Human impacts on ecosystems

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of the workshop, students will be able to:

  • Identify what an ecosystem is and give examples

  • Explain the the difference between living and nonliving things

  • Understand the impact that humans have on 3 ecosystems

  • Explore simple steps they can take to help protect ecosystems

Essential Questions:

  • How do our actions connect to global ecosystems, regardless of proximity?

  • How do humans interact with local ecosystems?

Explore our resources

Click on the images to access each resource (available as a PDF or webpage)

Take-Home Guide

Information for parents & legal guardians (available in English and Spanish).

Información para padres de familia y tutores legales (disponible en Inglés y Español).

Standards Alignments

Explore the ways our program aligns with CCSS + NGSS standards.

Vocabulary

Quiz your students on vocabulary used during our lesson!

 

Mobile Activity

Create a mobile using paper, markers, and a clothes hanger, to explore different systems and parts of an ecosystem!

Social Emotional Learning

Imagine the local environment if people weren’t a part of it!

Video Resources

Explore relevant videos here!

 

Reading Resources

Explore relevant books, articles, and more!

Challenge Guide

Completing this challenge will help your school become a CiS Certified Sustainable School!

Lesson Reflection

Print and send home this reflection activity to show families what their student learned.

 

Background Information

Ecosystems are made up of both living and nonliving components, which are connected and interact with one another. Humans interact with ecosystems all over the world, whether directly or indirectly. While there are many types of ecosystems all over the world, we will explore the arctic, rainforest, and ocean with your students.

Arctic

In the arctic, all species, including polar bears, are very dependent on arctic ice. The burning of fossil fuels has caused the climate, including the oceans, to warm, which in turn has caused more arctic ice melt than we have seen in recorded history. As the arctic ice slowly shrinks, so too does the arctic ecosystem, leaving less habitable space for animals. People can slow down ice melting by reducing the amount of energy and fossil fuels they use.

Ocean

The ocean is the biggest ecosystem, taking up 71% of earth's surface. Coral reefs, despite covering less that one percent of the ocean floor, support about 25% of marine life. Sea grass also supports a variety of life in the ocean. Just like in the arctic, human activities are threatening ocean ecosystems. Warming ocean temperatures cause corals to bleach and increases their chance of dying. Sea grass is harmed when boats dredge and trawling the ocean floor. Oil spills release enormous amounts of pollution into the ocean. To reduce the frequency of oil spills and the amount of global climate change, we can reduce our use of fossil fuels as much as possible.

Rainforest

Rainforests are home to 50% of all land animals although they only cover about 2% of earth’s land mass. Due to deforestation, rainforest animals are losing their habitat at an alarming rate. About 90 acres of rainforests are lost every minute due to deforestation. It takes many years for a tree to mature and currently trees are being cut down faster than they can be replaced. Reducing the amount of paper used is a simple way to combat deforestation. Reusing paper and recycling are easy ways to help reduce paper use.