ECOSYSTEMS - ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Hello 4th. graders,

Here are some useful links for you to check. Don't forget the following are important vocabulary words:

Ecology – The study of the interaction between living and non-living things.
Ecosystem:  all the living and nonliving things in an environment and the many ways they interact
Population:  all the members of one species that live within an area of an ecosystem.
Community:  different populations that interact with each other in the same area.
Niche: the specific role an organism has in its habitat.
Organism: a living thing.


Herbivores:  consumers that get energy by eating only plants
Carnivores:  consumers that eat only animals
Omnivores:  consumers that eat both plants and animals
Decomposers:  organisms that eat the waste and remains of dead plants and animals



Watch the following video. What important ideas can you find?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuejxJttBqo&feature=related

Following are the objectives of the Science Program Lessons for the 3rd. period, so you should be able to answer or explain these topics:

Lesson 1 Objectives:
•    Explain what a system is. Give an example.
•    Describe the basic characteristics of an ecosystem.

Lesson 2 Objectives:
•    Explain/draw how most living things use energy from the Sun to live and grow.
•    Identify-Represent the relationship among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial
food chains (for example, the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers.
•    Explain; give examples of patterns of interdependence in ecological systems.





I recommend you read the following article:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/iceberg_C-19.html

Also, you can try this link with games on food chains:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/foodchaingame.htm








 The following video tells about the transfer of energy, so you understand better this process:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T2nEMzk6_E

Lesson 3 Objectives:
•    Explain, represent, and find examples of the relationship among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food chains (for example, the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers).
•    Identify and explain the need for nutrients and minerals for living organisms.
•    Match, identify, find examples of patterns of interdependency in ecological systems.