Grade 3

Ecosystems!

by Mrs . Emily Tran

As a part of our unit 2, How We Organize Ourselves, the third graders learned about how living things work together to meet each others’ needs. This interaction works not just for human communities but other communities –ecosystems! An ecosystem can be defined as the interaction of living things in each environment. Anything as small as a stream or as big as the ocean can be an ecosystem!

The third graders worked together in groups to build their own terrarium to observe over time. They used recycled bottles from home. The students learned not only how the plants, water, fish and sunlight work together, but also how to organize themselves and care for God’s creation. Each group was responsible for splitting the tasks to feed and clean their terrarium. Students worked together and observed other things working together!

Will: "It is important to learn about ecosystems because....it is our life and we need it [ecosystems] to live."

Theodore: "It is important to learn about ecosystems because.... they form together to make something we need in life."

Hyewon: "It is important to learn about ecosystems because.... we are learning about natural resources in unit 3 (now) and ecosystems give us natural resources. And natural resources give us things we need to live and survive."