Unit

How do living
4 Ecosystems
EB
TH IG

things interact?

Lesson Plan
Unit Opener & Lesson 1 What is an ecosystem?
Activity Pages Time
• Unit Opener: Think! How do bison help grassland plants grow and stay SB p. 40 5 min
healthy?
• Unit Opener: Name three living things you can find in a marsh, in a rain SB p. 40 10 min
Engage forest, and on a coral reef.
• Unit Opener: List what living things need to live. SB p. 40 10 min
• Think! How do snakes interact with the grasses in the wetland ecosystem? TB p. 42 10 min
• Think! How do fish in the sea interact with nonliving things? SB p. 43 10 min
Explore • Digital Activity: Connections: Disappearing Wetlands (ActiveTeach) TB p. 41 15 min
• Similarities and differences between two environments SB p. 41 20 min
• Living and nonliving things in wetlands SB p. 42 15 min
Explain
• Habitats and groups within ecosystems SB p. 43 15 min
• Got it? 60-Second Video TB p. 43 5 min
Elaborate • Science Notebook: Water in Wetlands TB p. 42 15 min
• Lesson 1 Check (ActiveTeach) TB p. 51a 10 min
• Assessment for Learning TB p. 43 10 min
Evaluate • Review (Lesson 1) SB p. 51 10 min
• Got it? Self Assessment (ActiveTeach) TB p. 51b 10 min
• Got it? Quiz (ActiveTeach) TB p. 51c 10 min

Lesson 2 How do living things get energy?

Activity Pages Time

• Think! How are a consumer and a decomposer similar? SB p. 44 5 min
• Think! Could an omnivore still get energy if it had no plants to eat? Why TB p. 45 5 min
Engage or why not?
• Think! How might the removal of plants from a food chain affect TB p. 46 5 min
carnivores in that food chain?
Explore • Digital Lab: What do yeast use for energy? (ActiveTeach) TB p. 44 20 min
• Energy roles in ecosystems SB p. 44 15 min
• Food chains in grassland ecosystems SB p. 45 15 min
Explain
• The Great Plains food web SB p. 46 15 min
• Got it? 60-Second Video TB p. 46 5 min
• Science Notebook: Energy Roles TB p. 44 15 min
Elaborate • Responsible Consumers TB p. 45 20 min
• A Food Web TB p. 46 20 min
• Lesson 2 Check (ActiveTeach) TB p. 51a 10 min
• Assessment for Learning TB p. 46 10 min
Evaluate • Review (Lesson 2) SB p. 51 10 min
• Got it? Self Assessment (ActiveTeach) TB p. 51b 10 min
• Got it? Quiz (ActiveTeach) TB p. 51c 10 min

T39e Unit 4 • Unit Overview • Lesson Plan

M04_SUS_TB_04GLB_4795_U04.indd 37 17/02/2016 08:32

 Lesson 3 How do ecosystems change?
Activity Pages Time
• Think! How might beavers’ dams affect the plants and animals that live in TB p. 48 5 min
Engage
still water?
Explore • Digital Lab: How can pollution affect an organism? (ActiveTeach) TB p. 47 20 min
• How a fallen tree can change the forest ecosystem SB p. 47 15 min
• How groundhogs can cause changes in their environment SB p. 48 15 min
Explain
• How natural events and seasons cause change SB p. 49 15 min
• Got it? 60-Second Video TB p. 49 5 min
• Building Homes TB p. 48 15 min
Elaborate
• Causes of Ecosystem Change TB p. 49 20 min
• Lesson 3 Check (ActiveTeach) TB p. 51a 10 min
• Assessment for Learning TB p. 49 10 min
Evaluate • Review (Lesson 3) SB p. 51 10 min
• Got it? Self Assessment (ActiveTeach) TB p. 51b 10 min
• Got it? Quiz (ActiveTeach) TB p. 51c 10 min

Lab • Let’s Investigate! What can you find in your local ecosystem? (ActiveTeach) SB p. 50 30 min

Flash Cards
ecosystem habitat population Lesson 1

Key Words ELL Support

ecosystem, habitat, Vocabulary: Ecosystems:

population, grassland, coral reef, marsh,
community forest, rain forest

Lesson 2
community producer consumer
Key Words ELL Support

producer, Prefixes: herb-, carn-, and

consumer, omni- specific meaning
decomposer, food
chain, herbivore,
carnivore,
omnivore

decomposer food chain adaptation

Lesson 3

Key Words ELL Support

resources, Word Forms: harm (v), harmful

drought, (adj); benefit (v), beneficial (adj)
adaptation

Unit 4 • Unit Overview • Lesson Plan T39f

M04_SUS_TB_04GLB_4795_U04.indd 38 17/02/2016 08:32

 Unit

4 Ecosystems Unit

4
Ecosystems
How do living
things interact?
I will learn

• what an ecosystem is.

• how living things get

Unit Objectives
energy.
1 Look and label. • how ecosystems change.

Lesson 1: Students will identify ways in which living grassland coral reef marsh
and nonliving things interact within an ecosystem. sunlight rain forest soil

Lesson 2: Students will describe how energy flows

through ecosystems in a food chain and explain how
a food web is organized.
sunlight grassland soil
Lesson 3: Students will demonstrate an
understanding of how ecosystems change and how
these changes can affect living things.
Vocabulary: grassland, coral reef, marsh, sunlight,
rain forest, soil, bison marsh rain forest coral reef

2 With a partner, name three living things

that you can find in a marsh, in a

Introduce the
EB
TH IG rain forest, and on a coral reef.
T hi nk !
3 What do living things need to live?

Big Question Discuss as a class.

