Build the 3-Layer Winter Web (Above / On / Under)

This is a high-impact activity because it turns “food web” from a flat diagram into something students can see as a system .

Owls

Small mammals & prey

Wolves

Foxes & coyotes

Kit needed
4 steps

Run with a class

This is a high-impact activity because it turns “food web” from a flat diagram into something students can see as a system.

Above Snow
On Snow
Under Snow

Under Snow: vole, mouse, shrew, seeds/grass
On Snow: rabbit, deer, fox
Above Snow: barn owl, great horned owl, hawk, coyote

Seeds/grass → vole/mouse
Vole/mouse → owl
Rabbit → owl / fox
Mouse → fox
Deer (carcass) → scavengers (optional)

“Deep snow this week”
“Icy crust on top”
“No perches near the field”
“Rodent numbers drop”
“A packed human trail appears”

This is where students stop memorizing and start reasoning.

Questions to ask

Which connections weaken?
Which predators struggle?
Which animals shift layers?

Where it comes from

A fresh snowfall can trick us into thinking everything paused.

But snow doesn’t erase life, it reorganizes it.

It acts like a blanket and a ceiling at the same time, creating a hidden world underneath and a brand-new “map” on top. Suddenly, ecosystems aren’t just horizontal (forest to field). They’re vertical.

Read the blog post ↗ Winter Food Webs: The Snow Layer That Connects Everything · 2026-01-09

Run it

Ticks stay in this browser, so you can set up now and teach later.

What you need

3 sheets of paper (or one large poster divided into 3 bands)
markers
optional: printed animal cards
optional: string/yarn for connections

Steps

Step 1 Create the three layers Label:
Step 2 Add organisms to each layer Give students a starter set like:
Step 3 Draw energy arrows (who eats whom) Have students connect:
Step 4 Add “winter pressure” cards (the thinking step) Give each group a condition and have them update the web:

00:00

Workspace

Run it with your class

Set up the class, count what needs counting, write down what happened, then save it and take it with you. Everything here stays in this browser until you download it.

The class

Class or group Date Students Students per group

Counters

Results table

Notes as you go

Step 1: Create the three layers Label: Step 2: Add organisms to each layer Give students a starter set like: Step 3: Draw energy arrows (who eats whom) Have students connect: Step 4: Add “winter pressure” cards (the thinking step) Give each group a condition and have them Anything else: what worked, what to change