1. Read the passage about the ecosystems. 2. Answer the questions in complete sentences.

3. Use correct spelling and punctuation marks.

Ecosystems

Name:
An ecosystem is a community of plants and animals and the physical environment in
which they live. There are many different types of ecosystems. Some examples include Arctic
regions, deserts, evergreen forest, rain forests, mountains, and marshes. Earth has many
different types of plants and animals, and they are perfectly adapted to live in one of these
communities, or ecosystems.

The plants and animals of a particular ecosystem depend on that ecosystem for
survival. Animals that live in a rainforest could not live in an Arctic region. Animals living in a
marsh could not survive in the mountains. When an ecosystem is changed, the plants and
animals living there are affected. Cutting down the trees of a rainforest or evergreen forest
would not only change the way an area looks, but it would cause huge changes for the plants
and animals living there. Imagine The monkeys of a rainforest living in an area with no trees.
They could not do so. Monkeys needed trees for hunting, sleeping, transporting themselves
from place to place, and safety. Remove the trees from an ecosystem that is made of trees and
the plants and animals living there would perish.

Marshlands are an ecosystem that consists of water, trees, and tall grass. Remove any
one of those from a marsh and all animals living there would disappear. Drain the water from a
marsh and the animals and the plants would disappear. With no water, the plants of a marsh
would die. With no water, the animals that live in water would die. Animals that hunt for food in
and around the water would disappear. Where would they go? Animals used to living and
hunting in a wet area would either die or go in search of another wet area in which to live. A
marsh could be changed in another way: pollution. Polluting the water of a marsh would cause
similar results.

Science Standard:
S4L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the
flow of energy within an ecosystem.
c. Design a scenario to demonstrate the effect of a change on an ecosystem

1.RI. 4.3 Explain why events,
procedures, ideas, or
concepts, in a historical,
scientific, or technical text,
including what happened and
why, based on specific
information from the text

Explain what would happen to an animal if the vegetation around them disappeared?

2. RI. 4.3 Explain why
events, procedures, ideas, or
concepts, in a historical,
scientific, or technical text,
including what happened and
why, based on specific
information from the text

Explain why animals living in a rain forest could not survive in the arctic.

3.RI.4.2 Determine the main
idea of a text

What is the passage mainly about?
(Short Answer)

4. RI.4.4 Determine the
meaning of general academic
vocabulary and domain
specific specific words

Remove the trees from an
ecosystem that is made of
trees and the plants and
animals living there would
perish.

In the sentence above, what
does the word perish mean?

A. To grow
B. To decay
C. To eat
D. To see

R. L.1 Refer to details and
examples in a text when
explaining what the text says
explicitly and when drawing
inferences from the text.

5. Explain what would happen to animals if and when the water disappears?

6.4.RI.5: Describe the overall
structure (e. g., chronology,
comparison,
cause/effect,
problem/solution) of events,
ideas, concepts, or
information in a
text or part of a text.

Remove the trees from an
ecosystem that is made of
trees and the plants and
animals living there would
perish.

Cause:

Effect: