EALR 4 – 4-5th
LS2 – Ecosystems
Big Idea: Ecosystems are defined as all of the plant and animal populations in a given area. The relationships
between plants and animals within an ecosystem, depicted by a food web, make it possible to predict the
consequences of environmental changes and provide insights into the sustainable use of natural resources.
Core Content: Food Webs
Power Standard: Changes in ecosystems affect the populations that they can support in a food web.
Topics:
Performance Expectations:
Where taught
1. Ecosystems
Identify the living and nonliving parts of an
ecosystem and give examples to show how
the plants and animals depend on one another
and on nonliving resources for survival.
2. Food Energy
Explain that plants make their own food, and
animals, including humans, get food by eating
plants and/or eating other animals.
3. Roles in Food Webs
Draw a simple food web given a list of three
common organisms. Draw arrows properly
and identify the producers and consumers.
Compare the roles of producers, consumers,
and decomposers in an ecosystem.
4. Effect of Ecosystem
Changes on Populations
Predict whether and how a slow or rapid
change in the ecosystem might affect the
population of a given plant or animal.
Environments
Inv. 1 parts 1-2
Inv. 4 part 1
Science stories pp. 1-17, 27-35,
38-41
FOSSweb Act. – Virtual
Aquarium
Environments
Science Stories pp. 38-39
FOSSweb act. – Virtual
Aquarium
Structures of Life
Science Stories pp. 43
Environments
Inv. 4 part 3
Science Stories pp. 38-41, 4345
FOSSweb Act. – Virtual
Aquarium
NOTE: see science stories tab
in teacher guide pp. 18-19 to
obtain the FOSS environment
organism cards for food webs
Environments
Inv. 1 parts 1-2
Inv. 3 parts 1-3
Inv. 4 part 2
Inv. 5 parts 1-3
Inv. 6 parts 1-3
Science Stories pp. 1-17, 36,
43-45, 49-52
FOSSweb act. – Virtual
Aquarium
Structures of Life
Science stories pp. 22-34
5. Effect of Populations on
Each Other
6. Effect of Humans on
Ecosystems
Describe how one population may affect other Environments
plants and/or animals in the ecosystem
Inv. 1 parts 1-2
Inv. 4 parts 1-3
Science Stories pp. 1-8, 43-45,
49-52
FOSSweb act. – Virtual
Aquarium
Structures of Life
Science stories pp. 35-36
Describe ways that humans can improve
Environments
and/or harm the health of ecosystems.
Inv. 4 part 2
Inv. 5 parts 1-3
Inv. 6 parts 1-3
Science stories pp. 1-17, 30,
33-37, 43-52
FOSSweb act. – Virtual
Aquarium
Structures of Life
Science Stories pp. 10-16
Water
Science stories pp. 17-20, 2223