Tundra Biome: Food Chains
Use this food chains set to support your tundra biome work. Students will explore how energy moves through the tundra and how organisms depend on one another. Students will build food chains, sort organisms by diet and trophic level, and visualize the flow of energy through the ecosystem.
⭐️Also included in the Tundra Biome Bundle ⭐️
This unit features organisms from the Sápmi tundra region. Sápmi is the traditional land of the indigenous Sámi people, a vast region spanning northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia's Kola Peninsula.
⭐ Contents ⭐
-
Nonfiction Book
- Each page presents one essential idea with brief supporting information for deeper understanding
- Uses real photos and a clear, repetitive sentence structure
- Full-size pages (PDF) can be projected as slides or printed for whole-group read-alouds
- Print 2 pages per sheet for a child-sized book that fits neatly on a Montessori shelf
- Reinforces key ecological concepts in simple, age-appropriate language:
- Energy from the sun
- Producers, consumers, and decomposers
- Herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores
- The role of decomposers in returning nutrients to the soil
- Interdependence within the tundra ecosystem
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Trophic Levels: Concentric Circles and Pyramid
- Two visual models for exploring trophic levels:
- A concentric circle layout, inspired by the Montessori Sun Game, showing energy flowing outward from the sun
- A traditional trophic pyramid
- Color and blackline versions included
- Students sort plants and animals into trophic levels to visualize energy flow
- Blank charts included for extension work or student-created models
- Two visual models for exploring trophic levels:
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Diet Cards and Sorting Mats
- Cards feature:
- A realistic image of each tundra organism
- The organism’s name
- Sample foods from its diet (not an exhaustive list)
- Students can:
- Sort by diet (herbivore, carnivore, omnivore)
- Sort by trophic level (producer, consumer, decomposer)
- Use visual diet clues to build food chains and food webs
- Food chain mats included, with and without decomposers
- Cards feature:
🌱🌏 Part of the The Trillium Biomes Curriculum 🌎 🌱
The Trillium Biomes Curriculum supports background knowledge and vocabulary development through content-rich, coherent science and geography instruction. Children build conceptual understanding of ecosystems by exploring how living and nonliving elements interact within natural systems. Designed for developmentally appropriate, inquiry-based learning, the materials integrate science, geography, and language development while helping children develop a sense of place and connection to the natural world.
