EnviroQuest
Grades 6-8 Pre-Lesson
These ecosystems include the tundra,
rainforest, taiga, coral reef, desert, tide pool,
grassland, deep sea and the freshwater
wetlands. Knowing general information on
the above stated ecosystems will increase the
students’ ability to understand the importance
of the adaptations, natural processes, and
environmental conditions mentioned
throughout the program. Attachment A
provides information on the various
ecosystems discussed throughout the
program.
Time Allotment
90 minutes
Teacher materials:
 Ecosystem PowerPoint presentation
Per student:
 (9) 3 tier paint cards
 (9) notecards
 (1) brad
 Fine tip permanent markers
 Laptops or computer station
Initial Discussion
(Ecosystem Slideshow)
1. Prepare a PowerPoint slideshow of the
Advance Preparation



Make sample Ecosystem Flash Cards
Prepare the Ecosystem PowerPoint
Reserve laptops or computer stations
nine ecosystems. Each slide should
contain various photos of each ecosystem
as well as characteristics and location(s)
of each ecosystem. (refer to attachment
Lesson Objectives


A)
Identify the 9 ecosystems through various
descriptive facts.
Identify a variety of natural processes and
environmental impacts throughout the 9
ecosystems.
2. Divide the students into 9 groups. Assign
each group an ecosystem. Each group
will be responsible for researching the
following information on their ecosystem:
location(s) around the world, ecosystem
characteristics, and “fun” or “interesting”
facts.
Sunshine State Standards
for Grades 6-8.
Category:
• SC.6.E.6.1, LA.6.1.6.1
• SC.7.E.6.6, SC.7.L.17.3, LA.7.1.6.1
• SS.8.G.3.1, SS.8.G.5.2, LA.8.1.6.1
3. Each group will present their ecosystem
information to the class. The Ecosystem
PowerPoint should accompany these
presentations. The photos will help the
rest of the class visualize each ecosystem,
and the information provided on the
PowerPoint will reinforce or correct what
the students have presented.
Vocabulary
Ecosystem, Natural Process, Environmental
Condition, Adaptation
Background Information
Throughout the program, EnviroQuest, we
will discuss animal and plant adaptations,
natural processes, and environmental
conditions from nine different ecosystems.
Hands-On Activity
(Ecosystem Flash Cards)
1
The Florida Aquarium  2012
EnviroQuest
Grades 6-8 Pre-Lesson
1. Each student should have in their
to survive and make more of itself within
its environment) of a plant or animal that
is found within the environment. This
information should be recorded on a note
card which will be taped to the back of
each environment flash card.
possession 9 3-tier paint cards, 1 brad
and a fine tip permanent marker.
2. From the original working groups, mix
students so that each new group now
contains 1 student from every ecosystem.
Assessment
3. Give each student the opportunity to
complete their fact cards by listening to
the other students share their ecosystem
information with the rest of their group.
This will give leadership to each member
of the group and no one person will be
doing everything.
Divide the students into groups of 4. Give
each group either an animal adaptation,
natural process, or environmental condition.
Have them determine which ecosystem it best
fits into and why. Have each group present
their findings to the class. Discuss the
results.
4. Once all flash cards are complete, connect
the cards with a brad so that all of the
flash cards are easily available.
Extension
Check out these great extension programs
and more at www.thinkfinity.org.
Relate Activity to Concept
Natural Hazard Risks in the United States
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpedition
s/lessons/15/g68/hazard.html
1. Now that each student has completed
their Ecosystem Flash Cards you can
begin challenging them.
Ecosystems
http://www.thinkfinity.org/ecosystems
2. Give the students general information
and/or the location(s) of an ecosystem
and challenge them to give you the right
answer.
3. Challenge them even more by asking
them to give you general information
and/or the location(s) of an ecosystem.
4. Now challenge them with finding one
natural process (a process existing in or
produced by nature) that occurs in each
environment, one environmental
condition (the present state of the
environment following a natural process
or human impact) that relates to that
process, and one adaptation (feature of
a plant or animal that improves its ability
2
The Florida Aquarium  2012
The Great Animal Challenge
Pre Lesson (Attachment A)
Tundra
 Almost all tundras are located in the Northern Hemisphere. Small tundra-like areas do exist in Antarctica in the
Southern Hemisphere
 Treeless land which covers about 20% of the Earth's surface
 The ground is permanently frozen 10 inches to 3 feet down so that trees can't grow there
 Permafrost: a permanently frozen layer of earth
 In the winter it is cold and dark and in the summer, when the snow and the top layer of permafrost melt, it is
very soggy and the tundra is covered with marshes, lakes, bogs and streams that breed thousands of insects and
attract many migrating birds
 world's coldest and driest biome
 The tundra is basically like a desert when it comes to precipitation. Only about 6 - 10 inches of precipitation
(mostly snow) fall each year
Rainforest (Tropical)
 Central America in the Amazon River basin.
 Africa - Zaire basin, with a small area in West Africa; also eastern Madagascar.
 Indo-Malaysia - west coast of India, Assam, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Queensland, Australia.
 Almost all rain forests lie near the equator.
 An average of 50 to 260 inches of rain falls yearly
 Rainforests now cover less than 6% of Earth's land surface
 A tropical rain forest has more kinds of trees than any other area in the world
 Four very distinct layers of trees in a tropical rain forest. These layers have been identified as the emergent,
upper canopy, understory, and forest floor
 Common characteristics found among mammals and birds (and reptiles and amphibians, too) include
adaptations to a life in the trees
 Insects make up the largest single group of animals that live in tropical forests
Taiga