How do bison help
grassland plants
Possible answers: nutrients, grow and stay
water, space, air, light healthy?
How do living things interact?
Build Background Display photographs of a forest.
40 Unit 4

Ask students if they have ever been to a forest and what SCI_SB4_U4.indd 40 28/01/16 16:36

they did there. Have students name different living and

nonliving things they can find in a forest.
Engage
Think!
Have students look at the picture. Ask them to describe
what the baby bison is doing. On a grassland, bison
need grasses for food and energy. How do bison help
grassland plants grow and stay healthy? In pairs, have
students discuss answers to the question.
1 Look and Label.
Use the photos to elicit vocabulary and teach new
words. Have students label the photos.
Think! Again!
Revisit the question How do bison help grassland plants
grow and stay healthy? Ask volunteers to share their
predictions and reasoning with the class. Ask students to
think about what grasses need to live and grow. (Answers:
sunlight, air, water, and nutrients) Ask students how bison
can help supply something the grasses need. Remind
students that grasses produce seeds. Ask them to think
about how the bison might help spread grass seeds and
how they can provide nutrients to the grasses. (Possible
answers: Bison scatter seeds that catch on their fur. Waste
from bison provides nutrients that help plants grow.)
ELL Content Support

2 With a partner, name three living things
that you can find in a marsh, in a rain
forest, and on a coral reef.
Before having students name three living things that
they can find in a marsh, in a rain forest, and on a
coral reef, have them describe the pictures. Write
students’ ideas below the headings Marsh, Rain
Forest, and Coral Reef. Then have pairs brainstorm.
Check answers as a class.
3 What do living things need to live? Discuss
as a class.
Read the question out loud. What do living things
need to grow? Write students’ ideas on the board.
Explain to students that bison are considered North
America’s largest land mammal, with males weighing
up to 900 kilograms. Bison live and move in herds,
eating mainly prairie grass.
ELL Vocabulary Support
Explain to students that the noun bison can be used
to refer to one or more than one bison. Write the
following sentences on the board: The baby bison
is eating grass. Bison help grasses grow and stay
healthy. Highlight the use of the verb in singular form
when referring to one and the verb in plural form
when referring to more than one bison.

T40 Unit 4 • Ecosystems: How do living things interact?

