Eco-Literacy Essay
Task: Students will write an essay that demonstrates their understanding of the ecological
concepts that we’ve covered in this unit. Your essay must use a total of 10 concepts that we
studied in class.
Concepts Covered:
 Producers
 Consumers
 Decomposers
 Trophic level
 Food web
 Biological magnification
 Biomass
 Ecological pyramid
 Evaporation
 Transpiration
 Photosynthesis
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Energy
Matter
Niche
Competitive exclusion
Predator
Prey
Convergent evolution
Coevolution
Exponential growth
Carrying capacity
Habitat
Steps:
 Spend an hour or more observing a natural area in your community, preferably
somewhere within walking distance of your home. This could be your backyard, a park, a
community garden, a creek, etc.
 Pay attention to both the biotic and abiotic elements that you are observing. What are the
relationships between them?
 Take notes, draw or sketch what you are observing.
 Complete an outline or brainstorm that uses at least 10 concepts.
 Complete a rough draft of your essay.
 Review, edit and get feedback.
 Complete final draft.
 Be sure that your final draft clearly shows an understanding of the concepts as they relate
to the area you observed.
 There is no required minimum and maximum length for this paper.
Due Dates:
Outline/Brainstorm Due____________________
Rough Draft Due________________
Final Draft Due_________________