North Carolina Science Essential Standards
4.L.1 Resource Pack: Ecosystems ; Survival
Essential Standard:
4.L.1 Understand the effects of environmental changes, adaptations and behaviors that enable animals
(including humans) to survive in changing habitats.
4.L.1.1 Give examples of changes in an organism’s environment that are beneficial to it and some that are
harmful.
4.L.1.2 Explain how animals meet their needs by using behaviors in response to information received from the
environment.
4.L.1.3 Explain how humans can adapt their behavior to live in changing habitats (e.g., recycling wastes,
establishing rain garden, planting trees and shrubs to prevent flooding and erosion).
4.L.1.4 Explain how differences among animals of the same population sometimes give individuals an
advantage in surviving and reproducing in changing habitats.
Vertical Strand Maps:
http://scnces.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Strand+Maps
Online Atlas map http://strandmaps.dls.ucar.edu/?id=SMS-MAP-2122
http://strandmaps.dls.ucar.edu/?id=SMS-MAP-9001
North Carolina Unpacking:
http://scnces.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Race+to+the+Top+Support+Tools
Teacher Content & Concept Knowledge
Framework for K-12 Science Education
Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
How and why do organisms interact with their environment and what are the effects of these interactions?
Ecosystems are complex, interactive systems that include both biological communities (biotic) and physical (abiotic)
components of the environment. As with individual organisms, a hierarchal structure exists; groups of the same organisms
(species) form populations, different populations interact to form communities, communities live within an ecosystem, and all
of the ecosystems on Earth make up the biosphere. Organisms grow, reproduce, and perpetuate their species by obtaining
necessary resources through interdependent relationships with other organisms and the physical environment. These same
interactions can facilitate or restrain growth and enhance or limit the size of populations, maintaining the balance between
available resources and those who consume them. These interactions can also change both biotic and abiotic characteristics of
the environment. Like individual organisms, ecosystems are sustained by the continuous flow of energy, originating primarily
from the sun, and the recycling of matter and nutrients within the system. Ecosystems are dynamic, experiencing shifts in
population composition and abundance and changes in the physical environment over time, which ultimately affects the stability
and resilience of the entire system.
LS2.A: INTERDEPENDENT RELATIONSHIPS IN ECOSYSTEMS
How do organisms interact with the living and nonliving environments to obtain matter and energy?
Ecosystems are ever changing because of the interdependence of organisms of the same or different species and the nonliving
(physical) elements of the environment. Seeking matter and energy resources to sustain life, organisms in an ecosystem interact
with one another in complex feeding hierarchies of producers, consumers, and decomposers, which together represent a food
web. Interactions between organisms may be predatory, competitive, or mutually beneficial. Ecosystems have carrying
capacities that limit the number of organisms (within populations) they can support.
Individual survival and population sizes depend on such factors as predation, disease, availability of resources, and parameters
of the physical environment. Organisms rely on physical factors, such as light, temperature, water, soil, and space for shelter
and reproduction. Earth’s varied combinations of these factors provide the physical environments in which its ecosystems
(e.g., deserts, grasslands, rain forests, and coral reefs) develop and in which the diverse species of the planet live. Within any
one ecosystem, the biotic interactions between organisms (e.g., competition, predation, and various types of facilitation, such as
pollination) further influence their growth, survival, and reproduction, both individually and in terms of their populations.
Grade Band Endpoints for LS2.A
By the end of grade 2. Animals depend on their surroundings to get what they need, including food, water, shelter, and a
favorable temperature. Animals depend on plants or other animals for food. They use their senses to find food and water, and
they use their body parts to gather, catch, eat, and chew the food. Plants depend on air, water, minerals (in the soil), and light to
grow. Animals can move around, but plants cannot, and they often depend on animals for pollination or to move their seeds
around. Different plants survive better in different settings because they have varied needs for water, minerals, and sunlight.
By the end of grade 5. The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs
in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Either way, they are “consumers.”
Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plants parts and animals) and therefore
operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil for plants to use.
Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which
multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Newly introduced species
can damage the balance of an ecosystem.
By the end of grade 8. Organisms and populations of organisms are dependent on their environmental interactions both with
other living things and with nonliving factors. Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources.
In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may
compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction.
Similarly, predatory interactions may reduce the number of organisms or eliminate whole populations of organisms. Mutually
beneficial interactions, in contrast, may become so interdependent that each organism requires the other for survival. Although
the species involved in these competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems, the patterns of
interactions of organisms with their environments, both living and nonliving, are shared.
By the end of grade 12. Ecosystems have carrying capacities, which are limits to the numbers of organisms and populations
they can support. These limits result from such factors as the availability of living and nonliving resources and from such
challenges as predation, competition, and disease. Organisms would have the capacity to produce populations of great size were
it not for the fact that environments and resources are finite. This fundamental tension affects the abundance (number of
individuals) of species in any given ecosystem.
