Introduction
There has been a terrible natural disaster which has completely mixed up all of the world’s ecosystem’s characteristics! The desert is freezing and there are tigers swimming in the ocean! We need YOUR help to help straighten up our ecosystems and get them back to normal!
Today, you will work in a team of 5 researchers to sort out this mess! Then, you will give a special news report on the evening news, outlining the characteristics of different types of ecosystems.

HEADLINE NEWS!:TIGERS ARE SWIMMING IN THE OCEAN!Teacher: Mr. HowellSubject: Science Grade Level: 6th CCSS: 6.5.c Students know populations of organisms can be catergorized by the function they serve in an ecosystem
Task
Your team's job is to research the world's ecosystems and put them back together, then you will report on the corrected ecosystems on the evening news. To do this, first, you will fill out a chart on 5 different ecosystems. Then, you will create a news report using iMovie.
Use the websites listed on the process page to assist in completing the following chart...
Name: ________________________________#_________ Date: ________________
Ecosystems chart
Use this chart to sort out the following information that has gotten mixed up!
You will use this chart to complete your news report!
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Estuaries/Salt Marshes |
Oceans |
Lakes/Ponds |
Grasslands |
Forests |
|
|
Describe this ecosystem’s climate |
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Describe this ecosystem’s characteristics |
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Aquatic or Terrestrial? |
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Estuaries/Salt Marshes |
Oceans |
Lakes/Ponds |
Grasslands |
Forests |
|
|
Animals that live in this ecosystems (at least 10) |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. |
|
Plants that live in this ecosystem (at least 10) |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. |
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Find an example of a food chain in this ecosystem (at least 5 organisms included) |
If there is any other important or interesting information about any of the above ecosystems that you found, use the space below to record it:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Process
1. Use the websites listed below to find information to complete your chart.
2. Use iMovie to create a news report that it at least 3 minutes long. Make sure: i. Each team member reports on at least one ecosystem. ii. All categories on graph are mentioned in report. iii. Your news report is saved as ECOSYSTEMS. *Review both Rubrics listed in the evaluation section prior to completing these assignments to ensure you fulfill all requirements!RESOURCES
Websites:
a. Estuaries/Salt Marshes: i. http://mbgnet.net/salt/sandy/indexfr.htm ii. http://www.saltmarshlife.com/index.html iii. http://www.onr.navy.mil/Focus/ocean/habitats/estuaries1.htm iv. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/estuaries/1 v. http://www.edc.uri.edu/restoration/html/intro/salt.htmb. Oceans: i. http://mbgnet.net/salt/oceans/index.htm ii. http://www.earthskids.com/ek_science-marine.htm iii. http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/ iv. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/365256/marine-ecosystem v. http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/c. Lakes/Ponds: i. http://mbgnet.net/fresh/lakes/index.htm ii. http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/nature/habitat/lakes.htm iii. http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/freshwater.html iv. http://www.epa.gov/bioiweb1/aquatic/classify.html v. http://eo.ucar.edu/kids/wwe/lake3.htm d. Grasslands: i. http://mbgnet.net/sets/grasslnd/index.htm ii. http://hamiltonnature.org/habitats/grasslands/grasslands.htm iii. http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/grassland-profile/ iv. http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/ v. http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/grass.htm e. Forests: i. http://mbgnet.net/sets/temp/index.htm ii. http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/ iii. http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/dforest.html iv. http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/temperateforest.html v. http://www.globio.org/glossopedia/article.aspx?art_id=3
Evaluation
1. Rubric for Ecosystems Chart:
Ecosystems Webquest CHART Rubric
|
0 points |
1 point |
2 points |
3 points |
|
|
Estuaries/Salt Marshes |
4 or more section were incomplete and/or incorrect |
All but 2-3 sections for this topic are completed and correct |
All but 1 section for this topic are completed and correct |
All sections for this topic are completed and correct |
|
Oceans |
4 or more section were incomplete and/or incorrect |
All but 2-3 sections for this topic are completed and correct |
All but 1 section for this topic are completed and correct |
All sections for this topic are completed and correct |
|
Lakes/Oceans |
4 or more section were incomplete and/or incorrect |
All but 2-3 sections for this topic are completed and correct |
All but 1 section for this topic are completed and correct |
All sections for this topic are completed and correct |
|
Grasslands |
4 or more section were incomplete and/or incorrect |
All but 2-3 sections for this topic are completed and correct |
All but 1 section for this topic are completed and correct |
All sections for this topic are completed and correct |
|
Forests |
4 or more section were incomplete and/or incorrect |
All but 2-3 sections for this topic are completed and correct |
All but 1 section for this topic are completed and correct |
All sections for this topic are completed and correct |
Chart score: ____/15
2. Rubric for iMovie:
Ecosystems News Report Team Individual Rubric
Activity in iMovie
|
For your report, you: |
0 points |
1 point |
2 points |
3 points |
|
Were on camera for at least one minute |
Less than 30 seconds |
30 seconds |
45 seconds |
One minute or longer |
|
Reported on your ecosystem’s CLIMATE |
Climate was NOT reported on |
_____ |
_____ |
Climate was clearly presented and correct |
|
Reported on your ecosystem’s CHARACTERISTICS |
Characteristics were NOT reported on |
_____ |
_____ |
Characteristics were clearly presented and correct |
|
Reported on your ecosystem’s type (aquatic or terrestrial) |
Type was NOT reported on or was incorrect. |
_____ |
_____ |
Type was reported on correctly. |
|
Reported on 10 animals that live in your ecosystem |
4 or lessanimals that live in this ecosystems were presented |
5-7 animals that live in this ecosystems were presented and correct |
8-9 animals that live in this ecosystems were presented and correct |
10 animals that live in this ecosystems were presented and correct |
|
Reported on 10 animals that live in your ecosystem |
4 or less plants that live in this ecosystems were presented |
5-7 plants that live in this ecosystems were presented and correct |
8-9 plants that live in this ecosystems were presented and correct |
10 plants that live in this ecosystems were presented and correct |
|
Reported on 10 animals that live in your ecosystem |
A food chain was NOT presented |
2-3 organism food chain was presented |
4 organism food chain was presented |
5 organism food chain was presented |
iMovie score: ____/21
Conclusion
Thank you so much for helping sort out the ecosystems!
I can’t wait to air your stories on the evening news to clear up the confusion in the world!
It would have been a huge mess without you!