Study Buddy—Life Science—2nd Nine Weeks
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are beginning another wonderful time with life
science during our second nine weeks study. During this nine
weeks, we will be taking the content that we explored previously
and will be applying it as we study interdependent relationships in
ecosystems. We will be exploring organisms and environments
from long ago, and we’ll learn about how animals currently survive
in particular environments in the midst of changes within their
habitats. This unit should help students develop their critical
thinking skills as they analyze the dynamics within ecosystems.
We will assess the content found in this study buddy in 2-3
weeks. I will let you know the test date closer to the time. As with
our previous study buddy, please review the content with your
child and sign and return on test day for +3. (Remember to ask
your child each day about something that he/she has learned.
The students and I get so excited about learning new science
information, and we hope that you do, too!)
The last part of our science study will be a research and
writing project related to endangered species. Students will be
describing the threats to particular species and evaluating the
current solutions designed to help the species. The assessment
grade will be the final article which your child should complete at
school. This completed piece will become part of your child’s
writing portfolio at NJE.
Thanks for all of your help at home as your child learns more
about our natural world! I look forward to this time of learning!
Sincerely,
Jeana Kinsman
These are science concepts that I will need to understand:
*Some animals form groups that help members survive.
Animals live in groups for several reasons: protection,
making hunting easier, to stay warm or maintain safe body
temperature, make traveling easier, guarding food and
territory, and to find a mate.
*In a particular habitat, some organisms can survive well,
some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
The needs of air, food, water, space, and shelter must be
met.
 When an organism’s needs are not met in a particular
habitat, it may adapt, move, or die.
 Population is the number of organisms of a species in an
environment.
 When a species becomes overpopulated in an
environment, its needs may not be met.
 I will need to be able to illustrate and explain the basic
relationships of plants and animals in an ecosystem.
 I will need to be able to show a simple food chain and web
to explain how plants and animals get food/energy to live
and grow (how energy is transferred).
 *Changes in an environment might affect an animals’
ability to survive.
 A food web is a network of food chains which overlap.
 Plants are producers because they make their own food
through photosynthesis.
 The word decompose means to break substances down
into simpler forms. Bacteria, fungi, and worms function as
decomposers in the food chain.
 Herbivores: organisms which eat only plants
 Carnivores: organisms which eat mostly other animals
 Omnivores: organisms which may eat both plants and
animals.
 The sun is the source of energy for all living things.
 Fossils are preserved traces of animals, plants, and other
organisms from the past.
Example: soft parts of buried organisms decompose
and leave bones which are porous. Minerals from ground water
are left behind in bones which turn into stone over time
(permineralization).
Example: Organism leaves an imprint in peat. The
organism decomposes and peat hardens into coal over time.
(impression)
Example: Footprints or any imprint made in mud may
eventually become a sandstone track as sand hardens over time.
Example: Some fossils of ancient organisms are found
preserved in frozen ground such as in Arctic areas.
Example: Some fossils of ancient organisms have
been found preserved in dry, desert areas as they lost moisture
from their bodies long ago.
Example: Fossils have been found as preserved
organisms in tree sap which hardened into a yellow substance
called amber long ago.
Example: Molds form when the bones or shells of an
animal are pressed into rock. Sediment sometimes fills this space
(the cast).
Dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic Era (divided into
Triassic Period, Jurassic Period, and Cretaceous Period).
*Fossils provide evidence of the organisms and the
environments in which they lived long ago.
Example: We know that environments have changed
when fossils of sea creatures are found where there is no ocean
now.
Example: Fossils from various biomes are found in
other, different biomes: sometimes fossils of woodland or forest
plants or animals are found where we now have deserts.
Example: Fossils from plants and animals from
particular climates are found many years later in other, different
climates (tropical to polar regions).
Example: We know that organisms are different now as
we find fossils of animals that are now extinct, such as dinosaurs.
Example: Dinosaur teeth tell us about their diets (sharp
teeth=meat eaters; flat teeth= good for grinding plants).
Dinosaur fossil footprints help us guess how much
certain dinosaurs weighed and whether they traveled in herds or
with their families.
 “Excavate” means to dig up.
 Archaeologists are scientists who study prehistoric people
and their cultures by analyzing their artifacts.
 Paleontologists are scientists who study the forms of life in
earlier geologic periods by examining fossils.
 Extinct means that there are no more animals of a
species.
 Endangered means that the animal’s population is greatly
reduced and the species is in danger of becoming extinct.
 Endangered animals may struggle due to changes in
available food and water, other animals’ population
changes, temperature, land characteristics, and human
behavior.
 (* Asterik indicates that this is a Next Generation Science
Standard.)
* Food chain graphic from:
http://tli.jefferson.k12.ky.us/stlp/05Camp/Tully/diagram.html
Performances I will need to be able to do:
Can I draw a model of a food chain or a food web?
Can I explain the consequences when part of the food chain or
web is altered?
Can I describe the benefits of animals’ forming groups?
Can I analyze a fossil and infer how it may have been formed?
Can I analyze and describe how a fossil shows evidence of an
environment long ago?
My child and I “began with the end in mind” and studied this
guide! 
***Sign me for +3 and return on assessment day!
________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature and Child’s Name