LS2.B: CYCLES OF MATTER AND ENERGY TRANSFER IN ECOSYSTEMS
How do matter and energy move through an ecosystem?
The cycling of matter and the flow of energy within ecosystems occur through interactions among different organisms and
between organisms and the physical environment. All living systems need matter and energy. Matter fuels the energy releasing
chemical reactions that provide energy for life functions and provides the material for growth and repair of tissue. Energy from
light is needed for plants because the chemical reaction that produces plant matter from air and water requires an energy input to
occur. Animals acquire matter from food, that is, from plants or other animals. The chemical elements that make up the
molecules of organisms pass through food webs and the environment and are combined and recombined in different ways. At
each level in a food web, some matter provides energy for life functions, some is stored in newly made structures, and much is
discarded to the surrounding environment. Only a small fraction of the matter consumed at one level is captured by the next
level up. As matter cycles and energy flows through living systems and between living systems and the physical environment,
matter and energy are conserved in each change. The carbon cycle provides an example of matter cycling and energy flow in
ecosystems. Photosynthesis, digestion of plant matter, respiration, and decomposition are important components of the carbon
cycle, in which carbon is exchanged between the biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere through chemical, physical,
geological, and biological processes.
Grade Band Endpoints for LS2.B
By the end of grade 2. Organisms obtain the materials they need to grow and survive from the environment. Many of these
materials come from organisms and are used again by other organisms.
By the end of grade 5. Matter cycles between the air and soil and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live
and die. Organisms obtain gases, water, and minerals from the environment and release waste matter (gas, liquid, or
solid) back into the environment.
By the end of grade 8. Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy is transferred between producers
(generally plants and other organisms that engage in photosynthesis), consumers, and decomposers as the three groups
interact—primarily for food—within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every
level—for example, when molecules from food react with oxygen captured from the environment, the carbon dioxide and water
thus produced are transferred back to the environment, and ultimately so are waste products, such as fecal material.
Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in
aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and
nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
By the end of grade 12. Photosynthesis and cellular respiration (including anaerobic processes) provide most of the energy for
life processes. Plants or algae form the lowest level of the food web. At each link upward in a food web, only a small fraction of
the matter consumed at the lower level is transferred upward, to produce growth and release energy in cellular respiration at the
higher level. Given this inefficiency, there are generally fewer organisms at higher levels of a food web, and there is a limit to
the number of organisms that an ecosystem can sustain.
The chemical elements that make up the molecules of organisms pass through food webs and into and out of the atmosphere and
soil and are combined and recombined in different ways. At each link in an ecosystem, matter and energy are conserved; some
matter reacts to release energy for life functions, some matter is stored in newly made structures, and much is discarded.
Competition among species is ultimately competition for the matter and energy needed for life.
Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are important components of the carbon cycle, in which carbon is exchanged between
the biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere through chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes.
LS2.C: ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS, FUNCTIONING, AND RESILIENCE
What happens to ecosystems when the environment changes?
Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics fluctuate over time, depending on changes in the environment and in the
populations of various species. Disruptions in the physical and biological components of an ecosystem— which can lead to
shifts in the types and numbers of the ecosystem’s organisms, to the maintenance or the extinction of species, to the migration
of species into or out of the region, or to the formation of new species (speciation)—occur for a variety of natural reasons.
Changes may derive from the fall of canopy trees in a forest, for example, or from cataclysmic events, such as volcanic
eruptions. But many changes are induced by human activity, such as resource extraction, adverse land use patterns, pollution,
introduction of nonnative species, and global climate change. Extinction of species or evolution of new species may occur in
response to significant ecosystem disruptions. Species in an environment develop behavioral and physiological patterns that
facilitate their survival under the prevailing conditions, but these patterns may be maladapted when conditions change or new
species are introduced. Ecosystems with a wide variety of species—that is, greater biodiversity—tend to be more resilient
to change than those with few species.
Grade Band Endpoints for LS2.C
By the end of grade 2. The places where plants and animals live often change, sometimes slowly and sometimes rapidly. When
animals and plants get too hot or too cold, they may die. If they cannot find enough food, water, or air, they may die.
By the end of grade 5. When the environment changes in ways that affect a place’s physical characteristics, temperature, or
availability of resources, some organisms survive and reproduce, others move to new locations, yet others move into the
transformed environment, and some die.
By the end of grade 8. Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical
or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all of its populations.
Biodiversity describes the variety of species found in Earth’s terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems. The completeness or integrity
of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health.
By the end of grade 12. A complex set of interactions within an ecosystem can keep its numbers and types of organisms
relatively constant over long periods of time under stable conditions. If a modest biological or physical disturbance to an
ecosystem occurs, it may return to its more or less original status (i.e., the ecosystem is resilient), as opposed to becoming a
very different ecosystem. Extreme fluctuations in conditions or the size of any population, however, can challenge the
functioning of ecosystems in terms of resources and habitat availability. Moreover, anthropogenic changes (induced by human
activity) in the environment—including habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of invasive species, overexploitation, and
climate change—can disrupt an ecosystem and threaten the survival of some species.
