Curated OER
Plants and Ecosystems
The relationships within and between ecosystems can be explored. after examining an area for living and non-living things students complete the same examination in the forest ecosystem. Students identify abiotic and biotic elements in an...
Curated OER
Forest Ecosystem
Students become familiar with the temperate rainforest. In this forest ecosystem lesson, students identify the producers, consumers and decomposers in the forest ecosystem. Students sort cards and identify the trophic level...
Curated OER
The Delicate Balance within a Forest Ecosystem
Students examine the causes and effects of alterations in a forest ecosystem and evaluate how human actions may only seem to have minor consequences, but can lead to extinctions of large numbers of populations. Students produce an...
Curated OER
Forest Habitat Fragmentation
Seventh graders discuss the loss of animal habitats and the importance of refuge areas for them. They collect small pictures of animals found in their state and glue them to an outline of their state according to their range. Finally,...
Curated OER
If the Forests Could TAlk
Third graders research insects using the internet sites provided. They research the role of insects as pollinators for plants, and the impact they have on our ecosystem. They participate in various activities/centers utilizing the facts...
Curated OER
Plants and Animals
Seventh graders discover the interconnectedness of plants and animals in ecosystems. In groups, they create a food web and discuss the problems when one link of the chain is broken. To end the lesson, they set up a balanced environment...
Forest Foundation
Forests, Carbon & Our Climate
To conclude their examination of forest ecosystems, class members consider the role forests play in the carbon cycle and how forests can offset climate change.
Aquarium of the Pacific
Ecosystem Comparison
Fifth graders examine plants and animals in two ecosystems and compare them. In this ecosystem survival lesson, 5th graders compare and contrast a coral reef and kelp forest ecosystem. Students investigate the abiotic and biotic...
Curated OER
Forest Dwellings: Toad House
What a great project to use as part of an exploration of animals or habitats. Learners design a clay model of a home for a forest animal. This could be a great way to cement what your class has learned about habitats.
National Wildlife Federation
Habitat Web
Young scientists weave together an understanding of ecosystems with this fun collaborative activity. Taking on the roles of different living and non-living elements of specific habitats, learners use a ball of yarn to create...
Curated OER
Ecosystems and Remote Sensing
Young scholars obtain remote sensing data to compare and contrast global biomass data with global temperature data.
Curated OER
Rain Forests: A Disappearing Act?
Students examine and locate rainforests on maps, and research the patterns of their destruction. They develop a bar graph of rainfall and temperature data, write a journal entry, and research the people, animals, and plants/products of...
Curated OER
Exploring Ecosystems
Students examine the relationships between plants, animals, and the environment in ecosystems. They sort animal cards, collect natural materials from the schoolyard, and record an ecosystem web in the form of a poster.
Manchester University
Where The Forest Meets The Sea
Join a father and his son as they explore an isolated location off the coast of Australia in the children's book Where the Forest Meets the Sea by Jeannie Baker. Engage young learners in reading this fun story with this series of...
KOG Ranger Program
A Place to Call Home
Lots of animals live in the forest, and some are easier to spot than others! Locate 12 animals and their preferred habitats within the forest with an engaging worksheet. After learners fill in the correct animal for each area, they...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Make a Difference!
We are very dependent upon other life forms around us to survive. Here, scholars explore relationships in the ecosystem with the help of Auntie Litter and the pollution patrol. They imagine a world without grass, making connections to...
Curated OER
Temperate Forest : Pacific Spirit Field Trip
Students examine nurse logs with hand lenses and identify animals. In this ecosystem lesson, students gain understanding of the rainforest by studying nurse logs. Students become familiar with vocabulary through their study...
Curated OER
Exploring Forest Objects
Students explore the forest. In this ecosystems lesson, students rotate through sensory activity centers, brainstorm, and read about temperate forests.
Curated OER
Forest Food Web
Students explore the elements of a forest ecosystem. They examine the elements needed to form a forest food web. Students construct and describe food webs that include nonliving elements of the ecosystem.
American Museum of Natural History
Dive Into Worlds Within the Sea
Make connections between ocean organisms. Individuals explore three different ecosystems in the ocean. With an online interactive, they learn how different organisms depend upon each other. Learners first answer questions to connect...
Curated OER
FOREST GRUMP: Examining How Deforestation Affects Plants and Animals of the Canadian Boreal
Students consider definition of an ecosystem as it relates to the Canadian boreal, discover how deforestation affects this forest and recreate ecosystems. They write persuasive letters urging politicians or business people to help save...
Curated OER
Layers of the Forest
Learners explore rain forests. In this rain forest ecosystems lesson, students identify and describe the layers of the rain forest. Learners paint and decorate a large rain forest mural. Students write riddles about animals that...
Curated OER
Forest Food Chains and Webs
Students explore forest ecological systems. In this ecology lesson, students classify forest plants and animals according to their ecological roles. Students play a related vocabulary guessing game. Students choose a card on which...
Curated OER
Using Venn Diagrams to Compare Two Ecosystems
Learners explore the distribution of two ecosystems on a global scale; and map the distribution of tropical and temperate rain forests throughout the world. They use a Venn Diagram to describe these ecosystems and the differences between...