In this investigation, students figure out how changes to the plants or animals in an ecosystem affect the other members of the food web and how that affects the flow of energy in a food web.

The Chihuahuan Desert Ecosystem kit includes all the materials students will need to design and carry out an investigation in the 5th-grade science book (NGSS Edition). 

This kit contains enough materials for 6 groups of students to design and carry out this investigation.

Core Idea(s)

• ELS6: Interactions and Relationships in Ecosystems
• ELS4: Matter and Energy Cycles and Processes 

Practices

• SEP1: Asking questions and defining problems
• SEP2: Developing and using models
• SEP3: Planning and carrying out investigations
• SEP6: Constructing explanations and designing solutions
• SEP7: Engaging in argument from evidence
• SEP8: Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information 

Crosscutting Concepts (or Recurring Themes and Concepts)

• CC2: Cause and effect
• CC7: Stability and change