LS2.D: SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND GROUP BEHAVIOR
How do organisms interact in groups so as to benefit individuals?
Group behaviors are found in organisms ranging from unicellular slime molds to ants to primates, including humans. Many
species, with a strong drive for social affiliation, live in groups formed on the basis of genetic relatedness, physical proximity,
or other recognition mechanisms (which may be species specific). Group behavior evolved because group membership can
increase the chances of survival for individuals and their relatives. While some groups are stable over long periods of time,
others are fluid, with members moving in and out. Groups often dissolve if their size or operation becomes counterproductive, if
dominant members lose their place, or if other key members are removed from the group. Group interdependence is so strong
that animals that usually live in groups suffer, behaviorally as well as physiologically, when reared in isolation, even if all of
their physical needs are met.
Grade Band Endpoints for LS2.D
By the end of grade 2. Being part of a group helps animals obtain food, defend themselves, and cope with changes. Groups may
serve different functions and vary dramatically in size.
By the end of grade 5. Groups can be collections of equal individuals, hierarchies with dominant members, small families,
groups of single or mixed gender, or groups composed of individuals similar in age. Some groups are stable over long periods
of time; others are fluid, with members moving in and out. Some groups assign specialized tasks to each member; in others, all
members perform the same or a similar range of functions.
By the end of grade 8. Groups may form because of genetic relatedness, physical proximity, or other recognition mechanisms
(which may be species specific). They engage in a variety of signaling behaviors to maintain the group’s integrity
or to warn of threats. Groups often dissolve if they no longer function to meet individuals’ needs, if dominant members lose
their place, or if other key members are removed from the group through death, predation, or exclusion by other members.
By the end of grade 12. Animals, including humans, having a strong drive for social affiliation with members of their own
species and will suffer, behaviorally as well as physiologically, if reared in isolation, even if all of their physical needs are met.
Some forms of affiliation arise from the bonds between offspring and parents. Other groups form among peers. Group behavior
has evolved because membership can increase the chances of survival for individuals and their genetic relatives.
Sometimes the differences in characteristics between individuals of the same species provide advantages in surviving, finding
mates, and reproducing.
LS4.C: ADAPTATION
How does the environment influence populations of organisms over multiple generations?
When an environment changes, there can be subsequent shifts in its supply of resources or in the physical and biological
challenges it imposes. Some individuals in a population may have morphological, physiological, or behavioral traits that
provide a reproductive advantage in the face of the shifts in the environment.
Natural selection provides a mechanism for species to adapt to changes in their environment. The resulting selective pressures
influence the survival and reproduction of organisms over many generations and can change the distribution of traits in the
population. This process is called adaptation. Adaptation can lead to organisms that are better suited for their environment
because individuals with the traits adaptive to the environmental change pass those traits on to their offspring, whereas
individuals with traits that are less adaptive produce fewer or no offspring. Over time, adaptation can lead to the formation of
new species. In some cases, however, traits that are adaptive to the changed environment do not exist in the population and the
species becomes extinct. Adaptive changes due to natural selection, as well as the net result of speciation minus extinction, have
strongly contributed to the planet’s biodiversity.
Adaption by natural selection is ongoing. For example it is seen in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Organisms like
bacteria, in which multiple generations occur over shorter time spans, evolve more rapidly than those for which each generation
takes multiple years.
Grade Band Endpoints for LS4.C
By the end of grade 2. Living things can survive only where their needs are met. If some places are too hot or too cold or have
too little water or food, plants and animals may not be able to live there.
By the end of grade 5. Changes in an organism’s habitat are sometimes beneficial to it and sometimes harmful. For any
particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
By the end of grade 8. Adaptation by natural selection acting over generations is one important process by which species
change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions. Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in
the new environment become more common; those that do not become less common. Thus, the distribution of traits in a
population changes. In separated populations with different conditions, the changes can be large enough that the populations,
provided they remain separated (a process called reproductive isolation), evolve to become separate species.
Science for All Americans:
INTERDEPENDENCE OF LIFE
Every species is linked, directly or indirectly, with a multitude of others in an ecosystem. Plants provide food,
shelter, and nesting sites for other organisms. For their part, many plants depend upon animals for help in
reproduction (bees pollinate flowers, for instance) and for certain nutrients (such as minerals in animal waste
products). All animals are part of food webs that include plants and animals of other species (and sometimes the
same species). The predator/prey relationship is common, with its offensive tools for predators—teeth, beaks,
claws, venom, etc.—and its defensive tools for prey—camouflage to hide, speed to escape, shields or spines to
ward off, irritating substances to repel. Some species come to depend very closely on others (for instance,
pandas or koalas can eat only certain species of trees). Some species have become so adapted to each other that
neither could survive without the other (for example, the wasps that nest only in figs and are the only insect that
can pollinate them).
