Grade 5 Ecosystems and Wetlands
September - October 2010
Through research and scientific exploration students are examining the interactions between living and non-living components of a wetland ecosystem. This includes familiarization with examples of wetland ecosystems (ponds, sloughs,marshes, bogs and fens) and the plants and animals that live in and around them. For this unit, students will need to be inquisitive, creative and ready to have fun. An integral part of the wetland ecosystems unit is the study that extends beyond the classroom. As such, CES is fortunate to be included in the 2010 Parks Canada Grade 5 Pilot Project: Ecosystems of Waterton Park. Interpreters Karen, Francis and Lauren have done an excellent job designing an overnight camping program that aligns with the Science 5 Alberta Program of Studies.
Update: On September 20-21 the boys spent one night and two full days hiking and studying the ecosystems of Waterton Park. Although they were accompanied by old man winter, learning and fun was had by all. On September 22-23 the Grade 5 girls also spent two full days hiking and studying the ecosystems of Waterton Park. A huge thank you to the many parent volunteers and CES staff, Ky Bevans, Kathy Schow, Warren Toth, Eric Quinton, Mark Bennett and Doreen Pilling. Please stay tuned for photographs and student, parent and teacher feedback.
Vocabulary Check-ups: Science vocabulary check-ups will be on Wednesdays. Students will study five words at a time.
Unit Exam
There will be five vocabulary words chosen from words 16-28 (multiple choice) on the unit test. There will be an additional five questions on the following topics. Students are instructed to be familiar with the following topics.
- Food Chains
- Ecosystems and the plants and animals that can be found in a Wetland Ecosystem
- Life Cycles
- Adaptations
Wetland Vocabulary
Water Pollution: Manmade materials that destroy a body of waters ecosystem.
Habitat: The place where an animal or plant naturally lives.
Niche: What an animal contributes to its habitat.
Food Chain: Animals/Plants arranged in a system where each feeds on lower organisms.
Herbivore: Plant eating organisms.
Producer: A plant or animal that is at the bottom of the food chain.
Ecosystem: A community of animals and plants and how they work
Omnivore: Meat and plant eating organisms.
Consumer: Animals in a pond that eat plants or other animals.
Decomposers: Organisms in a pond that eat other dead plants or animals.
Carnivore: Meat eating organisms.
Oxygen: A gas needed for us and all organisms to live.
Algae: Pond scum
Tadpole: The second phase of a frog's life cycle.
Micro-organism: Small plant and animal life that can't be seen with the human eye.
Life Cycle: Recognizable stages of development in a plant or animal.
Leopard Frog: A type of frog quickly becoming extinct in Southern Alberta.
Pelican: A large fish-eating bird with a large puch beak.
Pond: General term for an open water (not choked with plants) wetland.
Slough: A weed choked, very shallow wetland common to Southern Alberta.
Peat Bog: Dead remains of partly rotten plants.
Cattail: Grows on the edge of wetlands. Tall grass with dark brown seed clusters.
Emergent Plant: Plants that grow partly in and partly out of the water.
Submergent Plants: Plants that grow completely under water.
Bog: Wet spongy ground made mostly from dead moss. Very old ponds, Muskeg.
Marsh: Same as slough. Generally lots of cattails and bull rushes.
Fen: Very shallow, stagnant wetland (water just sits there and gets gross).
Swamp: Marshy land with lots of vegetation including trees (Florida Everglades).
Please ask your student to explain their amazing "Wetland Ecosystem Creature" to you!!!
