Ecosystems Newsletter
2007-2008
Volume 1, Issue 4.8
Dear Parents,
The purpose of this newsletter is to give you an overview of what your child will be learning during our current unit of
study in science. Please take a moment to look over the different sections of this newsletter. You will see example
questions, important terms to know, and some extension activities you can do at home.
Parent Background:
It all starts with the sun. Energy is given off from the Sun in the form of light, and green
plants convert this energy into a usable form of food energy through a process called
photosynthesis. All living things need energy to live. A food chain shows the transfer of energy
through one possible set of organisms. If several of these simple food chains are connected, a
food web is created. A food web shows all the possible ways that energy might move through a
system.
In every food chain, there is a producer, a consumer, and a decomposer. Green plants are
considered producers because they make the food that animals higher on the food chain eat, or
consume. Consumers may eat only plants, only other animals or both plants and animals. If a
consumer eats only plants, they are an herbivore. If they eat only other animals, they are a
carnivore. If they eat both plants and animals, they are an omnivore. Once a plant or animal has
died, their energy must be returned to the soil. This is accomplished through decomposers.
Decomposers, such as microorganisms, break down the nutrients in living things, and return these
nutrients back to the soil, which in turn feeds the plants, beginning the cycle all over again.
Ecosystems need a balance of producers, consumers, and decomposers. If the
ecosystem is not balanced, one part of the system will die off until it rebalances.
Students will know…
 all living things need energy to live
and grow
 an organism’s energy source can
generally be traced back to the Sun
 living things interact with each other
to form a system
Ways Parents Can Help
Students will be able to…
 identify the role of producers, consumers,
and decomposers within a community
 demonstrate the flow of energy through a
food web/ food chain
 predict how changes in environment or
populations would affect communities of
organisms
Here are some activities you and your 4th grader can do together:
1) Read any of the books listed below & make connections between the vocabulary on the back and the
story.
The Water Hole by Graeme Base
Poppy by Avi
Wump World by Bill Peet
Milo and the Magical Stones by M. Pfister
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Go to http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm to create and print your own food chains and webs
This is a fun site where you can find animals and place them in a food
web.http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/interdependence.shtml
Vocabulary
carnivore: meat-eating animal
consumer: living things that eat other living things
decomposer: organism that breaks down dead plant and animal materials for energy
ecology: study of relationship between plants, animals, and the environment in which
they live
ecosystem: the interaction of plants and animals within an environment
energy: required to start the food web; starts with the sun and the process of
photosynthesis
food chain: the order in which plants and animals feed on the one below it
food web: a variety of food chains within an ecosystem
omnivore: living things that eat both plants and animals
predator: living animal that hunts other living animals for food
prey: hunted animal of predator
producer: green plants; use the sun’s energy to make their own food (photosynthesis); provide
food and oxygen for other living things
Sample Test Prep Question #1
Sample Test Prep Question #2
All of these are consumers EXCEPT a —
The diagram below shows a food
chain.
F
G
H
J
butterfly
wasp
bullfrog
tree _
Food Chain Chuckles
What would you get
if you crossed
vegetables with a
necklace?
A Food Chain!
Answers to Test Prep:
1) J- a tree is a producer
2) A- plants are producers