There are also other relationships between organisms. Parasites get nourishment from their host organisms,
sometimes with bad consequences for the hosts. Scavengers and decomposers feed only on dead animals and
plants. And some organisms have mutually beneficial relationships—for example, the bees that sip nectar from
flowers and incidentally carry pollen from one flower to the next, or the bacteria that live in our intestines and
incidentally synthesize some vitamins and protect the intestinal lining from germs.
But the interaction of living organisms does not take place on a passive environmental stage. Ecosystems are
shaped by the nonliving environment of land and water—solar radiation, rainfall, mineral concentrations,
temperature, and topography. The world contains a wide diversity of physical conditions, which creates a wide
variety of environments: freshwater and oceanic, forest, desert, grassland, tundra, mountain, and many others.
In all these environments, organisms use vital earth resources, each seeking its share in specific ways that are
limited by other organisms. In every part of the habitable environment, different organisms vie for food, space,
light, heat, water, air, and shelter. The linked and fluctuating interactions of life forms and environment
compose a total ecosystem; understanding any one part of it well requires knowledge of how that part interacts
with the others.
The interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem often results in approximate stability over hundreds or
thousands of years. As one species proliferates, it is held in check by one or more environmental factors:
depletion of food or nesting sites, increased loss to predators, or invasion by parasites. If a natural disaster such
as flood or fire occurs, the damaged ecosystem is likely to recover in a succession of stages that eventually
results in a system similar to the original one.
Like many complex systems, ecosystems tend to show cyclic fluctuations around a state of approximate
equilibrium. In the long run, however, ecosystems inevitably change when climate changes or when very
different new species appear as a result of migration or evolution (or are introduced deliberately or inadvertently
by humans).
EVOLUTION OF LIFE
The earth's present-day life forms appear to have evolved from common ancestors reaching back to the simplest
one-cell organisms almost four billion years ago. Modern ideas of evolution provide a scientific explanation for
three main sets of observable facts about life on earth: the enormous number of different life forms we see about
us, the systematic similarities in anatomy and molecular chemistry we see within that diversity, and the
sequence of changes in fossils found in successive layers of rock that have been formed over more than a billion
years.
Since the beginning of the fossil record, many new life forms have appeared, and most old forms have
disappeared. The many traceable sequences of changing anatomical forms, inferred from ages of rock layers,
convince scientists that the accumulation of differences from one generation to the next has led eventually to
species as different from one another as bacteria are from elephants. The molecular evidence substantiates the
anatomical evidence from fossils and provides additional detail about the sequence in which various lines of
descent branched off from one another.
Although details of the history of life on earth are still being pieced together from the combined geological,
anatomical, and molecular evidence, the main features of that history are generally agreed upon. At the very
beginning, simple molecules may have formed complex molecules that eventually formed into cells capable of
self-replication. Life on earth has existed for three billion years. Prior to that, simple molecules may have
formed complex organic molecules that eventually formed into cells capable of self-replication. During the first
two billion years of life, only microorganisms existed—some of them apparently quite similar to bacteria and
algae that exist today. With the development of cells with nuclei about a billion years ago, there was a great
increase in the rate of evolution of increasingly complex, multicelled organisms. The rate of evolution of new
species has been uneven since then, perhaps reflecting the varying rates of change in the physical environment.
A central concept of the theory of evolution is natural selection, which arises from three well-established
observations: (1) There is some variation in heritable characteristics within every species of organism, (2) some
of these characteristics will give individuals an advantage over others in surviving to maturity and reproducing,
and (3) those individuals will be likely to have more offspring, which will themselves be more likely than others
to survive and reproduce. The likely result is that over successive generations, the proportion of individuals that
have inherited advantage-giving characteristics will tend to increase.
Selectable characteristics can include details of biochemistry, such as the molecular structure of hormones or
digestive enzymes, and anatomical features that are ultimately produced in the development of the organism,
such as bone size or fur length. They can also include more subtle features determined by anatomy, such as
acuity of vision or pumping efficiency of the heart. By biochemical or anatomical means, selectable
characteristics may also influence behavior, such as weaving a certain shape of web, preferring certain
characteristics in a mate, or being disposed to care for offspring.
New heritable characteristics can result from new combinations of parents' genes or from mutations of them.
Except for mutation of the DNA in an organism's sex cells, the characteristics that result from occurrences
during the organism's lifetime cannot be biologically passed on to the next generation. Thus, for example,
changes in an individual caused by use or disuse of a structure or function, or by changes in its environment,
cannot be promulgated by natural selection.
By its very nature, natural selection is likely to lead to organisms with characteristics that are well adapted to
survival in particular environments. Yet chance alone, especially in small populations, can result in the spread
of inherited characteristics that have no inherent survival or reproductive advantage or disadvantage. Moreover,
when an environment changes (in this sense, other organisms are also part of the environment), the advantage or
disadvantage of characteristics can change. So natural selection does not necessarily result in long-term
progress in a set direction. Evolution builds on what already exists, so the more variety that already exists, the
more there can be.
