Students will participate in an introduction to ecosystems and food webs by applying their existing knowledge of systems and communities to new understandings of interdependence and interconnectedness.

Essential Questions: 

• What is a system? What are systems in our lives? What are the basic needs of individuals in ecosystems?
• What forces, either within or outside ecosystems, disrupt how these needs are met?
• What parallels might we discover between animal ecosystems and our place in communities?

This lesson was developed for the Smithsonian American Art Museum by Christine Riggen. It is designed to be taught via distance learning, but could also be adapted for in-person instruction.