Relationships Between Organisms

Review all five ways organisms interact with this one-page worksheet! Students read a short passage, match each kind of interaction to an example, and then fill in key terms with a word bank.

The passage names the five main interactions in an ecosystem. In predation, a predator hunts and eats its prey. In competition, organisms struggle for the same limited resources, like food, water, or space. The passage then explains that some organisms live closely together in a relationship called symbiosis. In mutualism, both organisms benefit. In parasitism, a parasite benefits and its host is harmed. In commensalism, one organism benefits and the other is not affected. A Key Words note gives a short meaning for mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism, so students can tell the three kinds of symbiosis apart. In the matching activity, students draw lines from predation, competition, mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism to examples like a leech on a turtle, two trees growing toward the same sunlight, and a bird spreading seeds. In the fill-in activity, students complete four sentences with symbiosis, host, predator, and compete. The sheet is written to Texas TEKS 6.12B and also fits NGSS MS-LS2-2.

What's inside:

• A short passage with a Key Words note
• A 5-item matching activity
• A 4-item word bank fill-in
• A visual answer key with every answer marked in red

How teachers use it:

• As a review at the end of a lesson on relationships between organisms
• For bell work, stations, or an exit ticket
• As homework or sub plans, with no prep needed

It takes about 5 to 10 minutes and prints clearly in black and white. This worksheet is part of our Reading in Science series for grade 6.