The continuing operation of natural selection on new characteristics and in changing environments, over and
over again for millions of years, has produced a succession of diverse new species. Evolution is not a ladder in
which the lower forms are all replaced by superior forms, with humans finally emerging at the top as the most
advanced species. Rather, it is like a bush: Many branches emerged long ago; some of those branches have died
out; some have survived with apparently little or no change over time; and some have repeatedly branched,
sometimes giving rise to more complex organisms.
The modern concept of evolution provides a unifying principle for understanding the history of life on earth,
relationships among all living things, and the dependence of life on the physical environment. While it is still
far from clear how evolution works in every detail, the concept is so well established that it provides a
framework for organizing most of biological knowledge into a coherent picture.
Benchmarks for Science Literacy:
It is not difficult for students to grasp the general notion that species depend on one another and on the environment for
survival. But their awareness must be supported by knowledge of the kinds of relationships that exist among organisms,
the kinds of physical conditions that organisms must cope with, the kinds of environments created by the interaction of
organisms with one another and their physical surroundings, and the complexity of such systems. Students should become
acquainted with many different examples of ecosystems, starting with those near at hand.
K-2: Students should investigate the habitats of many different kinds of local plants and animals, including weeds,
aquatic plants, insects, worms, and amphibians, and some of the ways in which animals depend on plants and on each
other.
By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that
 Animals eat plants or other animals for food and may also use plants (or even other animals) for shelter and nesting.
5D/P1
 Living things are found almost everywhere in the world. There are somewhat different kinds in different places.
5D/P2
3-5: Students should explore how various organisms satisfy their needs in the environments in which they are typically
found. They can examine the survival needs of different organisms and consider how the conditions in particular habitats
can limit what kinds of living things can survive. Their studies of interactions among organisms within an environment
should start with relationships they can directly observe. By viewing nature films, students should see a great diversity of
life in different habitats.
By the end of the 5th grade, students should know that

For any particular environment, some kinds of plants and animals thrive, some do not live as well, and some do
not survive at all. 5D/E1*
 Insects and various other organisms depend on dead plant and animal material for food. 5D/E2
 Organisms interact with one another in various ways besides providing food. 5D/E3a
 Many plants depend on animals for carrying their pollen to other plants or for dispersing their seeds. 5D/E3b
 Changes in an organism's habitat are sometimes beneficial to it and sometimes harmful. 5D/E4
 Most microorganisms do not cause disease, and many are beneficial. 5D/E5
6-8: As students build up a collection of cases based on their own studies of organisms, readings, and film
presentations, they should be guided from specific examples of the interdependency of organisms to a more
systematic view of the kinds of interactions that take place among organisms. But a necessary part of understanding
complex relationships is to know what a fair proportion of the possibilities are. The full-blown concept of ecosystem
(and that term) can best be left until students have many of the pieces ready to put in place. Prior knowledge of the
relationships between organisms and the environment should be integrated with students' growing knowledge of the
earth sciences.
 By the end of the 8th grade, students should know that
 In all environments, organisms with similar needs may compete with one another for limited resources, including
food, space, water, air, and shelter. 5D/M1a*
 The world contains a wide diversity of physical conditions, which creates a wide variety of environments:
freshwater, marine, forest, desert, grassland, mountain, and others. In any particular environment, the growth and
survival of organisms depend on the physical conditions. 5D/M1b*
 Interactions between organisms may be for nourishment, reproduction, or protection and may benefit one of the
organisms or both of them. Some species have become so dependent on each other that neither could survive
without the other. 5D/M2*
 One organism may scavenge or decompose another. 5D/M2b
 Given adequate resources and an absence of disease or predators, populations of organisms in ecosystems increase
at rapid rates. Finite resources and other factors limit their growth. 5D/M3** (NSES)
 All organisms, both land-based and aquatic, are interconnected by their need for food. This network of
interconnections is referred to as a food web. The entire earth can be considered a single global food web, and
food webs can also be described for a particular environment. At the base of any food web are organisms that
make their own food, followed by the animals that eat them, then the animals that eat those animals, and so forth.
5D/M4** (BSL)
Organisms are linked to one another and to their physical setting by the transfer and transformation of matter and energy.
This fundamental concept brings together insights from the physical and biological sciences. But energy transfer in
biological systems is less obvious than in physical systems. Tracing where energy comes from through its various forms is
usually directly observable in physical systems. Fire heats water, falling water makes electricity. But energy stored in
molecular configurations is difficult to show even with models.
The cycling of matter and flow of energy can be found at many levels of biological organization, from molecules to
ecosystems. The study of food webs can start in the elementary grades with the transfer of matter, be added to in the
middle grades with the flow of energy through organisms, and then be integrated in high school as students' understanding
of energy storage in molecular configurations develops. The whole picture grows slowly over time for students. In their
early years, the temptation to simplify matters by saying plants get food from the soil should be resisted.
