Science
Polar Regions
Conceptual
7–9 yrs
Polar Food Chains
极地食物链
Description
Understand polar food chains — in the Antarctic, phytoplankton are eaten by krill, krill are eaten by fish and penguins, and penguins are eaten by leopard seals and orcas; in the Arctic, algae under ice feeds zooplankton, which feeds fish, which feeds seals, which feeds polar bears — and that tiny organisms like krill and plankton are the foundation of all polar life
Mastery Evidence
- Construct an Antarctic food chain: phytoplankton → krill → penguin → leopard seal or orca
- Construct an Arctic food chain: algae → zooplankton → fish → seal → polar bear
- Explain why krill and plankton are critical — without them, the entire food chain collapses
Assessment Prompt
Can your child explain a polar food chain — starting from tiny plankton, through krill and fish, up to seals and polar bears or orcas — and explain why the tiny creatures at the bottom are so important?
