Ecosystem Review and Assessment

Unit 4Lesson 48

Let’s review what we have learned about ecosystems.

An Ecosystem is a group of plants and animals working together

from a particular location.

Animals have four basic needs. They need food, shelter, water and

air.

All animals need food but different animals need different types of

food.

Plants need food. Plants get their food from the soil.

Animals need water. Plants need water to survive.

Animals need shelter.

A shelter is protection from weather or dangers.

Animals need protection from sun, rain, cold and other animals.

Plants need their roots protected.

Soil shelters roots.

Animals need air. They need the oxygen in air.

Plants need air. Plants need the carbon dioxide in the air.

Animals and plants need space.

Animals can't be crowded. They need space to grow

strong.

Plants need space for their roots to grow.

All plants need light to grow. They can not survive without

it.

Most animals need sunlight. Some animals can survive without

sunlight. There are fish who live in complete darkness deep at the

ocean floor.

Take a break. Stand up and tell a friend all the needs of animals and

plants you can think of.

Now listen as your friend tells you all the needs of plants and animals

they can think of.

Did you both get all the needs we discussed? Rewind the video and

check.

Let’s look at beach Ecosystems.

Some living things at the beach live under seaweed and inside

shells to protect themselves from the heat and salty air or danger.

Some living things burrow in the sand. The sand provides shade

and moisture.

The mussels eat plankton found in the water.

The starfish eat the mussels.

The seagulls eat the starfish.

These living things need each other.

Crabs need algae or seaweed. Seagulls needs crabs.

Take a break. Stand up and tell a friend what you have learned

about beach ecosystems.

Let’s look at woodland ecosystems.

Living things in the woodland might be hiding in trees or

under the soil.

Animals in this ecosystem can survive cold winter months.

Woodland animals depend on trees for food and shelter.

Earthworms help the trees survive.

The trees provide shelter and food for animals and birds.

Bobcats and owls live on the animals they hunt.

Take a break. Stand up and tell a friend what you have learned about woodland ecosystems.

Let’s look at desert ecosystems.

The desert ecosystem is hot and dry. Living things in the

desert can survive in dry heat.

Deserts are very hot and dry all year.  Plants and animals that live there are

able to survive on very little water.

Desert plants are different

from plants in other

ecosystems because they have to live

and grow with very little

water. 

Desert plants have shallow roots so that they can soak up any rain

that falls in the dry desert.

Desert plants save water in their stems and have sharp needles to keep animals from eating them.

Many of these plants produce flowers or fruit. This is food for many

animals.

Most desert animals are nocturnal, that means they hunt for food at

night when it is cooler.

Many desert animals fur, feathers, or skin is light in color because the light color reflects the hot desert sun. This helps keep the animal cooler.

The tortoise and the jack rabbit eat plants in the desert. They build their

burrows near plants for shelter and shade.

The coyote eats the jack rabbit and

the tortoise and many other

animals. It also eats berries and

flowers.

The antelope squirrel eats the plants in the desert. The rattlesnake eats

antelope squirrels and other rodents and reptiles.

The Roadrunner eats rodents, like the

antelope squirrel, birds. It eats snakes, like the rattlesnake and other

reptiles. The roadrunner perches on

desert plants.

Take a break. Stand up and tell a friend what you have learned

about desert ecosystems.

How do people hurt the ecosystems?

People throw their trash in the ecosystems which can harm the

living things.

Sometimes people hurt the environment. People can cause

fires and oil spills.

Too many trees get cut down to make room for people.

Animals lose homes when too much land is cleared or

destroyed.

Humans hurt clean air and water with pollution. People can also

waste water.

People create too much trash and we don’t know where to put it all.

How do people help the ecosystems?

People can clean up trash from ecosystems.

People can help our environment by recycling. When we reuse things we

do not create as much trash.

People can help the woodlands by planting trees to create homes

and food for the animals.

Planting trees and plants also help people. We need oxygen.

Plants give us oxygen.

People can conserve water. That means not waste water.

Take a break. Stand up and tell a friend how people can harm and

help the environment .

We have finished unit 4. We will take the assessment. I will read the questions. If you need more time stop the video at any time.

Pat your back. You just finished Unit 4 Ecosystems.

Great job!

In our next unit we will learn more about plants and animals.

Keep observing the world around you!