K-2: Children should begin to be aware of the basic parts of the food chain: Plants need sunlight to grow, some animals
eat plants, and other animals eat both plants and animals. The key step that plants make their own food is very difficult for
elementary students and should be saved for middle school.
An awareness of recycling, both in nature and in human societies, may play a helpful role in the development of children's
thinking. Familiarity with the recycling of materials fosters the notion that matter continues to exist even though it
changes from one form to another
By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that
 Plants and animals both need to take in water, and animals need to take in food. In addition, plants need light.
5E/P1
 Many materials can be recycled and used again, sometimes in different forms. 5E/P2
3-5: Students should begin to notice that substances may change form and move from place to place, but they never
appear out of nowhere and never just disappear. Questions should encourage students to consider where substances come
from and where they go and to be puzzled when they cannot account for the origin or the fate of a substance.
It's all right to start students on chains of what eats what in various environments, but labeling the steps in the chain as
energy transfer is not necessary. Transfers of energy at this level are better illustrated in physical systems; biological
energy transfer is far too complicated.
By the end of the 5th grade, students should know that
 Almost all kinds of animals' food can be traced back to plants. 5E/E1
 Some source of "fuel" is needed for all organisms to stay alive and grow. 5E/E2*
 Over the whole earth, organisms are growing, dying, decaying, and new organisms are being produced by the old
ones. 5E/E3
6-8: In the middle grades, the emphasis is on following matter through ecosystems. Students should trace food webs both
on land and in the sea. The food webs that students investigate should first be local ones they can study directly. The use
of films of food webs in other ecosystems can supplement their direct investigations but should not substitute for them.
Most students see food webs and cycles as involving the creation and destruction of matter, rather than the breakdown and
reassembly of invisible units. They see various organisms and materials as consisting of different types of matter that are
not convertible into one another. Before they have an understanding of atoms, the notion of reusable building blocks
common to plants and animals is quite mysterious. So following matter through ecosystems needs to be linked to their
study of atoms. Students' attention should be drawn to the transfer of energy that occurs as one organism eats another. It
is important that students learn the differences between how plants and animals obtain food and from it the energy they
need. The first stumbling block is food, which represents one of those instances in which differences between the common
use of a term and the technical one cause persistent confusion. In popular language, food is whatever nutrients plants and
animals must take in if they are to grow and survive (solutions of minerals that plants need traces of frequently bear the
label "plant food"); in scientific usage, food refers only to those substances, such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, from
which organisms derive the energy they need to grow and operate and the material of which they are made. It's important
to emphasize that the sugars that plants make out of water and carbon dioxide are their only source of food. Water and
minerals dissolved in it are not sources of energy for plants or for animals.
By the end of the 8th grade, students should know that
 Food provides molecules that serve as fuel and building material for all organisms. 5E/M1a
 Plants use the energy from light to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water. 5E/M1b
 Plants can use the food they make immediately or store it for later use. 5E/M1c
 Organisms that eat plants break down the plant structures to produce the materials and energy they need to survive.
Then they are consumed by other organisms. 5E/M1de
 Over a long time, matter is transferred from one organism to another repeatedly and between organisms and their
physical environment. As in all material systems, the total amount of matter remains constant, even though its form
and location change. 5E/M2
 Energy can change from one form to another in living things. 5E/M3a
 Organisms get energy from oxidizing their food, releasing some of its energy as thermal energy. 5E/M3b*
 Almost all food energy comes originally from sunlight. 5E/M3c
EVOLUTION
In the twentieth century, no scientific theory has been more difficult for people to accept than biological
evolution by natural selection. It goes against some people's strongly held beliefs about when and how the
world and the living things in it were created. It hints that human beings had lesser creatures as ancestors, and it
flies in the face of what people can plainly see—namely that generation after generation, life forms don't
change; roses stay roses, worms stay worms. New traits arising by chance alone is a strange idea, unsatisfying
to many and offensive to some. And its broad applicability is not appreciated by students, most of whom know
little of the vast amount of biological knowledge that evolution by natural selection attempts to explain.
It is important to distinguish between evolution, the historical changes in life forms that are well substantiated
and generally accepted as fact by scientists, and natural selection, the proposed mechanism for these changes.
Students should first be familiar with the evidence of evolution so that they will have an informed basis for
judging different explanations. This familiarity depends on knowledge from the life and physical sciences:
knowledge of phenomena occurring at several different levels of biological organization and over very long
time spans, and of how fossils form and how their ages are determined. Students may very well wonder why the
fossil record has so many seeming holes in it. If so, the opportunity should be seized to show the value of
mathematics. The probability of specimens of any species of organisms surviving is small—soft body parts are
eaten or decomposed, and hard parts are crushed or dissolved. The probability of finding a specimen is small
because most are buried or otherwise inexcavable. Mathematics holds that the probability of acquiring a
specimen of an extinct species is extremely small—the product of the two probabilities.
