Grade by Grade
C. Matter and Energy · Energy in Our Lives

Food Gives Living Things Energy

C2.3 A1.1 A1.5About 35 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can explain that food gives people and animals the energy they need.
  • I can tell where different living things get their food.
  • I can name healthy foods that give my body energy.
  • I can collect information about the foods I eat.

Words to know

food
What living things eat (or plants make) to get energy and grow.
nutritious
Full of good things your body needs to grow and be healthy.
food chain
A path that shows who eats what, starting with the sun and a plant.
Canada's Food Guide
Advice from the Government of Canada about healthy eating.

Running out of steam

It is almost lunchtime. You played tag at recess, and now you feel tired and hungry. Your tummy rumbles!

Your body is telling you it needs more energy. Where will it come from? From food!

Food is energy for living things

Your body uses energy all day long: to run, think, grow, keep warm, and even to breathe while you sleep.

You get that energy from the food you eat. Food is like the gas in a car, or the battery in a toy. Without it, you can't keep going!

All living things need food for energy.

  • Plants make their own food using sunlight.
  • Animals eat plants, or other animals, or both.
  • People eat plants and animals.
A lunch box with a sandwich, apple slices, baby carrots and cheese cubes, next to a glass of milk.
A lunch full of energy: bread, fruit and vegetables come from plants, and the cheese and milk come from cows. AI-generated image
Living thingWhat it eats for energy
🌻 sunflowermakes its own food from sunlight, air and water
🐇 rabbitgrass, clover and other plants
🐿️ squirrelnuts, seeds and berries
🦉 owlmice and other small animals
🐻 black bearberries, plants, insects, fish and more
🧒 peoplevegetables, fruits, grains, and protein foods like beans, eggs, fish and meat

A food chain

A food chain shows how energy passes from one living thing to the next.

☀️➡️🌾➡️🐭➡️🦉
Sun → grass → mouse → owl. The grass uses sunlight to make food. The mouse eats the grass seeds. The owl eats the mouse. Energy passes along the chain.

Food for a healthy body

Some foods give your body lots of what it needs to grow strong. They are nutritious. Canada's Food Guide says to:

  • fill half your plate with vegetables and fruits 🥦🍎
  • fill one quarter with whole grain foods (like whole wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal) 🍞
  • fill one quarter with protein foods (like beans, eggs, fish, meat, nuts, yogurt) 🥚
  • make water your drink of choice 💧

Treats like candy and chips are OK sometimes, but they do not give your body what it needs to grow.

vegetablesand fruitshalfwholegrains¼proteinfoods¼waterCanada's Food Guide plate
Half the plate is vegetables and fruits, one quarter is whole grains, and one quarter is protein foods. Water is the drink of choice.

Food traditions

Families in Canada eat many different foods. Some First Nations, Métis and Inuit families eat traditional foods like wild rice, fish, moose, caribou, seal, or bannock, often hunted, fished or gathered from the land. All of these give people energy. Food is also about family, culture and sharing.

Worked example

Let's follow the energy in breakfast

You eat oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast. Where did the energy come from?

  1. The oats and the blueberry bushes grew in the sunlight.
  2. They used the sun's energy to make food, which was stored in the oats and berries.
  3. You eat the oatmeal and blueberries.
  4. Now your body has energy to walk to school, play and learn!

Sun → oats and blueberries → you. The energy in your breakfast started with the sun.

Worked example

Let's sort a lunch

Your lunch has: a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, carrot sticks, an apple and water. Which part of the plate is each food from?

  1. Carrot sticks, apple: vegetables and fruits.
  2. Whole wheat bread: whole grain foods.
  3. Turkey: protein foods.
  4. Water: the best drink.

This lunch has foods from all three parts of the plate. It is a nutritious lunch that gives lots of energy.

Just for fun

Why do black bears eat SO much in the fall?

They are packing a snack for a very long nap! The energy from all that food keeps them going while they sleep through the winter.

Hands-on activity

My food diary (research)

You need: paper and crayons, for one day.

  1. Make a chart with 3 rows: Breakfast, Lunch, Supper.
  2. Each time you eat, draw what you ate.
  3. Colour each food: green for vegetables and fruits, brown for whole grains, red for protein foods.
  4. At the end of the day, count: Which colour did you have the most of?
  5. Pick one food and tell your grown-up how its energy came from the sun.
  6. Bonus: Ask a grandparent or family friend what they ate for energy when they were your age. How is it the same or different?

What to look for: Lots of green is great! There is no wrong answer. This is about noticing, not judging.

Your turn

1

Why do living things need food?

2

How do plants get food?

3

What does a rabbit eat for energy?

4

Finish the food chain: sun → grass → mouse → ?

5

What should fill half your plate, says Canada's Food Guide?

6

What is the best drink for your body?

7

Name 2 nutritious foods that give you energy.

More practice: warm-up

1

Do people need food for energy?

2

Is an apple a fruit or a grain?

3

What do squirrels eat?

4

When you feel hungry, what does your body need?

5

Is candy an everyday food or a sometimes treat?

More practice: on your own

1

Why do you feel tired if you skip breakfast?

2

Where did the energy in a glass of milk come from? Start with the sun.

3

Name a food from each part of the plate: vegetables and fruits, whole grains, protein.

4

A bear eats lots of berries and fish in the fall. Why do you think it does this before winter?

5

Does a tree need food? Explain.

Challenge

1

Make your own food chain with 3 or 4 living things, starting with the sun.

2

Plan a nutritious supper for your family using Canada's Food Guide. Name the foods.

3

Why do you think a hockey player eats a good meal before a big game?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Why do living things need food?

2.

How do plants get their food?

3.

Which is a food chain in the right order?

4.

What should fill half your plate?

5.

What is the best drink for your body?

6.

A rabbit gets energy by eating...

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Food is the source of energy for living things. Plants make their own food using sunlight, and animals (including people) get energy by eating plants and/or other animals.

About food and bodies: Keep the focus on food as fuel and on variety. Avoid calling foods "good" or "bad", or linking food to body size. "Everyday foods" and "sometimes foods" is a helpful way to talk with young children. The food diary is about noticing, not judging, and it is fine to skip it if food is a sensitive topic in your home.

Common difficulties:

  • Thinking plants eat soil. Plants take in water and some minerals from the soil, but they make their food in their leaves using sunlight.
  • Writing food chains backwards. The arrow means "is eaten by" or "gives energy to". Always start with the sun.

How to help: At meals, play "Where did the energy come from?" and trace a food back to the sun. Look at Canada's Food Guide plate (food-guide.canada.ca) together. The food diary is a simple research task: collecting and recording information (A1.1, A1.5).