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 Lesson 1
What is an ecosystem?
Objective: Understand what an environment is.
Vocabulary: living things, nonliving things,
environment, bear, earthworm, sunlight, air, water, soil
Digital Resources: Explore My Planet! Digital
Activity
Unlock the Big Question
LOCK Write the following text on the board: I will
UNHE BIG
T
learn how living and nonliving things interact
in an ecosystem.
Build Background Let’s describe our school. Which
of the things that surround us are living things? Which
are nonliving things? Draw a two-column chart with the
following headings: Living Things, Nonliving Things. Pair
students and have them brainstorm. Write students’ ideas
in the corresponding columns. (Possible answers: Living
Things: plants, a tree, birds, grass; Nonliving Things:
desks, board, sunlight, air) Explain to students that our
school is our environment. An environment is everything,
living and nonliving, that surrounds a person, plant,
animal, or other living thing.
Explore
Explore My Planet! Connections:
Disappearing Wetlands
Objective: Students will learn how wetlands have been
disappearing in some places.
Digital Resources: Explore My Planet! Digital Activity,
Explore My Planet! Activity Card (1 per student)
• Show the Explore My Planet! Ask students to look
at the pictures and compare the amount of wetlands
in each picture. Ask them what the light blue shows.
• Ask students to work independently or in pairs to
answer the question. Ask volunteers to share their
answers with the class.
• Have students complete the Activity Card.
ELL Content Support
Guide students to identify the difference between
living and nonliving. Write these two words on the
board and invite students to share ideas. Guide
students to conclude that all living things share
certain characteristics. For example, all living things
are made of cells, grow and develop, use energy,
and produce offspring. Remind students that living
things, such as animals and plants, need air, water,
food, and space to live and grow.
M04_SUS_TB_04GLB_4795_U04.indd 41
Lesson 1 . What is an ecosystem? Key Words
1 Read and list two living and two nonliving • ecosystem
things mentioned in the text. • habitat
Places for Living Things
• population
• community
How is the place where a bear lives different
from the place where an earthworm lives? Each
kind of living thing needs a certain environment.
A living thing’s environment is everything
around it. An environment has living and
nonliving parts. The living parts include plants,
animals, and other living things.
Sunlight is a nonliving part of an environment.
The sun’s rays warm other nonliving parts, such
as the air, water, and soil. Because of the sun’s heat,
Earth’s air, water, and soil are warm enough for
living things.
Living Things Nonliving Things
Possible answers: bear, Possible answers: sunlight, air,
earthworm, plants, animals water, soil
2 Say two living and two nonliving things that appear in the photo below.
Possible answers: earthworms, ants, plants; soil, sunlight, air
3 With a partner, compare where a bear lives and
where earthworms live. List one way they are the
same and one way they are different.
Same: Possible answer: Sunlight warms both of
their environments.
Different: Possible answer: Earthworms live in the
soil. Bears live in forests.
Explore My Planet! Unit 4 41
SCI_SB4_U4.indd 41 28/01/16 16:36
Explain
1 Read and list two living and two nonliving
things mentioned in the text.
Have pairs describe the two pictures. Have students
read and list two living things and two nonliving
things mentioned in the text. Write the answers in
the Living Things and Nonliving Things two-column
chart on the board.
2 Say two living things and two nonliving
things that appear in the photo below.
Pair students and have them say two living and two
nonliving things that appear in the photo. Check
answers as a class and write them in the chart on
the board.
3 With a partner, compare where a bear
lives and where earthworms live. List one
way they are the same and one way they
are different.
Have pairs compare the two environments in the
pictures and list one way they are the same and
one way they are different.
Unit 4 • Lesson 1 What is an ecosystem? T41
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 Lesson 1
What is an ecosystem?
Objective: Understand how living and nonliving
things in an ecosystem interact.
Vocabulary: ecosystem, interact, marsh, wetland,
shelter, grass, great egret, frog, pond turtle, raccoon,
aquarium, terrarium
Digital Resources: I Will Know… Digital Activity
Build Background Have students look and describe
the picture of the marsh on page 40. Explain to students
that a marsh is an area of soft and wet land covered with
water from a lake, a river, or an ocean that is next to it.
In pairs, have students discuss living things they think
might live in marshes.
ELL Content Support
Help students understand what an ecosystem is by
describing a familiar ecosystem as a reference. An
ecosystem includes all the living and nonliving things
in an area interacting or acting together. Explain that
an ecosystem does not have to be large. A backyard,
an aquarium, or a terrarium can be an ecosystem in
which living and nonliving things interact.
Explain
4 Read and underline the names of all living
things mentioned in the captions.
Have students look and identify the name of the
ecosystem in the picture. Ask students to read the
text and the captions and underline the names of all
the living things mentioned in the captions. Remind
students that plants are living things, too.
5 With a partner, list three more animals that
you might find in this wetland.
Before having students list three more animals
that might live in the wetland in the picture, have
students discuss what they think each of the
animals in the picture may eat.
T42 Unit 4 • Ecosystems: How do living things interact?
M04_SUS_TB_04GLB_4795_U04.indd 42
4 Read and underline the names of
all the living things mentioned in
the captions.
Parts of an Ecosystem
The living and nonliving parts of an
environment interact. Interact means to act
together. These interacting parts make up an
ecosystem. The pictures on this
page show a marsh. A marsh is a type
of wetland ecosystem.
The living parts of an ecosystem depend
on nonliving parts. For example, plants need
sunlight, soil, air, and water to grow. The
living parts also depend on one another. For
example, animals eat other living things.
Some animals use plants
for shelter.
5 With a partner, list three more
animals that you might find
in this wetland.
1. Possible answers:
2. insects, ducks, geese,
3. alligators, earthworms
42 Unit 4 I Will Know...
SCI_SB4_U4.indd 42 28/01/16 16:36
Elaborate
BOOK
Science Notebook: Water in Wetlands
Have students write a paragraph explaining why water
is important to the ecosystem. (Possible answer: Water is
important to the ecosystem because plants and animals
need it to live. Water provides shelter for fish, which
animals like the great egret eat. Water can have nutrients
for plants.)
Think!
How do snakes interact with the grasses in the wetland
ecosystem? Have students discuss in pairs. (Possible
answer: Snakes use the grasses for shelter and to hide
from predators.)
I Will Know...
Have students do the I Will Know… Digital Activity.
17/02/2016 08:32
 Lesson 1
What is an ecosystem?
Objective: Learn about habitats and groups in an
ecosystem.
Vocabulary: habitat, wetland, ecosystem,
population, coral reef, bluespot butterflyfish,
crab, clam, shark, community
Digital Resources: Flash Cards (ecosystem,
habitat, population, community), Lesson 1 Check
(print out 1 per student), Got it? 60-Second Video
Materials: Animal Cards and/or pictures of
different coral reef animals (corals, fish, shark, crab,
octopus, clam, sea star, sea jelly)
ELL Vocabulary Support
Write the word coral reef on the board. Activate
prior knowledge about habitats and about coral.
Have pairs write a list of all the things they associate
with a coral reef. Use pictures or drawings to teach
or review living things that live on a coral reef.
Think!
Point to the photo of the coral reef. How do fish in the
sea interact with nonliving things? Encourage students
to share ideas.
Explain
6 Read both texts. What is the habitat of the
bluespot butterflyfish in the picture below?
Discuss with a partner.
Ask students to read the first paragraph and
underline what a habitat is. Write on the board:
A habitat is the place where a living thing makes
its home. Have students look at the picture of the
monkey and ask them what a monkey’s habitat
is. Then have students read and discuss what the
bluespot butterflyfish’s habitat is. (Answer: The
water around the coral reef.)
ELL Content Support
To help students understand the difference between a
habitat and an ecosystem, explain that an ecosystem,
such as a rain forest, may contain many habitats.
Point to the photo of the monkey. In a rain forest,
the trees are a monkey’s habitat. Trees are the place
where monkeys make their homes because trees have
everything monkeys need to live.
M04_SUS_TB_04GLB_4795_U04.indd 43
6 Read both texts. What is the habitat of the bluespot
butterflyfish in the picture below? Discuss with
a partner.
Habitats
The place where a living thing makes its home is its
habitat. A habitat has everything that a plant or animal
needs to live. A habitat can be the water in a wetland.
It can be the soil beneath a rock.
Groups within Ecosystems This monkey’s habitat is the
All the living things of the same kind that live in trees in a rain forest.
the same place make up a population. The coral reef
ecosystem shown below includes many different populations. For example, all of the
bluespot butterflyfish living around the reef make up one population. A coral reef
also may have populations of crabs, clams, sharks, and other animals.
All the populations that live in the same place make up a community. Populations
in a community depend on one another.
7 Read and complete the sentences. Then check your answers with a partner.
Th in k !
community population
How do fish in the
1. All the red squirrels in a forest are a population . sea interact with
2. Squirrels, birds, and insects that live in the same forest form nonliving things?
a community .
Lesson 1 Check Got it? 60-Second Video Unit 4 43
SCI_SB4_U4.indd 43 28/01/16 16:36
7 Read and complete the sentences.
Then check your answers with a partner.
Write the word Forest on the board and have
students say what living things live in the forest.
Write answers on the board. Have students read
and complete the sentences in pairs. Use the
ecosystem, habitat, population, and community
Flash Cards to review the concepts learned in
this lesson.
Evaluate
Lesson 1 Check Assessment for Learning
Distribute the Lesson 1 Check and allow students sufficient
time to complete it. Check answers as a class. Then ask
students to grade their progress on the topic of ecosystems
from 1 to 3: 3 = I understand ecosystems; 2 = I need to
study more; 1 = I need help! Encourage students giving
themselves a 2 or 1 to describe what they found difficult
and need to study more.
Got it
it?
? 60-Second Video
Review Key Words for Lesson 1 (see Student’s Book
page 41). Play the Got it? 60-Second Video to
review the lesson material.
Unit 4 • Lesson 1 What is an ecosystem? T43
17/02/2016 08:32
 Lesson 2
How do living Lesson 2 . How do living things get energy? Key Words

things get energy? 1 Read and match the columns.