Before natural selection is proposed as a mechanism for evolution, students must recognize the diversity and
apparent relatedness of species. Students take years to acquire sufficient knowledge of living organisms and the
fossil record. Natural selection should be offered as an explanation for familiar phenomena and then revisited as
new phenomena are explored. To appreciate how natural selection can account for evolution, students have to
understand the important distinction between the selection of an individual with a certain trait and the changing
proportions of that trait in populations. Their being able to grasp this distinction requires some understanding of
the mathematics of proportions and opportunities for them to reflect on the individual-versus-population
distinction in other contexts.
Controversy is an important aspect of the scientific process. Students should realize that although
virtually all scientists accept the general concept of evolution of species, scientists do have different
opinions on how fast and by what mechanisms evolution proceeds. A separate issue altogether is how life
itself began, a detailed mechanism for which has not yet emerged.
K-2
Students should begin to build a knowledge base about biological diversity. Student curiosity about
fossils and dinosaurs can be harnessed to consider life forms that no longer exist. But the distinction
between extinct creatures and those that still live elsewhere will not be clear for some time. "Long ago"
has very limited meaning at this age level. Even as students make observations of organisms in their own
environments, they can extend their experiences with other environments through film.
By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that
 Different plants and animals have external features that help them thrive in different kinds of places.
5F/P1
 Some kinds of organisms that once lived on Earth have completely disappeared, although they were
something like others that are alive today. 5F/P2
3-5
Students can begin to look for ways in which organisms in one habitat differ from those in another and
consider how some of those differences are helpful to survival. The focus should be on the consequences
of different features of organisms for their survival and reproduction. The study of fossils that preserve
plant and animal structures is one approach to looking at characteristics of organisms. Evidence for the
similarity within diversity of existing organisms can draw upon students' expanding knowledge of
anatomical similarities and differences.
By the end of the 5th grade, students should know that
 Individuals of the same kind differ in their characteristics, and sometimes the differences give
individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing. 5F/E1
 Fossils can be compared to one another and to living organisms according to their similarities and
differences. Some organisms that lived long ago are similar to existing organisms, but some are quite
different. 5F/E2
Big Ideas:
All living organisms have basic needs that must be met in order to survive.
Living things interact with their environment.
When an environment changes, the organisms that live there will be affected.
Behaviors and physical (structural) adaptations help living things to survive.
Essential Questions:
What do living things need to survive?
How does the structure of an organism help it to survive?
How does the behavior of an organism help it to survive?
How do adaptations sustain life? … in individual organisms? … in species?
What changes in an environment might lead to adaptations?
How can human behavior affect organisms and their environment?
Enduring Understandings:
All living organisms have basic needs.
Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs can be met.
Plants and animals have features that help them to survive in different environments.
Different plants and animals have features that help them to live in different places.
Different plants and animals have different structures that serve different life needs/functions.
The behavior of organisms is influenced by internal and external cues.
An organism’s behavior evolves through adaptation.
Some individual differences provide advantages in survival and reproduction.
Adaptation is a change in a species or individual that improves its chances to meet its life needs/functions.
Extinction of a species occurs when its adaptations are insufficient to guarantee its survival when environmental
changes occur.
Identify Misconceptions:
Formative assessment probe guide
http://scnces.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Grade+Four+Resources
Common Misconceptions
 Ecosystems do not change.
 Living things can change in order to meet their survival needs.
 All traits are adaptations.
 Adaptation produces organisms perfectly suited to their environments.
Instructional Resources:
PBS Environmental Change Materials
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/search/?q=Environmental+change&order=&selected_facets=&select
ed_facets=grades_exact%3A3&selected_facets=grades_exact%3A4&selected_facets=grades_exact%3A5&
selected_facets=grades_exact%3A6&selected_facets=grades_exact%3A7&selected_facets=grades_exact%
3A8
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.oate.lp_changeenviron/effects-ofenvironmental-change/
CLA Unit Adaptation and Behavior
http://learning-in-action.williams.edu/opportunities/elementary-outreach/science-lessons/5th-gradeadaptation-and-behavior-unit/
This grade 5 unit includes information about human inheritance as an introduction to concepts of
inherited, adaptive structures and behavior in living things.
Amazing Adaptations
http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewResourceLesson/Preview/31239
This Engineering Design Challenge is intended to help fifth grade students apply the concept of how
structural and behavioral adaptations contribute to the survival of an animal species.
Adaptations Unit
http://www.unr.edu/Documents/education/nneli/4th%20Grade%20Lesson%204-DI-S.pdf
Students learn how adaptations increase possibilities for survival.
OSU Organisms, Adaptations, Environments
https://beyondweather.ehe.osu.edu/issue/we-depend-on-earths-climate/lessons-about-organismsadaptations-and-environments
Before students can understand how changes in climate affect living organisms, they first must
understand that all organisms are adapted for life in certain climates. The lessons highlighted here help
build that important foundational knowledge in the elementary years.
