link to Video

HOW DO WE USE FOOD

GRADES 3-5
SUMMARY

Students will explore how their bodies use food as a source of energy, and discover that the energy stored in food comes
from the sun. Prior to this lesson, students need to know that animals need food to grow and live.

CORRELATION

5-PS3-1 Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain
body warmth) was once energy from the sun.

Science & Engineering Practices Connections to Classroom Activity

Developing and Using Models

•Use models to describe phenomena. • Develop a model and use that model to explain how
energy from the sun produces food.

Disciplinary Core Ideas Connections to Classroom Activity

PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and

Everyday Life • Make observations related to the capture of sun’s
energy by plants through photosynthesis to create a
• The energy released [from] food was once energy food source.
from the sun that was captured by plants in the
chemical process that forms plant matter (from air
• Make comparisons of how different living things use the
nutrients from food as a source of energy to survive.
and water).

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 LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in
Organisms
• Food provides animals with the materials they need
for body repair and growth and the energy they need
to maintain body warmth and for motion.

Crosscutting Concepts Connections to Classroom Activity

Energy and Matter • Explain how energy is transferred from the Sun to
•Energy can be transferred in various ways and a plant, or from one organism to another as a food
between objects. source.

DURATION MATERIALS

One to two 45-minute classroom periods. • Science notebooks

• Pencils
Station 1
• Half-slice of bread
PRE-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS • Sandwich bag
• Water
Station 2
Please see Discussion Questions on website. These • 5 Styrofoam cups
can be discussed as a group or answered individually • Images of sun, grass, grasshopper, frog, bird
in student science notebooks. • Glue
• Scissors
Station 3
• Science notebooks
ENGAGE

Show students a picture of a person swimming in a competition, or of a rabbit running through a field. Ask students to
describe what they see in the image. Explain to students that energy is needed for the person to swim (or rabbit to run).
This energy helps the person move his or her arms and feet to swim faster. It allows the rabbit to move its muscles,
stretch its legs, and move fast through the field. Ask students where they think this energy comes from.

EXPLORE

Explain to students that they will be observing and describing food as an energy source for living things, and learning
how energy is transferred from the sun through a chemical process called photosynthesis. They will explore how energy
from food originates from the sun and is transferred to living things. Set up the following stations around the room:

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 STATION 1: DIGESTION AND ENERGY
At this station place a sandwich bag with a half-slice of bread. Add enough water for the student to squish the bread in
the bag and see it physically break down.

STATION 2: ENERGY TRANSFER AND FLOW

At this station place 5 styrofoam cups on the table. They can be placed in a random order on the table. Each cup should
have an image: sun, grass, a grasshopper, frog, and bird. These images need to be glued to the front of the cup for
students to clearly see. Have students stack the cups according to how energy is transferred through this food chain.

STATION 3: FOOD SOURCES

At this station have students draw pictures of what they eat at lunch. Sandwiches and pizza are excellent choices for this
activity. Students will break down the food and trace its energy chain back to the sun.

STATION 1 STATION 2
FOCUS QUESTION: HOW DOES FOOD FOCUS QUESTION: HOW DOES ENERGY
PROVIDE ENERGY FOR PEOPLE? TRANSFER FROM THE SUN TO PLANTS
AND THEN TO ORGANISMS?
Squeeze the sandwich bag that contains the bread
and water. Write down in your notebook what happens What happens to energy as each organism feeds
to the bread as you squeeze the bread. another? Think about this as you stack the styrofoam
cups in the correct order. This correct order should
show what organisms feed on each other, starting with
the sun.

STATION 3
FOCUS QUESTION: WHERE DOES FOOD ENERGY COME FROM?

Does all food energy come from the same place? Write your answer in the notebook before looking at each food. As
you look at the different foods in your group think about what living thing each piece of food comes from.

Divide students into three groups. Allow the groups to rotate through each station and use their science notebooks to
record their observations.

EXPLAIN

After students complete all stations begin a classroom discussion about the way that energy
from the sun is transferred to food and converted back to energy in an organism’s body.

“Next Generation Science Standards” is a registered trademark of Achieve, Inc.

A non-profit dedicated to raising academic standards and graduation requirements.
Lesson plan written by Mountain Goat Instructional Design.

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 Explain that Station 1 focused on the use of food for human energy. Station 2 illustrates how energy transfers through
non-living and living things in different ways. Station 3 shows how we obtain food energy from different sources - trace
the energy chain back to the sun, water, and soil which feed the plants.

WATCH THE HOW DO WE USE FOOD VIDEO AS A CLASS

Then facilitate a class discussion using the Discussion Questions.

ELABORATE

In the video, students saw many different ways living things use food for energy. They also discovered that food energy
can be traced back to the sun. Now students will investigate this idea about photosynthesis further. Students can use
the DIY Activity to make a windowsill garden like Zoe and Izzy from the video. They should describe the importance of
capturing sunlight energy for plant growth, and how these plants can be used for food energy.

EVALUATE

Have students revisit the image of a person swimming or rabbit running they first saw in the Engage portion of the
activity. Students have learned a lot about how food is used for energy. Encourage students to re-evaluate their original
answers to the proposed question of where they think energy required to perform the activities in the image comes from.
Have students discuss why their answer to this question changed or did not change. Ensure students use the content
learned from watching the video and performing the activities to justify their reasoning.

Working in pairs, have students design a model that represents how energy is transferred from the sun to organisms
accross 4-6 steps, starting with the sun and ending with an apex predator. After providing enough time for this activity,
have students share and describe their models with the class.

“Next Generation Science Standards” is a registered trademark of Achieve, Inc.

A non-profit dedicated to raising academic standards and graduation requirements.
Lesson plan written by Mountain Goat Instructional Design.
4 © 2018 GENERATIONGENIUS.COM