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Ecosystems Worksheets

13 free PDFsUS Letter PDFsAnswer key includedNo login

Producers, consumers and decomposers, food webs, how matter cycles through an ecosystem, and what happens when an ecosystem changes.

Download the ecosystems and food webs worksheets

Roles in an ecosystem

A poster and a sort with its cut and paste twin.

  • Preview of the printable “Producers, consumers and decomposers poster” worksheet: describing the roles of producers, consumers and decomposers in an ecosystemView larger

    Producers, consumers and decomposers poster

    Describing the roles of producers, consumers and decomposers in an ecosystem

    1 page105 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Producers, consumers and decomposers sort worksheet” worksheet: classifying organisms as producers, consumers or decomposersView all 2 pages

    Producers, consumers and decomposers sort worksheet

    Classifying organisms as producers, consumers or decomposers

    Answer key on page 2

    2 pages522 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Producers, consumers and decomposers cut and paste” worksheet: classifying organisms as producers, consumers or decomposersView all 2 pages

    Producers, consumers and decomposers cut and paste

    Classifying organisms as producers, consumers or decomposers

    Answer key on page 2

    2 pages527 KB

Food webs

Read a forest food web, build a meadow food web and answer food chain and food web questions.

  • Preview of the printable “Food web Worksheet: A forest food web” worksheet: reading a food web to describe how matter and energy move among organismsView all 2 pages

    Food web Worksheet: A forest food web

    Reading a food web to describe how matter and energy move among organisms

    Answer key on page 2

    2 pages565 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Build a food web worksheet (Draw the Arrows)” worksheet: developing a food web model from information about what organisms eatView all 2 pages

    Build a food web worksheet (Draw the Arrows)

    Developing a food web model from information about what organisms eat

    Answer key on page 2

    2 pages417 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Food chain and food web questions worksheet” worksheet: explaining how food chains connect to form food websView all 2 pages

    Food chain and food web questions worksheet

    Explaining how food chains connect to form food webs

    Answer key on page 2

    2 pages39 KB

How matter moves

The matter cycle, a page to label, decomposers and changes in an ecosystem.

  • Preview of the printable “Matter cycle in an ecosystem diagram” worksheet: modeling the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers and the environmentView larger

    Matter cycle in an ecosystem diagram

    Modeling the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers and the environment

    1 page26 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Matter cycle in an Ecosystem: label the diagram” worksheet: modeling the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers and the environmentView all 2 pages

    Matter cycle in an Ecosystem: label the diagram

    Modeling the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers and the environment

    Answer key on page 2

    2 pages30 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Decomposers reading passage for 5th grade” worksheet: explaining how decomposers return matter to the environmentView all 2 pages

    Decomposers reading passage for 5th grade

    Explaining how decomposers return matter to the environment

    Answer key on page 2

    2 pages73 KB

  • Preview of the printable “Ecosystem changes Worksheet: what would Happen?” worksheet: predicting how changes in one part of an ecosystem affect other partsView all 2 pages

    Ecosystem changes Worksheet: what would Happen?

    Predicting how changes in one part of an ecosystem affect other parts

    Answer key on page 2

    2 pages40 KB

Investigate and review

An ecosystem in a jar, vocabulary and a quiz.

  • Preview of the printable “Ecosystem in a bottle observation worksheet” worksheet: observing how matter cycles in a model ecosystemView larger

    Ecosystem in a bottle observation worksheet

    Observing how matter cycles in a model ecosystem

    1 page30 KB

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these ecosystems and food webs worksheets

An ecosystem is all the living things in a place and the nonliving things they need. Plants make food from sunlight, air and water; animals eat plants and each other; decomposers break down dead things and return nutrients to the soil. Matter cycles round and round, while energy flows through.

These ecosystems worksheets start with a roles poster and a sort (cut and paste, or put an X). Children read a forest food web, build a meadow food web from clues, label the matter cycle, read about decomposers, predict what happens when an ecosystem changes, and observe a model ecosystem in a jar.

Every page is black and white, prints on US Letter or A4, and every page with right answers has an answer key on page 2.

Standards

  • NGSS 5-LS2-1Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.4Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
  • NGSS 5-PS3-1Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun.

How to use them

  1. Take a short walk outside and list producers, consumers and decomposers you see.
  2. Read the forest food web together, then build the meadow web with a partner.
  3. Use the matter cycle diagram before the label page.
  4. Set up the ecosystem in a jar and observe it for two weeks.

Teaching tips

  • In a food web, arrows point from the food to the eater: the direction energy and matter move.
  • Decomposers include fungi, bacteria and some worms.
  • Matter cycles; energy flows in as sunlight and leaves as heat.
  • Removing one living thing can affect many others in the web.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

A food chain shows one path of who eats whom. A food web joins many food chains, because most animals eat more than one kind of food.

What do decomposers do?

They break down dead plants, animals and wastes into nutrients that go back into the soil for plants to use.

How does matter move in an ecosystem?

Plants take in carbon dioxide, water and nutrients; animals eat plants; decomposers break down dead things; and the nutrients return to the soil and air.