Energy Roles in Ecosystems

•
•
producer
consumer
• decomposer
Every living thing needs energy to stay alive and • food chain
grow. Living things get energy in different ways. Green • herbivore

Objective: Identify the energy roles in ecosystems. plants use sunlight along with air and water to make
sugar. The sugar is the plants’ food. It gives plants the
• carnivore
• omnivore
energy they need. A living thing is called a producer if
Vocabulary: energy, plants, sunlight, sugar, food, it makes, or produces, its own food.
producer, consumer, decomposer, break down, waste Many living things cannot make food. They get energy from Th in k!
food that they eat, or consume. A living thing that eats other How are a
Digital Resources: Flash Cards (producer, organisms is called a consumer. consumer and
When plants or animals die, their stored-up energy is unused. a decomposer
consumer, decomposer), Let’s Explore! Digital Lab Decomposers use this energy. A decomposer is a living thing similar?
that breaks down waste and dead plant and animal matter.
Materials: picture of a loaf of bread, package of
a) Producers need to eat to get their energy.
dry yeast b) Consumers break down dead plants and
animals for energy.
c) Decomposers make or produce their own energy.

Unlock the Big Question 2 Read and label each living thing as a producer,
consumer, or decomposer. Then check your
Puffins eat fish to get energy.

answers with a partner. consumer

LOCK Write the following text on the board: I will
UNHE BIG
T learn how energy flows through a food chain
in an ecosystem. I will know how a food Mushrooms break down A fern plant takes in
web is organized. a dead tree for energy. sunlight to make food.
decomposer producer

Build Background Display a picture of a loaf of bread 44 Unit 4 Let’s Explore! Lab
and ask students what they know about bread. Have pairs
list the ingredients in bread. Write students’ ideas on the SCI_SB4_U4.indd 44 28/01/16 16:36

board. (Possible answers: flour, eggs, sugar, yeast) Explain

to students that yeast are beige and can be used to make
bread rise. Yeast are microscopic organisms called fungi.
Show the package of yeast to students. Although these
yeast are dry, they are alive. They become active and
start to grow when you add water, and they get energy
from other sources.
Explore
Let’s Explore! Lab What do yeast
use for energy?
Objective: Observe how yeast become active and
use energy.
Digital Resources: Let’s Explore! Digital Lab, Let’s
Explore! Activity Card (1 per student) (Optional: Do the lab
in class; refer to the Activity Card for materials and steps.)
• Review the meaning of yeast by writing the word
Explain
1 Read and match the columns.
Before students read, ask them to explain why
people need to eat food. (Answer: People need
to eat food to get energy.) Have students read the
text and match the columns.
2 Read and label each living thing as a
producer, consumer, or decomposer.
Then check your answers with a partner.
Display the producer, consumer, and decomposer
Flash Cards to review the words mushrooms, fern,
and puffin. Have students look at the pictures, read,
and complete the captions.
Elaborate
BOOK

on the board and having students say what it means.
Remind students that yeast are living organisms that
need to get energy in order to become active. We’ll
watch a video to observe how yeast use energy.
• Show the Digital Lab and have students complete
the Activity Card.
• Check answers as a class. Guide students to
conclude that yeast can use energy from the
sugar in watermelon to grow.
Science Notebook: Energy Roles
Have students draw a three-column chart in their Science
Notebooks with the following headings: Producer,
Consumer, Decomposer. Have students write a description
of each energy role in their own words. Students can add
drawings to help explain.
Think!
Ask: How are a consumer and a decomposer similar?
(Possible answer: They cannot produce their own energy.)
Then ask students how they are different. (Possible answer:
A consumer gets energy by eating other living things,
while a decomposer gets its energy by breaking down
dead plant and animal matter.)

T44 Unit 4 • Ecosystems: How do living things interact?

M04_SUS_TB_04GLB_4795_U04.indd 44 17/02/2016 08:32

 Lesson 2
How do living 3 Read and look at the diagram. Circle the consumer that is a carnivore in red

things get energy?

and the consumer that is a herbivore in green.

Objective: Understand how energy is transferred in
a food chain.
Vocabulary: energy, food chain, energy flow,
producer, grass, sun’s energy, food, consumer, pass
energy, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore
Food Chains
A food chain shows the transfer of
energy from one living thing to another.
In a food chain diagram, arrows
show the flow of energy. The first link in
the food chain on these pages is the sun.
A producer, such as grass, is the next
link. The producer uses the sun’s energy
to make food. Next, a consumer, such
as a prairie dog, eats the producer. The
producer passes energy to the consumer.
That consumer may then be eaten by
another consumer, such as an eagle. In
this way, energy from a producer can be
passed from one consumer to another.
Some consumers eat only plants.
They are called herbivores. Some
consumers eat only other animals. They
are called carnivores. Other consumers
eat both plants and animals. They are
called omnivores.

