Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Ecology Lab
Build your own ecosystem, and explore the effects of these interrelationships.
Science Struck
Science Struck: Symbiotic Relationships in the Tundra
Explains what mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism look like in a tundra biome.
Science Struck
Science Struck: Symbiotic Relationships in the Rainforest
Explains what mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism are.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Life Science: Competition
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Ecology is the study of how living organisms interact with each other and with their environment. Organisms interact with each other through various mechanisms, one...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Life Science: Predation
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Predation is another mechanism in which species interact with each other. Predation is when a predator organism feeds on another living organism or organisms, known...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Life Science: Symbiosis
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Symbiosis describes a close and long-term relationship between different species. At least one species will benefit in a symbiotic relationship. There are three...
Biology 4 kids
Biology4 Kids: Relationships Between Organisms
Species interact every day. That interaction is a vital part of how organisms develop and change over time. When you study species, it is important to watch the way they interact with their surroundings. There are four basic types of...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Prokaryote Interactions & Ecology
Learn about cooperation and "multicellularity" in prokaryotes including mutualisms, commensalisms, parasitisms. Also find out the role of prokaryotes in the carbon and nitrogen cycles.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Life Science: 12.2 Ecological Organization
See how ecosystems are organized into several different levels, and an ecosystem can be studied at any one of the various levels of organization.
CommonLit
Common Lit: "Can't We All Just Get Along?" by Bird Brain Science
Earth is full of a variety of living things that interact with one another in many different ways. This informational text explains the various different types of relationships they can have with one another. It also offers guided...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Implementing Biomimicry and Sustainable Design
This unit provides students with an opportunity to study ecological relationships with an emphasis on the Sonoran Desert. Students appreciate the complexity and balance that supports the exchange of energy and matter within food webs....
NOAA
Noaa: Estuaries 101 Curriculum: Hooray for Horseshoe Crabs
Learn about the anatomy and ecological relationships of the horseshoe crab.
PBS
Nova: Stories in Amber
Like a time machine, amber fossils take us back in the earth's history to discover the plants, animals and ecological relationships of prehistoric ecosystems. This resource has several interesting pictures of a variety of Dominican...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Coral Reef Connections
Dive in and explore what makes this beautiful world so fragile. In this Web feature, from the PBS series "Evolution," discover how coevolution has shaped the ecological relationships among reef creatures.
Other
S Cool: Engery Flow and Nutrient Cycle
This website describes trophic levels, transfer of energy between trophic levels, pyramids of ecology, and nutrient cycles within the environment.
Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy: The Importance of Biological Interactions
Organisms have a variety of relationships. In this lesson, students learn to categorize relationships according to their impact on organisms and the terminology for these biological interactions.
Concord Consortium
Concord Consortium: Stem Resources: Experiment With Ecosystems
Learn what happens to different populations of organisms as their ecosystem changes. Design your own experiment and make your own guesses with what the result will be with this virtual ecosystem. Also experiment with producer/consumer...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Mn Step: The Flow of Energy: Balancing Ecosystems
A lesson outlining activities for a science unit where students can learn about the relationships and the flow of energy within an ecosystem. These include predator and prey, hosts and parasites, and consumers, producers, and decomposers.
University of Michigan
University of Michigan: Climate Change and Michigan Forests
A comprehensive 10-lesson plan unit on how climate change affects the forests of Michigan. Covers many of the NGSS life science standards for middle school. Includes teacher's guide, PowerPoints, video links, student handouts, standards...
Curated OER
Bureau of Land Management: Just for Kids: Soil Biological Communities
This engaging site about soil is easy to understand and filled with quick facts. Cartoon graphics and menu tabs highlight topics which include the importance of soil, fast facts, soil critters, food webs, and others.
Other
The Sea Slug Forum: Symbiosis and Commensalism
Question and answer site that contains a discussion of commensalism as it pertains to sea slugs. Nice photographs of aquatic commensalistic relationships.
University of Nebraska
University of Nebraska State Museum: Alaska Kelp Community
Discover the ecological relationships of six different organisms living in the Alaskan kelp community. The site also contains an interactive map showing the time line for the spread of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)
Smile: The Effects of Pesticides on the Food Chain
Lesson plan to construct and explain a food chain. Includes games and activities to teach and reinforce concepts.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Let's Go Luna: Around the World
Travel around the world with this collection of activities from Let's Go Luna! From making postcards and present tags to dressing up your favorite characters in winter outfits, your child will be introduced to social-emotional and social...