Curated OER
Biotic vs. Abiotic Factors
Learners share their prior knowledge of the elements of the environment. In groups, they are introduced to the concepts of biotic and abiotic factors in a specific environment. They discover their effects on organisms living in the...
National Park Service
Living & Non-Living Interactions
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 learning about the...
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...
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 the web of...
Kenan Fellows
Sustainability: Learning for a Lifetime – Soil
Do great gardeners really have green thumbs—or just really great soil? Environmental scholars discover what makes Earth's soil and soil quality so important through research and experimentation. Learners also develop an understanding of...
Curated OER
Forest Ecology or Who Lives Here?
Pupils explore a hardwood forest. In this forest ecology lesson, students examine the diversity and animals and plants as they explore their habitats at Poricy Park Conservatory. Pupils determine how biodiversity and abiotic elements...
Curated OER
Organisms and Their Environment
Students observe elements of a local ecosystem and gain an understanding of what elements make up an ecosystem. In this ecosystem lesson plan students create a class food web that shows the interactions among the elements of the...
Virginia Department of Education
Biomes of the World
Incorporate knowledge about biomes and ecosystems in multiple ways while encouraging creativity. Emerging ecologists collaborate and perform research to complete a graphic organizer about various biomes of the world. They conclude the...
Curated OER
Should Populations in an Ecosystem be Restricted?
Fourth graders experiment to determine how overpopulation effects ecosystems specifically plants. In this ecosystem lesson, 4th graders conduct an ecosystems experiment after listening to Claire Daniel's, Ecosystems. They watch a video,...
Curated OER
Savanna Hands-On Biome Building
Fifth graders participate in an interdisciplinary project related to the Savanna biome. In this biome building lesson, 5th graders display the elements of the Savanna biome such as the geography, animals and plants, and precipitation...
Curated OER
Build the Taiga: Hands on Biome-Building
Students explore environmental awareness by completing a construction project. In this biomes lesson, students identify the different elements for life to thrive in an ecosystem. Students utilize a cardboard or wood box to create a biome...
Curated OER
Ecosystems II
Students engage in a lesson that is about the concepts related to the careful balance of an ecosystem. They identify the beneficial and harmful relationships that can exist with diverse populations in an ecosystem. The lesson includes...
Curated OER
Observing the Nutritional Relationships in an Ecosystem
Make learning about food webs fun and fascinating for your fifth graders.