Creating an ecosystem is as simple as baking a cake. Well, maybe not, but using a recipe analogy helps learners realize that ecosystems consist of different components that come together in unique ways. Offer this worksheet as an...

What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in...

From tiny organisms to entire biomes, young scientists examine the interdependent relationships tying all living and non-living things together with this collection of ecology resources.

Test scholars' knowledge of ecosystems with a 20-question pre-assessment. Assessment challenges learners to answer multiple choice questions, read diagrams, and complete charts.

How is a movie theater like a desert biome? Compare systems to ecosystems with a set of activities that focuses on accessing multiple intelligences and building upon knowledge. As learners discuss the ways elements of an ecosystem depend...

Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine...

Discover how much your young scientists know about biotic and abiotic factors with a two-question formative assessment that requires them to observe, list, and describe. 

Twenty questions make up an assessment designed to test super scientists' knowledge of ecosystems. Scholars answer multiple-choice and short-answer questions about organisms, food chains, energy flow, and more.

Do you know the name for the biological study of interactions? A short presentation with accompanying worksheet introduces individuals to ecology. The materials offer a broad overview of the subject and the levels of organization to...

Is it really that big of a deal if the global climate undergoes a little change? Young environmentalists consider this very question as they discuss in small groups the impact of different climate change scenarios on their lives,...

It's time for a field trip! Scholars take their new-found knowledge of adaptations and seed dispersal on a field trip to a local botanical garden. They gain an up-close look at how ecological interdependence works in a distinct...

Scholars take part in a grand conversation about the basic needs of living things. Working collaboratively, pupils brainstorm and identify similarities to come to the conclusion that the environment meets the needs of all living...

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Explore ecosystems and ecology on an introductory level uncovering fact about types of ecosystems and the competitive exclusion principle.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Introduction to ecosystems and other ecological concepts.

After looking at examples of biotic and abiotic factors in ecosystems, students focus on abiotic factors in marine ecosystems, the physical processes that are involved, and the impact human activities can have on these. Includes handouts...

Gives basic information about the community that forms between living and non-living factors that function together in an ecosystem. [47 secs]

A video and a short multiple-choice quiz on the topic of ecosystems, covering biotic and abiotic factors, and the roles organisms play in an ecosystem.

See how living and nonliving things exist together in an ecosystem.

Students define and provide examples of abiotic and biotic factors of different ecosystems. Then they investigate the importance of abiotic factors and physical processes within ocean ecosystems.

Explore biotic and abiotic factors that can influence the growth of populations of organisms in this interactive tutorial.

Students define the characteristics of living and non-living things, identify living and non-living components of an ecosystem, and identify the roles of organisms in living systems.

See how organisms each have their own role in the ecosystem.