1. “5-Minute Prep” For Ecosystems
DE Science Elementary
“5-Minute Prep” For Ecosystems
What is an Ecosystem?
Parts of Ecosystems

2. Parts of Ecosystems – The Big Ideas
An ecosystem includes the living and nonliving things in an environment and their interactions.
Energy from the sun flows through all parts of an ecosystem through food webs.
Rocks and soil, water, air, and the climate are nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
Animals, plants, fungi, protists, and bacteria are some living parts of an ecosystem.
Most ecosystems include a variety of organisms.

3. Parts of Ecosystems – The Big Ideas
Animals and plants that live in an ecosystem are uniquely suited to live in that ecosystem.
Usually, a wide variety of organisms (biodiversity) indicates a healthy ecosystem.
An ecosystem includes specific habitats suited to some of its organisms.
Every organism has a niche, that is, its own role in an ecosystem.

4. Parts of Ecosystems – Prior Knowledge
This is probably the first exposure students will have to learning about ecosystems. It will be helpful if students viewed the FUN-damental, Exploring Ecosystems, before beginning this unit. In addition, it would help students if they:
Know the definition of an ecosystem.
Have any background knowledge on any type of ecosystem including rivers, estuaries, oceans, rainforests, conifer forests, tundra, and desert.
Reviewed the numerous items in the interactive glossary related to this concept before beginning.

5. Parts of Ecosystems – Common Misconceptions
Ecosystems contain only living things.
Reality: Ecosystems contain both living and non living components.
Ecosystems are not a functioning whole, but simply a collection of organisms.
Reality: In an ecosystem, organisms depend on one another for energy. Plants use the sun’s energy to make their own food. Some animals feed on plants, and some animals feed on other animals.

6. Parts of Ecosystems– Using DE Science Content
When you close this presentation, you can review the following recommended resources for Parts of Ecosystems.
Exploration: Parts of Ecosystems
Virtual Lab: Pond-er This
eBook: Ecosystems, Habitats and Niches
Reading Passage: What Is an Ecosystem?
Use the PowerPoint version of this presentation for hyperlinks to these resources or you can get to them through the browser or search feature.

7. Parts of Ecosystems – Instructional Ideas
In the Virtual Lab, students, acting as an environmental scientist, will decide where to put certain park features as they try to create an eco friendly park.
Students will receive results about how many trout are still living in their pond.
This will help them see how their decisions are directly related to the amount of fish still alive. Ask students to discuss and explain why the changes are impacting the fish.
Use the Exploration with the whole class to get students to see how a food chain works.
Students can then eliminate one organism from a food chain and see the impact on the rest of the organisms in the ecosystem.
Have students keep a table to show the different combinations and describe what happens when each item is removed.

8. Additional Information:
State Standards:
If you wish to review your state standards about Parts of Ecosystems, click here to get to the curriculum standards search feature of DES.
You can click on any standard to see what resources are available to teach it.
Additional Information:
For additional content, check the Extend section within the concept.