National Park Service
The Secret of Life
Dead trees provide nutrients for the soil, food for animals, protection and a home for organisms, a seed-bed for new trees, and a place for nitrogen-fixing bacteria to live. In the activity, pupils collect decaying logs, expose them to a...
College Board
2017 AP® Biology Free-Response Questions
With AP Biology remaining the most popular AP science exam, many teachers need help preparing. The College Board offers the actual free-response questions from the 2017 test covering pollination, germination, and more. Scholars learn the...
Curated OER
Aquatic Ecosystems
Students study ponds and wetland ecosystems and examine the food chains and webs in them. In this aquatic ecosystems lesson plan students answer questions about the diversity of the flora and fauna in a pond.
Curated OER
Food webs and Energy Flows
Students become familiar with food chains. In this food chains activity, students understand that as consumers eat other consumers energy is passed. Students understand the vocabulary associated with food chains.
Curated OER
Heat 1
In this heat worksheet, students determine the heat gained or lost when matter changes phases. Students review the energy flow through ecosystems by comparing trophic levels and food webs. This worksheet has 10 fill in the blank, 5 short...
Curated OER
The Great Food Hunt
Students locate 'animals' in various environments and draw conclusions about the survival value of structures the animals possess. They create model macaroni animals and hide them and other teams of students find them and evaluate the...
Curated OER
Ecosystem Interactions in Refuges
Seventh graders, using national parks as models, illustrate the energy flow in ecosystems. Working in groups, they use murals, flow charts, or other visual displays to record their findings. Students represent the food chains and webs...
Curated OER
The Barn Owl Pellet
Seventh graders examine the factors that affect the number and types of organisms that an ecosystem can support. In this ecosystem lesson students study the barn owl and where it is on the food chain, then dissect an owl pellet.
Curated OER
The Circle of Life
Fourth graders examine how the different organisms living in an ecosystem affect one another. In groups, they research a specific ecosystem and present their findings to the class based on the type of organisms found in it. To end the...
Curated OER
Biological Relationships - Coral Reef Memory Game and Chain Game
Students familiarize themselves with the interconnectedness of species within an ecosystem, and to use this knowledge to evaluate how the removal or decimation of one species can have far reaching effects.
Curated OER
Learning About the Food Chain
Learning about the food chain opens a Pandora's Box of opportunities to learn about endangered animals and the environment.
Curated OER
Marshland Ecosystem
Students classify animals based on their physical characteristics and eating habits. In this animal identification lesson plan, students investigate the life forms shown on a Parisian ceramic basin, and discover ecosystem the artist was...
Curated OER
Ecology and the Ecosystem
In this science worksheet, students locate 20 terms about the ecosystem in a word search. Answers are available in various formats.
Alliance Theater
The Jungle Book Post-Show STEAM Lesson
An ecosystem is really just the flow of energy through many different living organisms. A study of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book leads to an environmental science activity in which learners study how various factors can affect...
Science Matters
Energy Flow
Budding scientists work collaboratively to reenact energy flow in a food chain. Scholars take on roles such as producer and consumer and perform tasks that symbolize energy flow in order to provide evidence of how much energy passes...
Curated OER
World of the Pond
Field trip! The class will review what they know about organisms that dwell in freshwater ponds, then trek down to the old water hole to collect specimens for examination. This includes several web links, useful tips, and an excellent...
Curated OER
Biology Matching Worksheet
In this food chain worksheet, learners find the correct definition to match the vocabulary word. The answers are found by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
How Does Your Ecosystem Grow?
Students consider that under certain conditions in nature tend to remain the same or move toward a balance. They observe populations and determine the functions (e.g., de-composers, producers, consumers) they serve in an ecosystem. They...
Curated OER
Design a Plankton
Students explore animal and plant adaptation. In this ecosystems science lesson, students view websites to gain information about plankton and its interdependence within ecosystems. Students identify ways in which plankton has adapted...
Curated OER
Something Fishy - Bioaccumulation of Mercury
Young scholars explore the dangers of eating high levels of mercury and how small amounts of mercury in water accumulate in greater quantities in organisms higher in the food chain. They list the health of effects of high levels of...
Curated OER
Our World A Complex Eco-system
Sixth graders set up an ecosystem, investigate conservation techniques, develop an action plan for conservation, and various other activities to explore the ecosystem.
Curated OER
The Biosphere
In this biosphere worksheet, students identify the different levels of organization that ecologists study. Students complete charts, sentences, and answer short answer questions.
Virginia Department of Education
Go with the Flow
How does nature's hierarchy relate to our local human environment? Answer this question, along with others, as the class visually depicts the natural hierarchy provided by nature. Pupils discuss each piece of the pyramid and its energy...
National Wildlife Federation
Gator Hole Graphics
Climate changes are cyclic so how do these changes impact species that live in different habitats? Learners examine the rainfall levels in a specific swamp habitat. They also review graphical data and tell a story about how the levels...