Twelfth graders explore ecosystems — communities of living things interacting with their environment — and biodiversity, the variety of life that keeps ecosystems healthy, resilient, and able to provide the resources all life depends on.
Students will be able to…
A rainforest teems with millions of species; a parking lot has almost none. Why does the variety of life in an ecosystem matter so much — for the ecosystem and for us?
Project this and tap each idea. Have students learn what makes an ecosystem and why biodiversity keeps it healthy!
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
A rainforest teems with life; a parking lot has almost none — why does it matter?
Students investigate.
Students explain.
Students elaborate.
Students conclude.
Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (High School Earth & Environmental Science).
Use mathematical representations to support explanations of biodiversity at different scales.
Evaluate claims about ecosystem stability and resilience.
Design solutions to reduce impacts on biodiversity.
Analyzing and interpreting data.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students research a real case (like wolves in Yellowstone) and explain how removing or restoring a keystone species reshaped the whole ecosystem. A printable ecosystems sheet is in the Science library.
Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.
A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.