NATURAL SCIENCE YEAR 5

By Rafael Rodríguez Pérez

INDEX
1. Ecosystems
2. Terrestrial ecosystems
3. Aquatic ecosystems

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1. ECOSYSTEMS

 Class discussion. Watch this video and tell your

classmates how much you know about ecosystems.

Ecosystems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
qr_U1P7XwhI

 Rotatory sheet technique. Look at this ecosystem, write one element that you can
see in your notebook and pass it around. Then, add another element in your mate’s
notebook.

 Work in pairs. Use the previous activity and speak with your partner.
Use these questions:
- What living things are there in this ecosystem?
There are…
- What non-living things are there in this ecosystem?
There are…

 Numbered heads together. Read this sentence, think and complete in groups. Be
creative!
All the elements of an ecosystem interact.
a. A rabbit interacts with a river because it drinks water.
b. A tree interacts with the air because _____.
c. The air interacts with the birds because _____.
d. The birds interact with the clouds because _____.
e. The clouds interact with the _____ because _____.
f. The _____ interact with the _____ because _____.
g. The _____ interact with the _____ because _____.

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 Picture dictation. Listen and draw living things (biocoenosis) green and non-living
things (biotope) red.

 Work in groups. Look at your pictures from the previous activity.

Discuss in group and answer:
a. Which picture represents a terrestrial ecosystem?
b. Which picture represents an aquatic ecosystem?
c. What is the difference between a terrestrial and an aquatic
ecosystem?

 1-2-group. Classify the living things in this ecosystem into fauna

(animals) and flora (plants).

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 TPR. Read, listen and act out.

In all ecosystems, there are living things grouped into species (horses, whales,
poppies, oak trees, etc.).
All the organisms of one species in an ecosystem make up a population.
All the populations in an ecosystem make up a community.

 Dictation.
- Only the living things from the same species (community) can successfully reproduce.

-
 Thinking twins. In pairs, complete these diagrams. You can’t write if any of you don’t
know the answers.

2. TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS

 Pencils in the centre. Read and label the pictures. Remember to put your pencil
cases in the centre and take them to write only when everybody knows the
answers.
Terrestrial ecosystems are located on land and there is a lot of air in them

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 Draw a real terrestrial ecosystem in Carmona and describe. Remember to use ‘there
is’ and ‘there are’.

 Individual activity. Read the characteristics of the terrestrial ecosystems and say what
ecosystems they are.

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 Read and circle the correct word.

LIFE AT THE TOP OF THE EARTH

Tundras are very cold ecosystems. They are in
the Arctic, where the weather is extremely cold,
dry and windy. In some areas, there aren’t any
trees.
The Arctic tundra has temperatures from -12 ºC
to -6 ºC. This means that the top layer of the soil is
normally frozen. The name of this layer is
permafrost.
In winter, the permafrost is covered with a big
layer of snow, and there aren’t plants visible.
However, during the short summer, there are 24
hours a day of sunlight, the surface of the
permafrost is not frozen, and flowers appear.
There are some animal species in the Arctic
tundra, such as Arctic foxes, polar bears, caribous,
snow geese, etc. Unfortunately, as a result of
global warming, temperatures are increasing. This
is causing the permafrost to disappear and it is not
good for this unique ecosystem.

a. Tundra ecosystems are in the Arctic / Antarctic.

b. Temperatures in tundra ecosystems are very high / low.
c. The top layer of the soil is the tundra / permafrost.
d. Winter in the Arctic tundra is long / short.
e. Permafrost can disappear because of the global warming / snow.

3.AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

 Numbered heads together. Listen to the questions, discuss in groups and answer.

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a. Does the sea have salt water or fresh water?

b. And a river?
c. Is there more salt water or fresh water on Earth?
d. Which type of water can you drink?

 1-2-group. Look at these pictures, think and define each aquatic ecosystem in your
notebook. Remember to name some animals that live there.

 Work in pairs. Take your partner’s notebook and complete his/her definitions. Use
this information:
- SANDY BEACHES: They have high salinity. They are affected by tides and waves.
There are seagulls, oystercatchers, sand fleas and sea worms.
- ROCKY SHORES: They have high salinity. There are a lot of rocks. There are
algae. There are starfish, octopuses and sea anemones.
- OPEN SEA: They have high salinity. This is the deep sea far from the coast. There
isn’t very much sunlight, so algae can’t grow. There are jellyfish, sea turtles,
sardines, tuna, sharks, dolphins and whales.
- RIVERS: They have low salinity. The water is moving. There are otters and trout.
- LAGOONS: They have low salinity. The water doesn’t move very much. Plants
can grow (reeds). There are frogs, water snakes, water beetles and ducks.

 Discussion mates. In pairs, one of you will read one sentence and the other one will
explain why it is incorrect. Later, you switch roles.
a. Terrestrial ecosystems are found on land and there isn’t any air in them.
b. Aquatic ecosystems can be freshwater ecosystems (seas and oceans) and
saltwater ecosystems (rivers and lakes).

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 Work in pairs. Complete the unit diagram.

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