Key Vocabulary

The following vocabulary terms are also identified within the Overview pages for the activities, which also include links to vocabulary-focused student pages. Note that these definitions are geared for Grades 3–5 students, while the definitions that “pop up” within the activity text online are geared for the teacher.

Activity	Term	Definition*
1	Adapted	Suited to certain conditions in the environment.
1	Ecosystem	A community of living things interacting with their environment.
1	Environment	Everything around an organism that affects it.
1	Field	An area of open land without trees or buildings.
1	Forest	A thick growth of trees covering a large area of land.
1	Fungi	An organism that gets nutrients by absorbing materials from its surroundings. Fungi are important decomposers.
1	Habitat	An area that provides an organism with enough food, water, shelter, and space to live.
1	Leaf litter	Leaves and other dead plant matter that has fallen to the ground.
1	Mammal	A warm-blooded animal that has fur or hair and produces milk for its young.
1	Microhabitat	A small habitat where very small organisms live.
1	Nutrient	A substance needed for health and growth.
1	Organism	Any living thing.
1	Species	A group of organisms that share the same characteristics and can have offspring.
Activity	Term	Definition*
2	Bacteria	Microscopic, one-celled organisms.
2	Decomposer	An organism that eats dead material and causes it to break down.
2	Decomposition	The process of breaking down dead material into smaller parts.
2	Ecosystem	A community of living things interacting with their environment.
2	Fungi	An organism that gets nutrients by absorbing materials from its surroundings. Fungi are important decomposers.
2	Habitat	An area that provides an organism with enough food, water, shelter, and space to live.
2	Nutrient	A substance needed for health and growth.
2	Snag	A standing dead tree that has lost most of its branches.
2	Species	A group of organisms that share the same characteristics and can have offspring.
Activity	Term	Definition*
3	Carnivore	An animal that eats other animals.
3	Decomposer	An organism that eats dead material and causes it to break down.
3	Ecosystem	A community of living things interacting with their environment.
3	Food chain	The order in which animals feed on plants or on other animals and are, in turn, consumed.
3	Food energy	Energy that organisms get from food in order to live and grow.
3	Food web	All of the connected food chains in an ecosystem.
3	Herbivore	An animal that eats plants.
3	Photosynthesis	The process by which green plants make food from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.
Activity	Term	Definition*
4	Aquatic	Living or growing in water.
4	Carbohydrates	Substances made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that are found in foods such as bread and cereal.
4	Carbon dioxide	A gas that is made up of carbon and oxygen. Animals exhale this gas, and plants use it to make food.
4	Chlorophyll	The green substance in plants that captures sunlight to make food out of water and carbon dioxide.
4	Ecosystem	A community of living things interacting with their environment.
4	Food energy	Energy that organisms get from food in order to live and grow.
4	Habitat	An area that provides an organism with enough food, water, shelter, and space to live.
4	Nutrient	A substance needed for health and growth.
4	Photosynthesis	The process by which green plants make food from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.
4	Reproduce	To produce offspring or young.
4	Stomata	Tiny openings on a leaf’s surface through which gases pass.
Activity	Term	Definition*
5	Carbon dioxide	A gas that is made up of carbon and oxygen. Animals exhale this gas, and plants use it to make food.
5	Ecosystem	A community of living things interacting with their environment.
5	Growth ring	A layer of wood formed in a tree or other plant during a growth period.
5	Nutrient	A substance needed for health and growth.
5	Reproduce	To produce offspring or young.
5	Species	A group of organisms that share the same characteristics and can have offspring.
Activity	Term	Definition*
6	Adaptation	A structure or behavior that helps an organism survive in its environment.
6	Adapted	Suited to certain conditions in the environment.
6	Ecosystem	A community of living things interacting with their environment.
6	Habitat	An area that provides an organism with enough food, water, shelter, and space to live.
6	Invasive species	A species that causes harm when it moves to a new area or habitat.
6	Native species	A species that occurs naturally in an area or habitat.
6	Non-native species	A species living in an area or habitat where it does not naturally live or grow.
6	Outcompete	Do better than another species in getting food, space, light, or another resource.
6	Species	A group of organisms that share the same characteristics and can have offspring.

*Definitions adapted from Delta Science Dictionary, Grades 3–5. Delta Education. 2003.