Digital Resources: I Will Know… Digital Activity Grassland Ecosystem

Build Background On the board, draw a sun, an

apple tree, and a bird eating an apple. Have students
identify the producer and the consumer. Where does the
apple tree get energy from? Where does the bird get
energy from? (Answers: The apple tree gets energy from
the sun. The bird gets energy from the apple.) Today’s
lesson is about how energy is transferred from one living
thing to another.

Explain I Will Know... Unit 4 45

3 Read and look at the diagram. Circle

SCI_SB4_U4.indd 45 28/01/16 16:36

the consumer that is a carnivore in red

and the consumer that is a herbivore
in green.
Have students look at the pictures and say what
ecosystem it is. The diagram shows a food chain
in a grassland ecosystem. Have students read the
first paragraph and underline what a food chain is.
Then have students read and complete the activity.
ELL Language Support
Write the words herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore
Elaborate
Responsible Consumers
Explain to students that energy is not the only thing that
is passed along a food chain. Tell them that poisons and
pesticides are also passed along from one living thing to
another. Divide the class into small groups. Have each
group discuss how the use of pesticides on plants can
negatively affect the members of a food chain. Then, as
a class, discuss what students and others can do to help
minimize the problem.

on the board. Then explain to students that the
prefixes herb-, carn-, and omni- each have a specific
meaning. Have students look up the meanings. Ask
them to write in their notebooks how the prefixes’
meanings relate to the words herbivore, carnivore,
and omnivore.
Think!
Could an omnivore still get energy if it had no plants to
eat? Why or why not? Have students discuss in pairs.
(Answer: Yes. An omnivore eats plants and animals. If it
had no plants to eat, it could eat animals to get energy.)

I Will Know...
Have students do the I Will Know… Digital Activity.

Unit 4 • Lesson 2 How do living things get energy? T45

M04_SUS_TB_04GLB_4795_U04.indd 45 17/02/2016 08:32

 Lesson 2
How do living 4 Read and complete the lists with words from the Animals that eat grass:

things get energy?

captions. Then check your answers with a partner. 1) cattle
Food Webs 2) mouse
Do you eat the same food at every meal? Some 3) grasshopper
animals do not always eat the same things either. 4) prairie dog
Ecosystems have many food chains. Food chains
Animals that eat prairie dogs:
Objective: Learn how food chains combine to form combine to form a food web. A food web is a system
1) golden eagle
of overlapping food chains in an ecosystem. Food
a food web. webs show that energy flows in many different ways 2) black-footed ferret
in an ecosystem. Energy can flow from one producer 3) coyote
Vocabulary: ecosystem, food chain, food web, to many consumers. One consumer can be eaten by
overlap, energy, flow (v), producer, consumer many other consumers.

Digital Resources: Lesson 2 Check (print out 1 per

student), Got it? 60-Second Video badger
golden
eagle
snake

Build Background Draw a three-column chart on

the board and label the columns: Wetland, Coral Reef, black-footed ferret
mouse
and Grassland. Dictate the following animals: raccoon,
butterflyfish, prairie dog, pond turtle, grasshopper, crab,
octopus, frog, golden eagle. Have one volunteer at a time grasshopper
cattle coyote
come to the front and write the name of the animal you prairie dog
energy from
call out in the corresponding column. the sun

grasses

Explain
46 Unit 4 Lesson 2 Check Got it? 60-Second Video

4 Read and complete the lists with words

from the captions. Then check your
SCI_SB4_U4.indd 46 28/01/16 16:37

answers with a partner. Elaborate

Have students look at the diagram and identify
each of the animals. Ask students to read and
complete the lists with the names of the animals
pictured in the diagram.
ELL Content Support
Have students look at the food chain and food web
diagrams. Draw a Venn diagram on the board. Label
one circle Food Chain and the other circle Food
Web. How are food chains and food webs alike and
different? Ask students to look for similarities and
differences between the two concepts.
A Food Web
Divide the class into small groups. Have each group
choose an ecosystem such as a forest or ocean. Help
students research information about their chosen
ecosystem and one of its food webs. Have students
illustrate the food web, showing how energy is
transferred from one living thing to another.
Evaluate
Lesson 2 Check Assessment for Learning
Distribute the Lesson 2 Check and allow students sufficient
time to complete it. Check answers as a class. Then ask
students to grade their progress on the topic of energy roles

Think! in ecosystems from 1 to 3: 3 = I understand energy roles

in ecosystems; 2 = I need to study more; 1 = I need help!
Encourage students giving themselves a 2 or 1 to describe
Point to the photo of the eagle. How might the removal
what they found difficult and need to study more.
of plants from a food chain affect carnivores in that food
chain? Encourage students to share ideas. (Answer:
Carnivores eat other consumers for energy. If some of those
consumers are herbivores, they will not have plants to eat, Got it
it?
? 60-Second Video
and they will not survive. The survival of the carnivores that Review Key Words for Lesson 2 (see Student’s Book
depend on those herbivores will be in danger.) page 44). Play the Got it? 60-Second Video to
review the lesson material.

T46 Unit 4 • Ecosystems: How do living things interact?

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 Lesson 3
How do ecosystems Lesson 3 . How do ecosystems change? Key Words

change? 1 Read and match each cause with its effect.

Ecosystem Change
•
•
resources
drought
• adaptation
Ecosystems are always changing. Think about what
happens when a 200-year-old tree falls in a storm.

Objective: Learn how a fallen tree can cause

Throughout its life, the tree shaded the forest floor.
Now the forest floor will receive much more sunlight.
change in its ecosystem. Seedlings that require a lot of sunlight will have a
chance to grow. Other plants that grow
Vocabulary: yeast, vinegar, ecosystem, change best in shade might not survive.
The change may affect
(v), forest floor, sunlight, seedling, nest (v), habitat, animals, too. Birds that nested
salamander in the tree may need to
find a new home. But the
Digital Resources: Let’s Explore! Digital Lab fallen tree may provide a
habitat for salamanders

Materials: picture of a loaf of bread and other animals.

