In this series of lessons, students will learn about ecosystems. In the first lesson, students will explore the different types of ecosystems and the structures and functions that are inherent in each one. In the second lesson, students will examine challenges to ecosystems, both man-made and natural issues. In the third lesson, students will learn about food webs and trophic levels. In the final lesson, students will apply their knowledge to construct a board game to teach others about ecosystems.

This 5th-grade Science Unit on Ecosystems helps students compare the characteristics of several common ecosystems, including estuaries and salt marshes, oceans, lakes and ponds, forests, and grasslands) and it helps students classify the organisms within an ecosystem according to the function they serve: producers, consumers, or decomposers (biotic factors). 

Students conduct research and design a news program about the lives and habitat of selected estuary animals.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Science created this resource as part of an online workshop series, but you are welcome to use or modify it for your classroom. It includes a video and written directions for creating nature journals and tips for incorporating them into your classroom. For information on taking any the Nature Neighborhood online workshops for CEUs or EE credit, visit: https://naturalsciences.org/learn/educators/online-workshops.

In this lesson, students will work together to construct a decomposition column. They will observe activity in the column and predict how changing elements may vary column activity. Students will use tools to measure and record data. Students will describe column activity in words and/or pictures to share with others.

Students participate in a simulation of a Shark Bay food web to view the relationships between members of that ecosystem.

Students create food webs and discuss the vital role each of the organisms plays in maintaining a food web.

In this lesson, students are introduced to the idea that trees create their own food energy. By acting out the flow of energy, students learn about producers, consumers, decomposers, and how they interact. As a conclusion, students draw their own comic strip about the adventures of Zippy the Energy who lives in a forest.

In this lesson, students go on a scavenger hunt and play a game to learn about the flow of energy through a forest ecosystem.

This scientific article highlights a multitude of aspects about the tropical rainforest: global location, ethymology, fauna and flora, famous jungle researchers like Jane Goodall, consequences and reasons for jungle destruction, and suggestions that everybody can do to prevent jungle destruction. A link provides more information about the life and work of Jane Goodall. The text is written in child-friendly language and appropriate for readers age 8 and up.

In this short video, join Brandon and Emily on a nature hike with Falyn from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission as they discover all kinds of plants and animals and learn a thing or two about the amazing nature of North Carolina!

In this lesson, students will design and use a simple model to test cause and effect relationships or interactions concerning the functioning of a marine food web, ranking their hypothetical ecosystems according to their stability when faced with a natural or man-made disturbance.

Students learn about trophic levels in a marine food pyramid. Students play a game and complete mathematic equations to learn what happens to coral reef health when shark populations decrease.

Attached is a 5 E lesson plan to use over 8-10 class periods. Students will research the interactions of plants and animals in different ecosystems.
Graphic organizer to guide students research is also attached.
After students complete research they will form ecosystem based groups to learn more about current threats and conservation efforts needed to preserve the ecosystem. They will create a "Spread the Word" media project to share publicly school wide.
You can also do some sort of conservation service learning activity to help students take their knowledge into the community. For instance, we do Adopt-a-Stream through our city. We clean and test the water in the stream across form our school twice a year.

Students are introduced to ecosystems, food webs, and keystone species. They draw a simple food web and predict the impact keystone species have on an ecosystem.

Students will observe living things in a wooded area near the school. They will list all living things they observe in a journal along with a question about each observation. After returning to the school, students will be introduced to the vocabulary: producers, consumers, decomposers, and food web. Students will select a question that can be investigated and share with the class. The teacher will guide the class to use the same question to investigate. How do these living things affect each other? Each student will organize their data into the three categories of producers, consumers, and decomposers. Using one of their living things, they will create a food web with at least one living thing from each of the three categories. Students will predict what would happen if one of the living things in the food web became extinct or over productive. An extension will be to investigate living things at a wetlands area.

It's a Small World After All! is actually two activities in one inquiry. In "How Much Biodiversity Exists in a Pond Microcosm?" students use microscopes to investigate the diversity of life that exists in pond water. In "What Is the Effect of Rice on Microcosm Biodiversity?" students conduct a controlled investigation to study the effect of a pollutant (rice) on a microcosm ecosystem. Note: The best time to start this inquiry is either September or May, when pond ecosystems are at their most active levels during the school year.

In this lesson, students will participate in a hands on game that focuses on biodiversity in the forest. They will discover how the forest changes when one player has to much power and that a healthy forest has balance among all its players.

In this lesson, students learn about kelp forest ecosystems and how organisms interact with each other in a kelp forest ecosystem. They will also learn about potential threats to these ecosystems and determine how humans can impact the kelp forests, both negatively and positively.

Students use photos and information about Australia's Shark Bay to draw and label a simple food web. Then they identify which animal in the ecosystem is a keystone species.