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JOSIE'S POEMS

THE FOOD CHAIN
KS2 Science


By Josie Whitehead

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Preparing Dough

LINKS 
IN THE FOOD CHAIN


By Josie Whitehead

(Anapaestic Tetrameter)

Links in the Food Chain

The producers, consumers, predators, prey:
They are all in the food chain. What part did they play?
    Did you grow all the things that went onto your plate?
    And who grew the food which for breakfast you ate?

If that fruit in your fruit dish first grew upon trees,
Well, who checked the fruit trees were free of disease?
     Then who grows potatoes and also grows wheat -
      And who makes the bread and the cakes that you eat?

Although farmers and bakers must all play their part,
There are other things needed and right from the start.
    All those plants will not grow without help from the sun
   And a life without water would not be much fun.

Then the plants will need feeding, if they are to grow.
Well you ask any gardeners - they, surely will know -
     And although they get nutrients straight from the sky,
     Without care and attention the plants may well die.

You'll need sunshine and raindrops to help all your seed,
And then promptly roots search for the things that they need.
     When the growing's completed, the farmer arrives
     And so that is the end of their short growing lives.

A big lorry will take all this produce away
And consumers will eat it quite often next day.
     When you go to the shops, take a look all around
      For so much that you see will be fresh from the ground.

In the food chain is also the baker or cook.

You must visit the baker's and have a good look.
   
Those good cakes that you see, tell me, who has made these?
     It's the baker, of course, for he tries hard to please.

The consumer’s the one who then sits down to eat
All those vegetables, bread, and that fish and the meat.
     For we humans, so much will have come from a shop
     And we’re lucky - our place in the chain’s at the top.  

 

The wild animals hunt for the meat that they eat
For they can’t buy their food from the shops on the street.
    Both their mothers and fathers will teach them to kill,
    And they wouldn’t live long without learning this skill.

Many predators kill and their kill is called 'prey'
And wild meat-eaters kill for their food every day.
     Yes, we all work together for the things which we eat.
     Oh, excuse me right now for I must buy my meat.


Copyright on all my poems

Food chain

A food chain shows how plants and animals get their energy.

Producers and consumers

A food chain always starts with a producer. This is an organism that makes its own food. Most food chains start with a green plant, because plants can make their food by photosynthesis.  A living thing that eats other plants and animals is called a consumer.

Predators and prey

A predator is an animal that eats other animals. The animals that predators eat are called prey. Predators are found at the top of a food chain.

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