Interactions and Energy in Ecosystems

This spring-themed lesson supplements a unit on plants, ecosystems, or biomes for middle school science. Mapped to NGSS standards MS-LS2-2 and MS-LS2-3, it covers the interactions between plants, animals, and non-living things in an ecosystem. Students will learn about a garden ecosystem, research and describe another type of ecosystem, and produce a carbon cycle model of that ecosystem. Included in the packet are a complete lesson plan, 2 graphic organizers, a reading passage and glossary, independent and group practice activities, and multi-question assessment. Appropriate for grades 6-8.