Life Sciences: Ecosystems

This Ecosystems module has four units of instruction. Clicking on the unit titles will take you to the topic. These units include an interactive PowerPoint presentation, pre- and post- tests in multiple formats for varied delivery methods, a self-study game, note-taking outline, and multiple activities to reinforce and enrich the content of the lessons.

Standards Aligned: Each unit is aligned to the NGSS and TEKS for both middle school science and high school biology, as appropriate for the lesson content. A document included with each unit provides the standards for that unit.

Each module has a “Hazards” section that presents environmental hazards (such as oil spills, farm runoff, insecticides, and so on). 

You may go through the units in any sequence, but we suggest first exploring Unit 1, Natural Selection.

Each instructional unit includes topics on:

  • Introduction
  • “Why Does It Matter” to explain the significance of the subjects
  • “How We Know” to explain how under-standing develops
  • “What We Know” to summarize the main facts
  • “Story Time” a short bio sketch on famous scientists, emphasizing, where possible, their childhood
  • Activities, Assignments for hands-on learning
  • Major Hazards
  • Interactive self-study game
  • Interactive flash cards for self-study

Teacher's Note

These modules are designed to be used by middle and high school students. The interactive PowerPoint documents are developed to be student-centered and self-guided. The note-taking outlines go along with the PowerPoint presentations and focus on materials that are required in the NGSS and TEKS standards. The pre- and post-tests are developed to prepare students for the types of questions that they might encounter on standardized tests. There are many higher level questions included in the presentations and the activities that encourage students to critically analyze the content. Full teacher instructions are included in each unit.