Stretches over Eurasia and North America
Taiga is located near the top of the world, just below the tundra
Largest biome in the world
The winters in the taiga are very cold with only snowfall.
The summers are warm, rainy, and humid.
The total precipitation in a year is 12 - 33 inches. Precipitation comes in three forms: rain, snow and dew. Most
of the precipitation in the taiga falls as rain in the summer.
Also known as a boreal forest
The taiga doesn't have as many plant and animal species as the tropical or the deciduous forest
Mainly evergreen trees grow there
susceptible to many wildfires
The Great Animal Challenge
Pre Lesson (Attachment A)
Coral reef
 Coral reefs are found around the globe in warm waters
 Mainly in the tropical areas. This includes the Eastern coast of Africa, the Southern coast of India, the coasts of
Australia, the Red Sea, off the coast of Florida in the United States, along the Caribbean, and along the coast of
Brazil.
 Located in shallow waters
 70 degrees to 85 degrees
 Fringing reefs are those found along the coastline, along the shallow waters of the continental shelf
 Barrier reefs are further out into the lagoon. They actually create a barrier between the sea and the lagoon area.
 Coral atolls are rings of coral which are the remains of volcanoes under the water.
Desert
 Most hot and dry deserts are near the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn.
 Cold deserts are near the Arctic.
 Hot and dry deserts usually have very little rainfall and/or concentrated rainfall in short periods between long
rainless periods.
 Cold deserts usually have lots of snow. They also have rain around spring.
 Hot and dry deserts vegetation is very rare. Plants are almost all ground-hugging shrubs and short woody trees.
Some of the adaptations in this case are the ability to store water for long periods of time and the ability to
stand the hot weather.
 Plants of the dry desert have adapted to the lack of water by using dew for moisture and taking in water through
their leaves and stems.
Tide pool
 Tide pools form in zones of rocky shoreline where ocean and land meet.
 Tide pools are basically holes or crevices that stay filled with water once the tide goes out.
 A tide pools is a harsh environment due to changing water levels, changing temperatures, and predation.
 Very diverse population of species.
Grassland
 Grassland biomes can be found in the middle latitudes, in the interiors of continents.
 Grassland biomes are large, rolling terrains of grasses, flowers and herbs.
 In the winter, grassland temperatures can be as low as -40° F, and in the summer it can be as high 70° F.
 The precipitation is so erratic that drought and fire prevent large forests from growing.
 Grasses can survive fires because they grow from the bottom instead of the top. Their stems can grow again
after being burned off.
 Also known as prairies.
The Great Animal Challenge
Pre Lesson (Attachment A)
Deep sea
 The deep sea begins at a depth of 200m, where sunlight becomes inadequate for photosynthesis.
 The trenches are the deepest part of the ocean floor; they are long, narrow, and deep.
 Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the deepest point in Earth's oceans.
 The temperature runs between 34 to 39 degrees F.
 The pressure is extremely great; it is known to be 1,000 times greater than on the surface. It could crush an
unprotected human body.
 Organisms in the deep sea must withstand total darkness (except for non-solar light such as bioluminescence),
extreme cold, and great pressure.
 The deep sea is the largest habitat on earth and is largely unexplored.
Freshwater wetlands
 Wetlands are found all over the world, within almost every terrestrial biome from deserts to alpine tundra.
 There are an abundance of wetland areas in the southeast, the Mississippi river system and in the northern
states of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
 Wetlands form an intermediate zone in between land and water. They are neither one nor the other, but a
combination of both.
 Wetlands are water habitats such as swamps, marshes, flood plains, mangroves and bogs.
 In a wetland biome the conditions are always very moist and humid.
 They may have water in them all the time or only during particular times of the year. That is a key factor.
Coral Reef
Ecosystem
Coral Reef
Coral reefs are found around the
globe in warm waters. This includes
the Eastern coast of Africa, the
Southern coast of India…
Ecosystem
location
• Fringing
Located
inBarrier
shallow
waters
Types:
Reefs,
Reefs,
Atolls
Water temperature normally between 70-85
degrees F.
1. Natural Process:
2. Environmental Condition:
3. Adaptation:
Ecosystem
facts
Flash Card (Back)
Flash Card (Front)
Coral Reef
Coral reefs are found around the
globe in warm waters. This includes
the Eastern coast of Africa, the
Southern coast of India…
Types: Fringing Reefs, Barrier Reefs, Atolls
Water temperature normally between 70-85
degrees F.
Flash Card Packet