Ecosystems Lesson Plan





Safa Fidama
EDU 202-01
Winter 2015
Common Core Standards
o L.EC.M.1 Interactions of Organisms-Organism of one species form a
population. Populations of different organisms interact and form
communities. Living communities and nonliving factors that interact
with them form ecosystems.
o L.EC.06.11 Identify and describe examples of populations,
communities, and different ecosystems including the Great Lakes
region.
Objective:
o Students will be able to differentiate between animals’ characteristics
and will be able to explain which ecosystem they belong to. Students
will be able to identify different ecosystems, living and non-living
factors. They will be able to connect an organism to a population to
community to make an ecosystem. Having completed multiple
activities on the ecosystem, students will be able to identify five
systems and at least five organisms living in the system with 100%
accuracy.
Prior Knowledge:
o Students already know the different characteristics animals have to
survive. For example, fish have gills because water is their oxygen and
giraffe’s have long necks to eat the leaves on the tree. They recently
learned the parts of a flower: roots, stem, and petals. Students also
know the different kinds of animals and characteristics; amphibians,
reptiles, birds, mammals, invertebrates, vertebrates.
Set Activity
o I will first ask the students what they know about ecosystems,
organisms, populations and living and non-living things. After we
discuss that I will show a short video about ecosystems
(http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/ecosyste
ms/ecosystems.htm). After the video we will begin the lesson.
o Some questions I will ask students are:
 What are examples of biotic (living) things?
 What are examples of abiotic (non-living) things?
 Why are animals important to an ecosystem?
 What is an ecosystem?
Lesson Input
o After the video about ecosystems I will begin to present my
PowerPoint presentation. During my PowerPoint presentation, this


will also contain the Great Lakes and its ecosystem. I will stop
frequently to see if anyone of the students has any questions.
o Once I am done presentation I will again do a quick overview of what
they comprehended. I will begin to ask questions like “What makes up
an ecosystem? What is a community? Name one ecosystem. Describe
an organism and where it lives and why?”
o I will than present one activity, which is the trifold poster. This
contains a fun activity. It will have a pyramid of an organism, a
population, a community and an ecosystem. There will be different
types of ecosystems and I will have magnetic animals and plants and
have the students connect them to where they belong. We will then
check to make sure everything is correct.
o After the trifold poster presentation I will pass out a quick worksheet
that will increase the knowledge of the main vocabulary words used
in this lesson. It will contain 4 circles one inside the other; they will be
labeled Ecosystem (largest circle), Community, Population and
organism (smallest circle). Students will individually have to name an
organism, define population, community and ecosystem. They will
also have to write examples in each circle. I will go around the
classroom to see if students have any questions and check if they are
working on it correctly. I will then use the Elmo machine and have
students come up and put some examples in each circle.
o I will than split them in 5 groups by random and assign each group to
one of the following: Deserts, Aquatic, Forest, Grassland, and Tundra.
o I will than give each group a poster and construction paper to do their
own explanation of the ecosystem. They will be required to add the
type of animals, plants and climate each ecosystem contains.
o I will give them about 20 minutes to work on it. While they are
working on their project there will be soft music in the background.
o While students are working on this assignment I will be walking
around the classroom and helping each group on their ecosystem and
be interactive with the groups.
o I will then have each group get up and present their posters.
Modeling
o The students will be put into five groups and expected to be creative.
They will have to draw an image of what their ecosystem that they are
assigned to looks like.
o I will provide an example of subcategory of a habitat so students don’t
copy.
o I will model my poster. On the top of the poster there will be a title ,
which for mine is “Rainforest”. On one half of the poster it will state
the climate of the rainforest for example: lots of rain and very humid.
Under the climate will be a list of different plants and animals in the
rainforest. For example, monkeys, parrots, bananas and orchids.
Guided Practice




o The students will split in five groups according to the different
habitats.
o They will not be able to choose their groups, the groups will be chosen
by a random draw.
o I will give each group a poster and construction paper.
o They will be required to write a title, the climate of the habitat, the
animals and plants living in that habitat on one side the poster.
o On the other half of the poster they will draw a picture of that
ecosystem, they will need to include both animals and plants.
o I will be walking around the classroom and helping each group with
questions or comments.
o After students are done they will go to the front of the class and
explain their poster. They will also need to state what would happen
to the animals if they lived in another habitat.
Independent Practice
o After the short video and PowerPoint presentation and question
session I will pass out worksheets for students to work on
individually.
o This worksheet contains concentric circles. In the largest circle is the
ecosystem, then its population, community and organism (smallest
circle).
o The student can either define what each word means or write
examples of the word.
o For example, ecosystem I can either define the word or write “forest,
birds, sun, rain, squirrels.”
Checking for Understanding
o I will frequently be asking if anyone has any questions or is confused
by any concept of the lesson.
o One way I will be checking for understanding is through the activity
board.
o The activity will have the five different habitats and students will be
able to connect an animal or plant to its correct ecosystem.
o Another way is having the students present their group poster. This
will help me decide whether the students understand ecosystems and
elements involved to keep it flowing.
Closure
o After his or her presentations I will ask if anyone has question and
make sure everyone understands the lesson thoroughly.
Homework
o Their homework will consists of deciding what animal or plant they
want to be and where they would live and the things that are required
to live in their new homes.
o The worksheet will ask the student which animal or plant they would
be if they could choose. They must write which one they would be in
complete sentences and draw a picture of that living organism.



o They will than have to write where they live, again must be in
complete sentences and will draw a picture of their new home.
o Lastly on the homework they would write what is needed for them to
survive in their new homes, like climate, food, water and shelter.
Multiple Intelligences Covered in Lesson Plan
o Visual-Spatial
 Students will be aware of the PowerPoint and take notes for
their own benefit.
o Bodily-Kinesthetic
 Students with this intelligence will be able to get up to the
trifold poster and connect the animal to its ecosystem.
o Musical
 There will be soft calming music in the background for children
with this intelligence to help them focus and work their best.
The video will also be able to guide them because of sound
recognition.
o Interpersonal
 For students with this intelligence they will be able to work in
groups and get the confidence and will to present their
presentation.
o Intrapersonal
 I will be walking around the classroom for students with this
intelligence and try to work with them personally. They will
also be able to independently work on a worksheet after the
trifold presentation.
o Linguistic
 This student will be able to present and use their words to
describe their ecosystem.
o Logical-Mathematical
This sort of student will be able to calculate why certain animals and plants
live in certain ecosystems and differentiate the reason they can’t survive
elsewhere.
Materials Needed:
o Video from Scholastics website
o PowerPoint
o Crayons
o Construction paper
o Tri-fold Poster
o Laminated animals
o 5 individual posters
o Scissors
o Homework Worksheet