Ecosystem is a word that scientists use to describe a specific area and all the animals and plants that live in, or inhabit, it. An ecosystem may be as small as a puddle or much larger, like a river. For example, most ponds contain fish, insects, plants, and microorganisms—living things too small to be seen, such as bacteria. The kinds of living things that inhabit an ecosystem depend on the physical conditions. These conditions include temperature, rainfall, and the natural surface features of the land.

Another word, biome, describes much larger areas that share the same types of living things and the same physical conditions. A biome may contain many ecosystems within it. In this lesson, you'll explore the Everglades biome.

Goals
Here are the big ideas you will learn about in this lesson:

• Certain conditions support the wide variety of living things in the Everglades biome
• Changing conditions can upset the balance and health of any environment

Strategies
You will be using many reading and writing strategies to complete this lesson. The key strategies that you will focus on are:

• Categorizing basic facts and ideas
• Comparing and contrasting ideas
• Determining important information
• Making inferences

• environment
• habitat
• subtropical

Consider the environment you live in. You might be surrounded by trees, mountains, or desert. If you live in a city, you are probably surrounded by buildings, parks, and paved streets. In your environment, the climate—the average weather conditions in a location—may be generally dry, wet, cold, or hot. The climate might also change with the seasons.

Describe the environment where you live. List two physical factors (such as weather and temperature), two living things (such as plants and animals), and one habitat (place where plants and animals live).

You can also print out My Environment Chart (PDF) to help you group the parts of your environment.

Watch this video from ZOOM guest Tommy to learn more about the climate, plants, and animals that exist in the Everglades. The Everglades are a biome in southern Florida. As you'll discover from the video, the Everglades get large amounts of rainfall at times, especially during the summer. This is one feature of the Everglades' humid subtropical climate. As you watch the video, think about how the Everglades compare with your environment.

Click "View" on the left to watch the video.

After watching, list one to two ways in which the Everglades are the same as where you live, and one to two ways in which they are different.

As Tommy mentions in the video, the Everglades are one of the wettest places on Earth. In the summer, more than eight inches of rain fall each month. In the winter, it is a much drier place. The water that collects during the "rainy season" gradually disappears. Less than two inches of rain fall during each of the months that make up the "dry season."

Show what you've learned so far by answering these three questions. Be sure to save all your answers before you go to the next screen.

In this lesson, you have seen some of the amazing plants and animals that inhabit the Everglades biome. You have also learned about the physical conditions that make the Everglades a good habitat for biodiversity. Now you will read how both living and nonliving things can influence the health of an ecosystem.

Click "View" on the left to read the passage.

After you read the passage, list three dangers that the Everglades face from outside forces.

You will now check your understanding of the vocabulary words for this lesson by placing them in sentences. Click "View" on the left to begin the activity.

Before moving to the next screen, choose two words from the vocabulary list and write a new sentence for each word.

Vocabulary words: biodiversity, biome, ecosystem, environment, habitat, subtropical

As you saw and read on the previous screens, the Everglades biome is a place where living things, physical conditions, and habitats are connected. In this activity, you will sort information on a concept map according to which of the three connected areas a term best belongs.

Click "View" on the left to begin the activity. Your teacher will review the answers with you.

Then, before moving on to the final assignment, you may want to watch this lesson's videos again or reread the passage.

An Everglades Visit

Video: 2m 20s

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The Florida Everglades—Life in the Balance

Document

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In this lesson, you have learned about the living and nonliving parts of the Everglades biome and some of the dangers it faces today. You will now write an essay that shares what you have learned and what you think about it.

Begin by reviewing your notes. Click "review my work" above and view or print out the screen that pops up.

Final Assignment Instructions

• Click Florida's Everglades: The River of Grass—Final Assignment (PDF).
• Choose one of the topics in the PDF and write an essay.
• Organize your response so that it includes at least three supporting details that you have learned from the reading passage, video, and other materials in this lesson.
• Use at least three vocabulary words (or form of the words) as part of your supporting details. For example, for the word jump, you could use jumps, jumped, or jumping.