# Maya and the Meadow Chain

![Figure 1: A sunny pond edge with tall green grass, a grasshopper, a frog on a lily pad, a heron standing nearby, and a raccoon peeking from bushes](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/api/generate/f7e1a50f-973c-4d02-b26c-74d795ec542e/asset/1231)

Maya knelt by the pond with her notebook. "Look, Grandpa," she said. "A grasshopper is eating grass."
Grandpa smiled. "That grasshopper is a herbivore. It only eats plants."
A frog flicked its tongue and caught the grasshopper.
"The frog eats meat," said Maya. "That makes it a carnivore."
Then a heron swooped down and gulped the frog.
"Grass, grasshopper, frog, heron," Maya wrote. "That's a food chain!"
A raccoon waddled by, sniffing berries and bugs.
"Raccoons eat both," Grandpa said. "That's an omnivore."
Maya watched a rabbit freeze when a shadow passed overhead. "It senses danger," she whispered.
"Let's step back gently," Grandpa said. "We watch, we don't disturb."
Maya nodded. "Protecting them helps the whole chain survive."

## Words to know

- **food chain**: The order of who eats whom, starting with a plant.
- **herbivore**: An animal that eats only plants.
- **carnivore**: An animal that eats mostly meat.
- **omnivore**: An animal that eats both plants and meat.
- **stimuli**: Things like light, food, or danger that animals sense and react to.

Curriculum link: [Knowledge](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36339), [Skills](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36341), [Understanding](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36340), [Knowledge](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36343), [Skills](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36345), [Understanding](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36344), [Knowledge](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36347), [Skills](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36349), [Understanding](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36348), [Knowledge](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36351), [Skills](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36353), [Understanding](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36352)

[Listen to the narration](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/api/generate/f7e1a50f-973c-4d02-b26c-74d795ec542e/asset/1235)

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*AILI audio story · language en · model claude-sonnet-5 · generated 2026-09-17 · id f7e1a50f-973c-4d02-b26c-74d795ec542e*

### Sources

- node:n1: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36336)
- node:n2: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36337)
- node:n3: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36339)
- node:n4: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36341)
- node:n5: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36340)
- node:n6: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36343)
- node:n7: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36345)
- node:n8: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36344)
- node:n9: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36347)
- node:n10: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36349)
- node:n11: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36348)
- node:n12: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36351)
- node:n13: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36353)
- node:n14: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36352)
- node:n15: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36337)
- node:n16: Sciences › Science (K–6) › Grade 3 › Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and… › How do plants and animals interact? › Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36340)