Using your graphic organizers
Use these pages to write notes about your biome. Be sure to include specific facts. For instance, if
you say the desert is very dry, be sure to say how dry (less than ____ inches of rain/year, for example). You
may have several details about an animal or a plant. They may not be complete sentences. But when you
write your paragraph, think about how you can combine those facts into a longer, complex sentence, while
still making sense. You may decide not to use everything you write down on your graphic organizer. Remember, your report is not about the animal. The animal is just a small part, and should only be 2-3 sentences
long. So pick out the most important details, but be sure to include the adapatations (what helps it survive
in its environment).
You must show me that you completed these graphic organizers. You will show them to me on or
before May 3. I will not keep them; I just want to see that you did them. I will check you off (Dojo Points!),
and then you will take them home to write the final copy.
Putting your report together
Each page of your graphic organizer is one paragraph in your report. The graphic organizer helps you
create the detail sentences in your paragraph. You will have to add a topic sentence and a concluding sentence.
An example of a topic sentence might be something like this: Nearly 9,000 different types of animals
live in the Galapagos Islands, but three of the most interesting are the marine iguana, the giant tortoise, and
the Galapagos penguin.
After the topic sentence, create detail sentences using the details from your graphic organizer. Use
transition words to link the sentences together and make it sound smooth. If you say what your three animals are in your topic sentence, you don’t have to say it again
Don’t do this:
Nearly 9,000 different types of animals live in the Galapagos Islands, but three of the most interesting are the marine iguana, the giant tortoise, and the great white shark. My first animal is the marine
iguana.
That’s just a wasted sentence.
Do something like this instead (this is one paragraph using the entire animal graphic organizer page):
Nearly 9,000 different types of animals live in the Galapagos Islands, but three of the most interesting are the marine iguana, the giant tortoise, and the Galapagos penguin. Marine iguanas are like other
iguanas because they swim and they are herbivores, but they are the only ones that go in the ocean. They
adapted to the salt water by having special glands in their noses that collect the salt. Every once in a while
they sneeze the salt out! Another interesting animal, the giant tortoise, is the largest living tortoise on
Earth! Their legs can be either long or short, depending on how high the bushes are where they live. Finally,
a visitor might be surprised to see penguins living where it is warm, but the 3rd smallest kind of penguin
lives here very nicely. It has learned to turn its white side to the sun because white reflects the heat and
keeps it cooler. It’s amazing to think such fascinating creatures live only in the Galapagos Islands.
Name:______________________________________________#_______
Biome/Ecosystem being researched: ___________________________________________
Animal Graphic Organizer
List Three animals that thrive in the habitat:
Describe each animal: What do they look like, what do they eat, what adaptations do they have that allow
them to live in this ecosystem. 2-3 complex or compound sentences per animal.
Animal 1:
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Animal 2:
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Animal 3:
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Name:______________________________________________#_______
Biome/Ecosystem being researched: ___________________________________________
Plant Graphic Organizer
List Three plants that thrive in the habitat:
Describe each plant: What does it look like, what purpose does it serve (is it a food plant for animals? do
people use it?, What adaptations does it have that allows it to live in this ecosystem. 2-3 complex or compound sentences per plant.
Plant 1:
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Plant 2:
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Plant 3:
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Name:______________________________________________#_______
Biome/Ecosystem being researched: ___________________________________________
Non-Living Parts Graphic Organizer
Describe the ecosystem. What are it’s world locations? You may choose to focus on one part of your biome
(such as the African grasslands—check with me if you have a question):
Locations (where do you find this biome in the world):
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Landscape (water sources, land formations (mountainous? flat lands? variety?)
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Climate (rainfall, temperature, seasons):
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Final words: Give your opinion about the biome. Tell one last interesting thing about your biome to end your report.
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Resources: List at least two—four resources where you got your information. If it is a book, write the title, and be sure to underline it, and write the author’s name. If it is a website, write the name of the website and write the website address (URL).
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