This lesson will focus on ecosystems! While exploring in Aurelia, you may have seen two different marine ecosystems - the pelagic ocean and coral reefs. While exploring them, you will have learned about the different animals that call those habitats home and the adaptations they have to do so! This lesson will expand on what ecosystems are, how organisms adapt to their ecosystems, apply that knowledge to a kelp forest ecosystem, and connect this lesson to conservation applications.

This Ecology Unit covers all 5th Grade Life Science Standards. It is designed to take approximately one semester. It includes labs, discussion questions, and projects.

Students will investigate the hypothesis that an asteroid impact caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. In the activity, students will create a Dinosaur Food Web, students use cards and construction paper connectors to create a food web from the time of the dinosaurs. Using this model, they follow the flow of energy through the food web and figure out why dinosaurs went extinct but some other animals survived.