Be a Nature Photographer

K-12 Resource: Activity

Take photos of plants and animals to learn about food chains

  • Grade Level K-5
  • Subject Areas Science, Art
  • Activity Type Photography, Research

About

Learning Objectives

We’re going on an adventure to learn about the ecosystem in our community. We’ll take photos of plants and animals, label them, and learn about food chains!

Materials Needed

  • Camera, tablet, or smartphone with a camera
  • Paper or notebook
  • Crayons or markers

Assignment

Take Photos of Nature

Grab your camera or smartphone, and let’s head outside to explore. Look around and take photos of plants, animals, and other living things you see. Remember to ask an adult for help if you need it!

Label the Living Things

After you’ve taken five photos of different living things you see, sit down and look at them with a classmate or friend. Choose one photo at a time and think about what’s in the picture. Use your paper or notebook to write or draw labels for the plants and animals in the photo.

Identify Food Chains

Now, let’s talk about food chains. A food chain shows who eats who in an ecosystem. Look at your photos and think about what each organism eats. Write the names of living things and draw arrows to connect the organisms and create a food chain in your notebook.

Trace Your Favorite Food Back to Nature

Think about your favorite food. Where does it come from? Let’s trace it all the way back to nature. Talk to your classmates about where your food comes from and how it gets to your plate.

Share and Discuss

Now that we’ve explored our ecosystem and learned about food chains, let’s share our findings with the class. Show your photos and explain what you discovered about the plants, animals, and food chains in your community.

Related Materials

  1. Nature’s Pantry

    Thumbnail featuring a painting of plants with white text that reads: Nature's Pantry

    Learn how producers and consumers are connected in the food chain

  2. Let’s Build Our Local Ecosystem

    Thumbnail featuring animals, grass, and sun graphics on white background with black text that reads: Let's Build Our Local Ecosystem.

    Create a food chain model to show how plants and animals work together in your community

  3. Explore the Food Chain in A Hare in the Forest

    Brown bunny lying in front of trees, surrounded by brush and small creatures like snails, lizards, butterflies, and a bird in the top right corner.

    Draw a food chain to show how plants and animals depend on each other for energy

Extensions

  • Create a slideshow, poster, or collage with your photos and labels to display in our classroom. This will help us remember all the cool things we learned about our ecosystem!
  • Research your favorite food. Draw a picture of its plant components. Discuss similarities and differences between the foods. For animal-based favorite foods, research the life cycle of the specific animals.
  • Discuss what a career as a photojournalist or nature photographer might be like day to day. Research a real nature photographer to learn about what they do every day.

Suggested Modifications

If you do not have access to a camera, use a picture frame or a piece of paper with a square cut out to use as a viewfinder.

Related Standards