Competency Goal 1: The learner
will conduct investigations to build an understanding
of the interdependence of plants and animals. |
Objectives
1.01 Describe and compare several common ecosystems
(communities of organisms and their interaction with
the environment).
1.02 Identify and analyze the functions of organisms
within the population of the ecosystem:
- Producers.
- Consumers.
- Decomposers
1.03 Explain why an ecosystem can support a variety
of organisms.
1.04 Discuss and determine the role of light, temperature,
and soil composition in an ecosystem's capacity to support
life.
1.05 Determine the interaction of organisms within
an ecosystem.
1.06 Explain and evaluate some ways that humans affect
ecosystems.
- Habitat reduction due to development.
- Pollutants.
- Increased nutrients.
1.07 Determine how materials are recycled in nature. |
Glossary
- Carnivore- An organism that consumes meat
- Carrying Capacity- The total number of any species that
a given habitat will support at one time
- Consumer- An organism in a community that must eat to get
the energy it needs to survive
- Decomposer- An organism that converts dead organic material
into inorganic material
- Food Chain- A transfer of food energy from a source in
plants through a series of animals, with repeated eating and
being eaten.
- Food Web- A interlocking pattern of food chains
- Habitat- A place in an ecosystem where a population lives
- Herbivore- An organism that consumes plants
- Omnivore- An organism who consumes both plants and meat
- Predator- An animal that kills and eats other animals
- Prey- Animals that are killed and eaten by other animals
- Producer- An organism that makes its own food
- Recycling- The process of taking a resource of one product
and making it into another product.
- Succession- A gradual change in an ecosystem
Video
Living
Things: Part 1
Living
Things: Part 2
Food Chains
http://pbskids.org/eekoworld/index_flash.html
Ecosystems
http://www.brainpop.com//science/populationsandecosystems/ecosystems/
Extinction
http://www.brainpop.com/science/populationsandecosystems/extinction/
Natural Selection
http://www.brainpop.com/science/populationsandecosystems/naturalselection/
Food Chains
http://www.brainpop.com/science/populationsresourcesandenvironment/foodchains/
Insects
http://www.brainpop.com//science/diversityoflife/insects/
Land Biomes
http://www.brainpop.com//science/theearthsystem/landbiomes/
Taiga
http://www.brainpop.com/science/theearthsystem/taiga/
Ground Water
http://www.brainpop.com/science/theearthsystem/groundwater/
Deserts
http://www.brainpop.com/science/theearthsystem/deserts/
Savanna
http://www.brainpop.com/science/theearthsystem/savanna/
Tundra
http://www.brainpop.com/science/theearthsystem/tundra/
Oceans
http://www.brainpop.com/science/theearthsystem/oceans/
Rivers
http://www.brainpop.com/science/theearthsystem/rivers/
Underwater World
http://www.brainpop.com/science/theearthsystem/underwaterworld/
Activities
Lab Form - Blank *note:
specific form right of activity
Plot Lines (1.01,
1.03, 1.05)Plot Lines (1.01, 1.03, 1.05) - Lab Form
Carrying Capacity (1.02, 1.03)Carrying Capacity (1.02, 1.03) - Lab Form
Carrying Capacity - Bears in a Forest (1.02, 1.03)Carrying Capacity - Bears in a Forest (1.02, 1.03) - Lab Form
Food Pyramid Mobile (1.02, 1.03, 1.05)Food Pyramid Mobile (1.02, 1.03, 1.05) - Lab Form
Predator/Prey Relations (1.05)Predator/Prey Relations (1.05) - Lab Form
Web of Life (1.05)Web of Life (1.05) - Lab Form
Keeping Score (1.06)Keeping Score (1.06) - Lab Form
Literature Connections
The Ecosystem of a Grassy Field by Elaine Pascoe
Tells how plants and animals of a field create and interrelated ecosystem.
1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04, 1.05
Your Backyard by Sally Hewitt
Looks at wildlife, soil, plants, birds and
insects in a backyard environment.
1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04, 1.05
Life Under a Stone
by Janet Halfmann
Examines the creatures that live in dark,
cool places.
1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04, 1.05
Compost Critters by
Bianca Lavies
Tells of different creatures that aid in the
process of turning compost to humus 1.02
Fur, Feathers and Flippers: How Animals
Live Where They Do by Patricia Lauber
Animals have developed many different abilities
to enable them to live in different habitats.
1.02, 1.03,
1.05
The Magic School Bus Hops Home: A
Book About Animal Habitats by Patricia Relf
Ms. Frizzle's class learns about different
living conditions animals require 1.02, 1.03, 1.05
The Magic School Bus Meets the Rot
Squad: A Book About Decomposition by Patricia
Relf
Ms. Frizzle's class learns about decomposition
in a vacant lot. 1.02, 1.04, 1.05, 1.06, 1.07.
Pass the Energy Please!
by Barbara McKinney
Rhyming text show food chains from seed to
predator. 1.02, 1.05
Creatures of Earth, Sea and Sky by
Georgia Herd
Short poems about birds, animals and wild
creatures. 1.02, 1.05
Stellaluna by Janell
Cannon
A baby bat is raised by a bird when she falls
into the nest. 1.02, 1.05
Down to Earth by Melissa
Stewart
Examines soil and patterns of change 1.04
Safe, Warm and Snug
by Stephen R. Swinburne
How different animals protect their unhatched
eggs and offspring from predators. 1.05
Food Chains in a Backyard Habitat
by Issac Nadeau
Children learn about the complex life and
habitats in their own backyard. 1.05
Will We Miss Them? Endangered Species
by Alexandra Wright
Children learn about the lives of endangered
species through the eyes of a child. 1.06
Technology Connections
Google
Earth: Geography Awareness QuizTo operate the Google Earth: Geography Awareness Quiz
You must have downloaded the Google Earth application
from http://earth.google.com first.
The quiz shows up after clicking this
link and then clicking on the TEXT links
within the left navigation under the heading Places.
BBC Interdependence and adaptation activity
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/interdependence.shtml
Ecosystems: four interactive activities
http://www.quia.com/custom/515main.html
Harcourt Science: Exploring ecosystems http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/exploring_ecosystems/index.html
How animals meet their needs
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/animalneeds/
Fun with Food Webs
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/food/food_menu.html
Biomes
http://www.geography4kids.com/files/land_weathering.html
Ecology
http://www.geography4kids.com/files/land_ecology.html
An Ecological System
http://www.geography4kids.com/files/land_ecosystem.html
Food Chains
http://www.geography4kids.com/files/land_foodchain.html
Food Chains. Select a habitat and see if you can complete the food chain.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=foodchains
Nature Explorers. Explore woodlands, ponds, rivers, etc.
http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/explorer/index.html
Factors in an Ecosystem – interactive game
http://www.quia.com/rr/259036.html
Ecosystem Dynamics
http://www.quia.com/ba/55513.html
Ecosystems and Biomes
http://www.quia.com/rr/192421.html
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