UEN Adaptations and Traits
http://www.uen.org/core/lessonList.do?courseNum=3050&itemId=1239
A collection of lessons that explore how traits and survival are connected.
Behavioral Adaptations
http://weblessons.com/Teacher/guide.php?lessonID=1810&hono
This lesson introduces adaptations. In order to survive and thrive in a particular environment, animals
must develop a variety of amazing characteristics (adaptations). Some adaptations, such as bright colors
or sharp beaks, are structural (physical). Others, like migration and nest building, are behavioral
adaptations.
Structural Adaptations
http://weblessons.com/Teacher/guide.php?lessonID=1809&hono
Students are introduced to the two types of adaptation - structural and behavioral. This WebLesson will
focus predominantly on structural adaptations; behavioral adaptations will be covered more extensively
in the next WebLesson.
Migration
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/AdaptationsLesson.html
Students explore the meaning of physical and behavioral adaptation, consider how migration fits in, and
identify adaptations that help the Journey North species they track survive.
Animal Adaptations Unit
http://www.polk.k12.ga.us/userfiles/449/Classes/2959/AnimalAdaptations.pdf
A collection of lessons and support materials.
Science Net Links
http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/animal-adaptations/
In this lesson, students will participate in classroom discussions and visit a website to learn more about
animals and how well (or poorly) they’ve adapted to satisfying their needs in their natural habitats.
NC ZOO Adventures in Ecotourism
http://www.nczoo.org/Documents/AdventureinEcotourism.pdf
Students explore unique climates and organisms of the world’s major biomes while making
connections to NC Zoo exhibits.
National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov/cany/learn/education/upload/FourthGrade_Animals.pdf
This field trip will work in any area where there is evidence of beavers. A wide open area for migration
and a wooded area for deer’s ears would be an asset. Areas along the Colorado River such as Big Bend
Campground and Negro Bill Canyon are excellent. These materials can be adapted for use in other states
as well.
Learn NC
http://www.learnnc.org/search?phrase=animal+behavior+and+adaptation.
Animal behavior and adaptations resources from Learn NC.
eThemes: Animal Adaptations
https://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/905
These sites are about the behaviors and physical traits that enable animals to survive in their
environments. Topics cover camouflage, mimicry, and natural selection. Includes images, games, and
lesson plans. There is a link to eThemes Resource on natural selection.
Endangered Species Units
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/balancing-act
http://taryndarlow.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/7/1/19719981/science_endangered_species_unit.pdf
Online Interactives
http://interactivesites.weebly.com/animal-adaptations.html
http://fen.com/studentactivities/CCCNet/sciencelab/Animals/AnimalAdapts.html
http://www.quia.com/mc/655672.html?AP_rand=1171082618
http://www.quia.com/rr/109974.html
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/animalneeds/
http://desertmuseumdigitallibrary.org/kids/Games/Adaptations.html
https://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmsc/activities/simulations/gr3/unitb.html
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/lsps07.sci.life.evo.buildafish/build-a-fish/
Video Resources:
PBS
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/search/?q=Adaptation%2C+Behavior%2C+and+Survival&selected_fa
cets=
Kidport
http://www.kidport.com/reflib/science/Videos/Animals/AnimalSurvival.htm
Watch Know Learn
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/SearchResults.aspx?SearchText=Animal+Adaptations
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/SearchResults.aspx?SearchText=Endangered+Species
School Media: Adaptations
http://schoolmediainteractive.com/view/object/clip/F8583B4F33BC26EEBD7FE41BB739DA04/03
Study Jams: Adaptations
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/animals/animal-adaptations.htm
Study Jams: Changes in Ecosystems
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/ecosystems/changes-ecosystems.htm
Top Ten Adaptations
http://www.animalplanet.com/wild-animals/animal-adaptations/
Text Resources:
Study Jams: Changes in Ecosystems
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/ecosystems/changes-ecosystems.htm
Study Jams: Adaptations
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/animals/animal-adaptations.htm
BBC online
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/adaptations
Natureworks
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep1.htm
Exploring Nature
http://www.exploringnature.org/db/view/1693
NY Gov
http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/remediation_hudson_pdf/hrlpadapt.pdf
Science A-Z Adaptations
http://teacherweb.com/ma/heightselementaryschool/leary/adaptations5-6_nfbook_mid.pdf
Terminology:
adaptation
herbivore
environment
instinct
camouflage
carnivore
survival
extinction
organism
omnivore
hibernate
predator
behavior
migration
prey
habitat
mimicry
Writing Prompts:




Research and report about an endangered species. Write about a possible way to increase
populations of this species.
Write a report on animal adaptations and how these adaptations help an animal survive in its
environment.
Write an essay about the differences between two different types of insects. Give examples of
how each type is adapted to its environment.
Snowy owls are well adapted to their Arctic habitat, with even their toes covered by a feathery
coat. How do you adapt to snowy weather?