Water Ecosystems

Dive into water ecosystems with this one-page worksheet! Students read about ocean, freshwater, and wetland ecosystems, sort six examples into a table, and then decide if four sentences are true or false.

The passage explains that water ecosystems are sorted by their abiotic factors, and the biggest one is salinity. Ocean ecosystems have salt water, and because sunlight only reaches the top part of the ocean, most algae and plants live near the surface. Freshwater ecosystems, like lakes, ponds, and rivers, have very little salt, and students learn that river water moves fast while lake and pond water is still. Wetlands, like marshes and swamps, are land covered by shallow water for part of the year, where many young fish and birds grow up and where floodwater soaks in like a sponge. A Key Words note gives short meanings for salinity, freshwater, and wetland. In the sorting activity, students place six examples, such as whales in deep salty water, a trout in a fast river, and alligators in a swamp, into the Ocean, Freshwater, or Wetland column. The true or false items check key facts, like whether sunlight reaches the deepest ocean. The sheet is written to Texas TEKS 6.12A and also fits NGSS MS-LS2-1.

What's inside:

• A short passage with a Key Words note
• A 6-item sorting table
• 4 true or false sentences
• A visual answer key with every answer marked in red

How teachers use it:

• As a follow-up to a lesson on land ecosystems
• 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.