Unlock the Big Question a) A tree falls down and birds It will provide a new habitat
lose their home. for other animals.

LOCK Write the following text on the board: I will b) The forest floor receives Birds will have to find a new
UNHE BIG
T know how ecosystems change. I will know that more sunlight. home in another tree.

some changes can help and other changes can c) The tree lies down on the
forest floor.
Plants that need sunlight
will grow.
harm living things in an ecosystem. 2 With a partner, discuss another cause and effect of a tree falling down in a forest.

Build Background Write the word change on the Explore My Planet! Unit 4 47
board and have students explain what this verb means.
To change something is to make it different. Have pairs SCI_SB4_U4.indd 47 28/01/16 16:37

discuss how their school and its surroundings have

ELL Reading Strategy Support
changed in the last two years. Have students share their
ideas with the class. Explain to students the difference between cause
and effect. A cause is the reason an action, event, or
Explore other thing happens. An effect is the result of a cause.
An effect tells what happened. To find the cause when
Let’s Explore! Lab How can pollution affect
you are reading, ask yourself: “Why did this happen?”
an organism?
To find the effect, ask yourself: “What happened?”
Objective: Observe the effect of a pollutant on organisms.
Digital Resources: Let’s Explore! Digital Lab, Let’s
Explore! Activity Card (1 per student) (Optional: Do the lab Explain
in class; refer to the Activity Card for materials and steps.)
1 Read and match each cause with its effect.
• Display the picture of a loaf of bread and write the
Have students look at the picture of the fallen
word yeast on the board. Remind students that yeast
tree and make a hypothesis about what caused
are used to make bread rise. In the Let’s Explore!
it to fall down. What caused the tree fall down?
Lab, we observed how yeast use energy from the
Write students’ hypotheses on the board under the
sugar in watermelon to grow. Remember that yeast
heading Possible Causes. Have students read to
grow when they get energy from sugar or other
find out the real cause. (Answer: The tree fell down
substances.
in a storm.) Then have students read and match
• Explain that today they will observe how yeast react each cause with its effect.
to two different substances.
2 With a partner, discuss another cause and
• Show the Digital Lab and have students complete
effect of a tree falling down in a forest.
the Activity Card.
• Check answers as a class. Guide students to On the board, draw a two-column chart with the
conclude that, in dry yeast, the organisms are headings Cause and Effect. Then write the answers
inactive, but when dry yeast are mixed with water of the previous exercise under the corresponding
and sugar, the organisms become active and can headings. Have pairs discuss another possible
grow. However, when yeast are mixed with vinegar cause and effect of the tree falling down in a forest.
and sugar, they do not grow because the vinegar has Check answers as a class.
polluted the habitat.

Unit 4 • Lesson 3 How do ecosystems change? T47

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 Lesson 3
How do ecosystems 3 Read and label the effects of groundhogs.

change? Living Things Cause Change

Objective: Learn how groundhogs cause positive
and negative changes in their environment.
All living things need resources like water and food. Living things get what they
need from their environments. As they do this, they cause changes in their environments.
Look at the groundhogs in the pictures. Groundhogs live underground in tunnels, or
burrows. As they dig their burrows, they change the environment. These changes can
be harmful. Groundhogs can damage crops, lawns, and the roots of trees. But some
living things benefit from changes that groundhogs cause. Foxes, rabbits, and other
animals often live in burrows made by groundhogs. Groundhogs also improve soil

Vocabulary: resources, underground, tunnel, by mixing it as they dig. This benefits plants that grow in the soil.

burrow, dig, harmful, damage (v), crops, lawns, Positive effect Negative effect
benefit (v), roots, fox, rabbit, improve, soil
Positive effect Negative effect
Digital Resources: I Will Know… Digital Activity

Build Background Have students look at the grassland,

marsh, rain forest, and coral reef pictures on page 40.
Divide the class into four groups and assign each group
one of the ecosystems in the pictures. Have groups discuss
what can make the ecosystems change. Write students’
ideas on the board.

Explain
3 Read and label the effects of groundhogs. 48 Unit 4 I Will Know...

Have students look and describe the picture. Are SCI_SB4_U4.indd 48 28/01/16 16:38

the effects groundhogs cause when they build their

homes positive or negative? Have students read and
label the effects.
ELL Language Support
Explain to students the word forms of the verbs
harm and benefit and their adjectives harmful and
beneficial by writing sentences using these words on
the board. When groundhogs dig, they can harm
the roots of plants and trees. This effect is harmful
to the ecosystem. When groundhogs dig, they mix
the soil. This can benefit things that grow in the
soil. This effect is beneficial. In these sentences, the
words harm and benefit are verbs, and harmful and
Elaborate
Building Homes
Tell students that other animals, besides groundhogs, build
homes. Divide the class into small groups. Ask students to
select other animals that build homes, such as beavers,
owls, woodpeckers, badgers, termites, or bees. Have
groups conduct research about the homes their chosen
animals build. Then ask them to write two paragraphs
about how the animals build their home and the effects
on the surrounding ecosystem. Have groups also illustrate
their paragraphs with drawings and pictures.
BOOK

Science Notebook: Before Groundhogs

beneficial are adjectives.
Ask students to write Before Groundhogs at the top of one
page of their Science Notebooks. Direct them to draw a
Think! picture of an area before groundhogs burrow in that area.
Have students research the plants and animals that live in
Beavers cut down trees and make dams that back up the area and ask them to include them in their drawings.
water in a shallow stream and flood the area. How might Encourage volunteers to share their drawings with the class.
beavers’ dams affect the plants and animals that live in
still water? (Possible answer: Plants and animals that live
in still water might move to the area near the beaver dam.
But animals that live in flowing water may die.)

