Where plants and animals live
Science - Third Grade
What are Ecosystems?
Multimedia Lesson
What are Ecosystems?
Presentation
Explore
Presentation
What are Ecosystems?
Presentation
Exploring Ecosystems
Virtual Lab
Living or Nonliving?
Interactive
Matching Parts of the Ecosystem
Interactive
Living Organisms Sorting
Interactive
Where plants and animals live
Study Guide
Where plants and animals live
Quiz
Where plants and animals live
Flash Cards
Where plants and animals live
Worksheet
Where plants and animals live
Game
Where plants and animals live
Vocabulary List
Habitat & Niche
Flip Chart
What are Ecosystems Vocabulary
Flip Chart
Study Guide Where plants and animals live
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WHERE PLANTS AND ANIMALS LIVE Environment An environment is everything that surrounds a living thing or person. Everything that lives on Earth lives in a certain environment. Living things get everything they need to survive from their environment. An environment includes living and nonliving things. Examples of nonliving things in an environment are air, water, soil, and the sun. All the parts of environment, both the living and nonliving parts, depend on each other for all living things to survive. Lesson Checkpoint: What is an environment? Climate How’s the weather? The climate of an environment is the weather in that specific place all year long. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Habitat Where do you live? A habitat is where living things make their homes and live. A habitat supports a plant or animal, and has everything they need to survive. A plant needs sunlight, air, water, and soil in its environment to survive. Populations and Communities Who lives around you? The same kind of living things in one area at the same time is called a population. An example of a population is a herd of elephants living together. All the populations that live together in the same area at the same time are called a community. An example of a community are birds, rabbits, squirrels, and trees living in same forest. Lesson Checkpoint: What is a habitat? © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Ecosystem Now think bigger about the world around you…An ecosystem is all the parts of an environment that work together, or interact with each other. An example of a living part depending on nonliving parts in an environment: a plant needing soil to grow in. In a rain forest ecosystem, the soil has nutrients for foliage that can survive in the rain forest, such as ferns and certain flowers. Ecosystems change over time. One part of an ecosystem can change an entire environment. An example of one part of environment changing another part of an environment is when fewer plants grow during winter which means less food for animals. Or when tall trees in a forest are cut down for lumber, which changes the amount of sunlight and shade that the shorter plants receive. There are many different ecosystems in the world. Climate is an important part of an ecosystem. So each type of climate has particular types of ecosystems. Lesson Checkpoint: What is an ecosystem? © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Grassland A Grassland is an ecosystem that has a lot of grass and flowering plants but not a lot of trees. Grasslands have warm and often hot summers, and cooler and even cold winters. Grasslands also have little rain which is why trees do not grow well in this ecosystem. Trees need damp or wet soil in order to grow and survive. Grasses in a grassland have deep roots which allow them to find water that is deep in the soil. As you can see, this climate supports the plants that live in this ecosystem. Desert Some like it hot, and cold? A desert is an ecosystem that gets very little to no rain each year. In a desert the days are very hot and the nights are often cool and even cold. Many plants and animals can survive without a lot of water in the desert. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Tundra The tundra is an ecosystem that is cold and on dry land. The soil of the tundra stays frozen all year long which means no trees are able to grow in this ecosystem. The winter days of the tundra are very short. Some areas of the tundra do not even receive sunlight during the winter. The days during summer last a long time. Some areas of the tundra receive sunshine 24 hours a day in the short summer. Trees Trees, trees, and more trees…Coniferous, deciduous, and tropical are different kinds of forest ecosystems. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Wetlands Some like it wet…The wetlands are low lands that are covered by water for some time during the year. Water flows very slowly through a wetland ecosystem. Water Some like it even wetter…Water ecosystems include lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, and oceans. Water ecosystems include freshwater, salt water, or both types of water. Lesson Checkpoint: Name three kinds of ecosystems. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Table Of Contents: What are Ecosystems?
1. Lesson Objectives
2.1. What are Ecosystems?
2. Engage
3.1. A Nature Walk
3.2. Living and Nonliving Things
3.3. Nature Sounds
3.4. Environment
Everything that you could see, hear, feel, touch and smell all around you was your environment.
