65

Lesson 65 of 84 ยท Ecosystems

Simulationโญ 30 XP๐ŸŒฟ Wild Jungle

What Do Plants Need to Grow? (Part 2)

๐ŸงชLab Brief #65

Ecosystems.

๐ŸŽฏ Your mission

Play with the model. Break it. Understand it.

โšก The twist

Every species solves the same problem differently.

๐Ÿคฏ

Mind = Blown

๐ŸŒณ Trees can talk to each other through underground fungus networks.

๐Ÿ”ฎ

Make a hypothesis first

Before you watch: what do you think it'll do?

What You'll Learn

Plants need sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and nutrients from soil to grow. Their roots absorb water and minerals while their leaves capture sunlight for photosynthesis.

Key Words

  • invertebrate
  • species
  • organism

Steps

Step 1 โ€” Read

Review the background information on Ecosystems before starting.

Step 2 โ€” Do

Model natural selection: scatter colored paper scraps on grass. Time how long it takes a partner to pick up each color. Which color survived longest? Why?

Step 3 โ€” Observe

Use your senses (except taste) to describe what you notice.

Step 4 โ€” Record

Write a summary of your findings in 3-5 sentences.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

What type of consumer eats only plants?

๐ŸŒ

Where you see this in real life

Your own body is doing this thousands of times every second.

๐Ÿ†

Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

Find one thing about your body that's different from a friend's. Wonder why.

๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ง

For the dinner table

โ€œTell me something you noticed about your own body today.โ€

๐ŸŽฏ

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

๐ŸงฒShare card

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๐Ÿ–จ๏ธ

Checkout complete lesson on Ecosystems for 4th Grade

Get the full Ecosystems track as a printable PDF โ€” all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.

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