Grade 5 Science: Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Free Grade 5 Science unit on Ecosystems and Biodiversity: 10 lessons in order, starting with Ecosystems. Includes practice questions and answer keys.
10 lessons in this unit
Ecosystems
Learn that an ecosystem is a community of living things interacting with their non-living environment, name its biotic and abiotic parts, and study a local pond or school garden.
Lesson 2Producers
Learn that producers make their own food using the Sun’s energy, include plants, algae and some bacteria, and are the base of every food chain, and compare producers in land and water ecosystems.
Lesson 3Consumers
Learn the types of consumers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and scavengers, plus primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, and examine adaptations such as teeth and claws.
Lesson 4Decomposers
Learn that decomposers such as fungi, bacteria and worms break down dead matter, return nutrients to soil, and investigate decay of foods safely in sealed bags.
Lesson 5Food chains
Learn to build and read food chains for different ecosystems, use correct terms (producer, primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, apex predator) and predict what happens if one link changes.
Lesson 6Food webs
Learn that real ecosystems have many linked food chains forming food webs, draw and read a food web, and predict the effects of removing or adding a species.
Lesson 7Energy flow
Learn that energy enters ecosystems from the Sun and flows one way through food chains, with about ten percent passed on at each step, and draw and interpret energy pyramids.
Lesson 8Matter cycling introduction
Learn that matter is recycled in ecosystems, follow the carbon and nitrogen cycles in simple form, and explain how photosynthesis, respiration, feeding and decay keep atoms moving.
Lesson 9Biodiversity
Learn that biodiversity is the variety of life at gene, species and ecosystem level, why it matters, how to sample and compare it in a quadrat, and what threatens it.
Lesson 10Ecosystem conservation
Learn why ecosystems need protection, compare conservation methods such as protected areas, restoration, sustainable use and community action, and design a school conservation project.