3. Explore
4.1. A Small Pond
4.2. A Pond Through a Magnifying Glass
Many things live in the water, even very small organisms (called microorganisms) which you cannot see without a magnifying glass or a microscope.
4.3. What Microorganisms Do You See?
4. Explain
5.1. Environment
How is the place where a fish lives different from a place where a bird lives? Each kind of living organism needs a certain environment to survive. An organism's environment is everything around it. It is made up of all living and nonliving things in an area.
5.2. Living and Nonliving Things
The living things in an environment include plants, animals and microorganisms. Nonliving things include air, water, nutrients, soil and climate.
5.3. Living or Nonliving?
5.4. What is an Ecosystem?
Everything in nature is connected. An ecosystem is made of all living and nonliving things in an environment that interact with each other. An ecosystem may be as large as a pond or as small as the area under a log in the forest.
5.5. An Organism's Habitat and Niche
Every organism in an ecosystem has a niche and a habitat. A habitat is the place where an organism lives. It provides food, water and shelter for the organism to survive. A niche is the role that an organism has in an ecosystem.
5.6. Population and Community
Ecosystems contain populations and communities. A group of living organisms of the same kind living in the same place makes up a population. An ecosystem may include many different populations. All of the populations work together and form a community. The community of living things interacts with the non-living world around it to form an ecosystem.
5.7. Parts of an Ecosystem
An ecosystem includes soil, atmosphere, heat and light from the Sun, water and living organisms. Soil provides nutrients for the plants. The atmosphere provides oxygen and carbon dioxide for both plants and animals. The Sun provides heat for plants and animals, and light for plants to make food. Water is part of all living organisms; without water there would be no life.
5.8. How does an Ecosystem Work?
The living organisms in an ecosystem depend on other living organisms but also on nonliving things for survival. For example, in a pond ecosystem, the Sun light helps algae grow. Algae make oxygen for the fish and also provide food for tiny pond organisms. The fish eat the tiny pond organisms, use the oxygen, and give out carbon dioxide which plants need to grow.
5.9. Matching Parts of the Ecosystem
5.10. Kinds of Ecosystems
There are many kinds of ecosystems. Each ecosystem has its own unique group of living and nonliving things. Examples of different kinds of ecosystems include wetlands, coral reefs, prairies, and deserts. Many factors, such as climate, soil and type of water, determine the kinds of plants and animals that can live there.
5.11. Energy in an Ecosystem
The energy cycle within an ecosystem determines which populations survive and which die. All living things need energy. Ultimately, the Sun is the source of all energy in an ecosystem. Energy flows from the Sun, to producers, then to consumers and finally to decomposers.
5.12. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers
The living organisms in an ecosystem can be divided into three groups: producer, consumers and decomposers. Producers are living things that make their own food using light energy from the Sun. Consumers are animals that get their energy by eating other organisms. Decomposers are organisms that get their energy by breaking down dead plant and animal matter. Examples of decomposers include mushrooms, bacteria and earthworms.
5.13. Living Organisms Sorting
5.14. How Do Ecosystems Change?
Ecosystems are always changing. Some changes are so big that an ecosystem can die or change into another kind of ecosystem. For example, if a fire burns most of a forest, its plant life will have to start over again. New growth will start with grass, wildflowers and small shrubs. Soon young trees, or saplings, will sprout, but it will be many years before there will be tall, strong trees standing in that place again.
5.15. An Ecosystem After a Fire
Another change that may happen because of a forest fire is that certain populations of animals will leave the area to find food and shelter elsewhere. Other populations that depend on those animals for food will also leave or die out. For example, when trees burn, squirrels and birds leave, and foxes and coyotes follow. When the plants start growing back, animals that eat them will start to return to the forest. Over time, if left alone, the forest ecosystem will come back. Life goes on, only now it's in a new kind of environment!
5.16. What are Ecosystems?
5. Elaborate
6.1. Exploring Ecosystems
6. Evaluate
7.1. What are Ecosystems?
7. Lesson Summary
8.1. What are Ecosystems?
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