I Will Know...
Have students do the I Will Know… Digital Activity.

T48 Unit 4 • Ecosystems: How do living things interact?

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 Lesson 3
How do ecosystems
change?
Objective: Learn how natural events and the
seasons cause ecosystems to change.
Vocabulary: natural events, fire, hurricane, flood,
drought, ash, seasonal change, seasons, winter,
survive, adaptation
Digital Resources: Lesson 3 Check (print out 1 per
student), Got it? 60-Second Video
Materials: pictures of a forest fire, hurricane, flood,
and drought
Build Background Draw a four-column chart on the
board. Label the chart The Four Seasons. Have students say
what the four seasons are and write the headings in each
column: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Have students
describe what they usually do during each of the seasons.
Write students’ ideas in the corresponding columns.
Explain
4 Read and underline four changes that
natural events can cause in ecosystems.
Have students look at the picture and read the
caption. Explain to students that fires are natural
events that sometimes happen in forests. Have
students read and underline the four natural
events mentioned in the text.
ELL Vocabulary Support
Display and label the pictures of the forest fire,
hurricane, flood, and drought on one side of
the board. Write the following definitions on the
opposite side of the board: A long period of time
when there is little or no rain and crops die. Heat
and flames that are burning trees in an uncontrolled
way. A violent storm with extremely strong winds
and heavy rain. A natural event that covers places
in water. Have students match each picture with
its corresponding definition.
5 In which different ways can seasons affect
the tree in the pictures? Discuss as a class.
Have students look at the pictures of the trees
and say which seasons the trees represent. Have
students read the text on season change and
discuss the different ways seasons could affect the
tree in the pictures.
M04_SUS_TB_04GLB_4795_U04.indd 49
4 Read and underline four changes that natural events can cause in ecosystems.
Natural Events Cause Change
Natural events can also change ecosystems. Fires can
burn forests. Hurricanes can wash away beaches and
cause floods. Floods can knock down trees and destroy
animal habitats. Droughts, or the lack of rain, can cause
animals and plants to die.
Not all living things are harmed by changes to
ecosystems. A forest fire may destroy many trees and
animals’ homes. But the fire also clears dead plants
and wood from the forest floor. Then trees that were not
harmed by the fire have more space to grow. Plants that need more sunlight can also
grow. Ash from the fire makes soil healthy. Ash contains minerals that plants need.
Seasonal Change
In some ecosystems,
the cycle of the seasons
brings major changes.
For example, winters may
be very cold and snowy.
Some plants die in winter.
Food may be hard to find
for some animals.
Many plants and animals have
adaptations that help them survive these changes. An adaptation is a trait that helps a
living thing survive in its environment. For example, some trees shed their leaves before
winter. This reduces the amount of water they need to take in during winter. Some
animals, such as bats and ground squirrels, hibernate, or sleep, through the winter.
5 In which different ways can seasons affect the tree in the pictures?
Discuss as a class.
Lesson 3 Check Got it? 60-Second Video Unit 4 49
SCI_SB4_U4.indd 49 28/01/16 16:38
Elaborate
Causes of Ecosystem Change
Draw a three-column chart on the board titled Causes of
Ecosystem Change. Label the columns as follows: Living
Things, Natural Events, and Seasonal Change. Point to
each column heading and read it aloud. Ask students
to name several causes of ecosystem change. For each
response, before you fill in the chart, have students say
aloud the heading of the column in which the answer
should be written.
Evaluate
Lesson 3 Check Assessment for Learning
Distribute the Lesson 3 Check and allow students sufficient
time to complete it. Check answers as a class. Then ask
students to grade their progress on the topic of how
ecosystems change from 1 to 3: 3 = I understand how
ecosystems change; 2 = I need to study more; 1 = I need
help! Encourage students giving themselves a 2 or 1 to
describe what they found difficult and need to study more.
Got it
it?
? 60-Second Video
Review Key Words for Lesson 3 (see Student’s Book
page 47). Play the Got it? 60-Second Video to
review the lesson material.
Unit 4 • Lesson 3 How do ecosystems change? T49
17/02/2016 08:32
 Let's Investigate!
Materials
Let’s Investigate!
In this unit, students learn how living and nonliving things What can you find in your local ecosystem?
interact in ecosystems and how ecosystems change. In
1. Use 3 strings to divide a square meter of land
this lab, students will observe things interacting in an square meter of land into 4 squares. Measure the length of each side
to make sure the sections are squares. Use index
ecosystem. cards to label the squares A, B, C, and D.

2. Use a hand lens to look for living things in

3 pieces of string Square A. Record the living things you observe.

3. Observe the nonliving things. Record the

Let’s Investigate! Lab What can you
hand lens
nonliving things you find.

find in your local

4 index cards
4. Repeat for each square.

ecosystem? meterstick

Objective: Observe a variety of living and

nonliving components in plots of land. Observations
Square Living Things Nonliving Things
Materials: 1 set of materials per small group of Sample data
students: square meter of land, string, meterstick, A
grass, ants rocks, soil, sand
4 index cards, hand lens
Digital Resources: Let’s Investigate! Activity Card B grass, ants rocks, soil, sand

(1 per group)
Advance Preparation: Cut the index cards for C weeds, ants rocks, soil

each group. Select one square meter of land that

contains a variety of living and nonliving things per D grass, weeds, worm soil, sand, plastic wrapper

group. You may wish to include some pavement from

a sidewalk or a playground in some squares. 50 Unit 4 Let’s Investigate! Lab

• Divide the class into small groups and distribute

materials.
SCI_SB4_U4.indd 50 28/01/16 16:38

• Have students use 3 strings to divide their

square meter of land into 4 squares. Class Project: Endangered Species

• Ask students to use index cards to label the Materials: writing and drawing supplies, cardboard
squares A, B, C, and D. (1 set per group)

