Montana Natural History Center
Studying Grassland Ecosystems
At first glance, grassland ecosystems might seem dull and uninteresting, but once you start to explore it's amazing the things you'll find! Through this series of engaging lessons, activities, and experiments, elementary students examine...
National Wildlife Federation
Who Is Faster?
Am I going to catch it? Individuals time how long it takes them to walk, jog, and run a given distance and calculate their speed. They then research two animals and find their speeds. Using a chart, pupils compare the speeds of the...
Kentucky School for the Deaf
Levels of Organization within an Ecosystem
From tiny organisms to entire biomes, young scientists examine the interdependent relationships tying all living and non-living things together with this collection of ecology resources.
It's About Time
Who Eats Whom?
Packed with visual aids and multiple learning opportunities, an engaging exercise challenges individuals as they explore the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers. After discussing differences between food chains, food...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Utah Open Textbook: Biology
Curriculum resources can be expensive—but not this one. An online textbook offers informational text for a complete high school Biology course. Topics include energy flow, body system, genetics, and evolution.
Purdue University
Mammals and Ecosystems
Mammals have unique interactions with their ecosystems. Using a multi-part lesson, learners research local mammals using recommended websites and use their findings to create their own paper ecosystems including appropriate mammals. They...
Curated OER
Dull Duck, Dashing Duck
Students examine the different colors and patterns found on animals bodies, specifically birds. Through discussion, students discover the use of the colors and patterns for protection from predators and the advantages while hunting prey,...
Curated OER
Populations and Ecosystems
Sixth graders define terms prey, predator, and scavenger, describe predator-prey relationship, discuss effects of a lack of predators in an environment, and separate the role of the scavenger from that of the predator.
Curated OER
Bearly Any Ice
Students participate in a prey-predator game. After reading background information, they discover the impact from the changes global warming presents to the polar bears and ringed seals. They role play the role of either the seal or...
Curated OER
The Food Chain
In this food chain worksheet, students see 4 blank boxes over 2 blank lines. Each box is labeled with a new vocabulary word pertaining to the food chain. Students write a definition of each word and draw an example.
Curated OER
Compettion at its Best
Sixth graders role play predators, prey and other parts of the aquatic ecosystem. They show inter and intra-specific competition as well as the link between abiotic and biotic components in an ecosystem. Students play games about the...
Curated OER
Species Interactions
Students research desert species to find where it lives, what it eats, and what species it interacts with directly. Upon completion of research, students construct a web of all the species as a class. This emphasizes the role each...
Curated OER
Ocean Life Zones Notes
In this ocean zones worksheet, learners label the ocean diagram with the different zones. Then students write in animals that live in each of the zones and research basic information about those animals. This worksheet has 6 fill in the...
Curated OER
What's For Dinner?
Students explore the food chain. They brainstorm and create a consumer-consumed food chains using magazine pictures and research materials. Students identify consumer-consumed relationships.
Curated OER
Ocean Life Zones
In this ocean worksheet, students answer questions about ocean life, the plants and animals of the ocean and their classification, the major life zones of the ocean and questions about an animal of their choice that lives in the ocean.
Curated OER
Ocean Life Zones
For this ocean zones worksheet, students determine the factors that influence life in the different zones. Students list and explain the major ocean life zones. This worksheet has 6 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Predator/Prey Activity: Fish Feeding, Environments, and General Behavior
Students explore concepts of environment and survival among different marine life, focusing on the ocean environment.
Virginia Department of Education
Changes in Ecosystems
How does water pollution affect the environment? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question as they learn about eutrophication and ecosystem changes. Over two weeks, they simulate the effects of pollution on the...
Curated OER
T-Rex
Students examine the differences between a scavenger and a predator. In this predator lesson students research an animal and study its physical traits.
Curated OER
Saved by a Shark
Young scholars explore the marine ecosystem and the importance of sharks. In this shark lesson, students look at photos of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and discuss the animals that live there. They discuss which...
Curated OER
Using Color as Defense
Students explore mimicry and crypsis, participate in hands-on predator-prey activity, and practice calculating averages and graph results in histogram.
Curated OER
Sharks At Risk Viewing Guide
Students complete a worksheet while viewing a film about sharks. They examine the reasons for overfishing of the oceans. They identify predator-prey relationships as well.
Curated OER
GPS Ecosystem (Ecotone) Scavenger Hunt
High schoolers describe the characteristics of an ecotone. In this ecotone lesson, students pick out their area and describe the visual appearance, conditions, ecosystem, biodiversity, predators, prey, and trees in their ecotone. They...
Curated OER
Sound for Sight
Students study echolocation and understand how dolphins use it to locate prey, escape predators, and navigate their environment. They view a video, "In the Wild-Dolphins with Robin Williams" and see first hand how dolphins communicate. ...