Forest Ecosystem


Observe and manipulate the populations of four creatures (trees, deer, bears, and mushrooms) in a forest. Investigate the feeding relationships (food web) in the forest. Determine which creatures are producers, consumers, and decomposers. Pictographs and line graphs show changes in populations over time.

Screenshot of Forest Ecosystem Gizmo

LESSON MATERIALS:

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

  • Understand the role each type (consumer, producer, decomposer) of creature plays in the carbon cycle.
  • Determine the feeding dependencies in a forest ecosystem.
  • Determine which consumers are decomposers.
  • Interpret pictographs and line graphs.

VOCABULARY:

  • consumer, decomposer, inorganic, organic, population, producer

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