• Have students use hand lenses to observe the Instruction: Explain to students that changes to
living and nonliving things in each square and an ecosystem, as well as other factors, sometimes
record their observations on the Activity Card. cause a type of animal to become extinct. Extinct
means that there are no longer any living animals
• At the end of the activity, have students share
of that kind on Earth. When the numbers of that
their observations with the class. Discuss
type of animal become so low that it is in danger
similarities and differences among their
of becoming extinct, the animal is described as
observations.
endangered.
Teacher Time-Saving Option: Show the Let’s
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Ask pairs
Investigate! Digital Lab as an alternative to the
to research an endangered animal in their area and
hands-on lab activity.
to write a report that provides information about
this animal. The reports should include information
about any changes to the ecosystem that have
Unlock the Big Question affected the animal as well as what people can do
to protect the animal from extinction. Have pairs of
LOCK Have students refer to the Big Question on students present their reports to the class in the form
UNHE BIG
T the Unit Opener page. In pairs, have them of a newscast.
discuss what they know about ecosystems and
how they change. Invite student pairs to share
their answers to questions 5 and 6 on the Let’s
Investigate! Activity Card.

T50 Unit 4 • Ecosystems: How do living things interact?

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 Unit 4 Review Unit 4 How do living
Review things interact?
VIE
RE E BI W
TH G
How do living Lesson 1

things interact?
What is an ecosystem?
1 Describe how a raccoon in a marsh interacts with
a living part and a nonliving part of the ecosystem.
a) Possible answer: The raccoon eats small animals.

b) Possible answer: The raccoon drinks water from

the marsh.
Digital Resources: Print out 1 of each per
student: Got it? Self Assessment
Assessment, Got it? Quiz Lesson 2

How do living things get energy?

2 Mark (✓) the things that are not part of a prairie
food chain.
Evaluate ✓ shark cow prairie dog

sun grasses ✓ bear

Strategies for Targeted Review ✓ butterflyfish eagle ✓ puffin

The following are strategies for providing targeted Lesson 3

review for students if they encounter challenges with How do ecosystems change?
the content. 3 List four things that can make ecosystems change.
1. Possible answers: fire, flood, hurricanes, drought,

Lesson 1 What is an ecosystem?

2. seasonal changes
3.
Question 1 4.

If… students are having difficulty describing how Got it? Quiz Got it? Self Assessment Unit 4 51
a raccoon in a marsh interacts with a living and
a nonliving part of the ecosystem, then… direct SCI_SB4_U4.indd 51 28/01/16 16:38

students to the picture of the marsh in Lesson 1.

ELL Language Support
Point out that raccoons live in this ecosystem. Have
students name living and nonliving things in the Before students start working on the Review activities,
marsh. Ask how the raccoon interacts with them. read each question aloud.

Lesson 2 How do living things get energy?

Question 2
If… students are having difficulty identifying the
things that are not part of a prairie food chain,
then… direct students to the picture of the Great
Plains in Lesson 2. Have students name all the
things they can see in the picture.
Lesson 3 How do ecosystems change?
Question 3
If… students are having difficulty identifying things
that can make ecosystems change, then… have
students draw a two-column chart in their notebooks
with the headings Living Things and Natural Events.
Have students brainstorm before they complete the
chart in their notebooks.
Got it
it?
? Self Assessment
Immediately after students have completed
the Review activities, distribute a Got it? Self
Assessment to each student. Have students
complete the Stop! Wait! and Go! statements for
each lesson, allowing them to look back through
the lesson material if necessary.
Got it
it?
? Quiz
Distribute a Unit 4 Got it? Quiz to each student.
Quizzes may be used for assessing students’
understanding of unit concepts as well as for
grading purposes.

Unit 4 • Unit Review T51

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 Unit Lesson 1 Check Unit Lesson 2 Check
4 4

Unit Lesson 3 Check Unit Lesson 1 Explore My Planet! Activity Card

4 4

T51a Unit 4 • Digital Resources and Photocopiables

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 Unit Lesson 2 Let’s Explore! Activity Card Unit Lesson 3 Let’s Explore! Activity Card
4 4

Materials Materials
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
•
•
Yeast Observations
•
•

Unit Lessons 1–3 Got it? Self Assessment Unit Let’s Investigate! Activity Card
4 4

Unit 4 • Digital Resources and Photocopiables T51b

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 Unit Got it? Quiz Unit Got it? Quiz
4 4

Teacher’s Notes

T51c Unit 4 • Digital Resources and Photocopiables

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 VIE VIE
RE E BI W RE E BI W
TH G TH G

Unit 4 Study Guide

How do living things interact? Review the

Lesson 1 Big Question
What is an ecosystem?
How do living things interact?
• An ecosystem is all the living and nonliving
things that interact in an environment. Encourage students to answer the following
question in their own words:
• Populations and communities are groups
within ecosystems. How has your answer to the Big Question
changed since the beginning of the unit? What
Lesson 2 are some things you learned that caused your
How do living things get energy? answer to change?

• The sun’s energy flows to living things Make a Concept Map

through a food chain.
Have students make a concept map like the
• A food web is a system of overlapping food one shown on this page to help them organize
chains in an ecosystem. key concepts.

Lesson 3
How do ecosystems change
• Living things can cause changes in their
environment.
• Changes can help some living things and
harm others.
• Natural events, such as droughts, can
change ecosystems.

VIE
RE E BI W
TH G

Unit 4 Concept Map

Interactions of Living Things

Causes of
Ecosystem Food Chain
Change

habitat producer living things

population consumer natural events

community decomposer seasons

Students can make a concept map to help review the Big Question.

Unit 4 • Study Guide T51d

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