In this unit, students explore interactions in ecosystems, how organisms adapt to environments, and how ecosystems change over both long and short time scales.  Students consider an anchoring phenomenon of disappearing bees in the Midwest.  The Crosscutting Concepts of Cause and Effect, Systems and System Models, and Scale, Proportion, and Quantity are utilized as students describe ecological relationships and evaluate ways to remedy ecological disruptions.  Students consider three common Midwestern ecosystems- prairies, forests, and ponds.  Throughout the unit, the prairie is a key focus.

The unit concludes with the students exploring what happens when components of an ecosystem change. They compare and debate different solutions to a real-life complex scenario involving the endangered prairie chicken.  Students then apply this experience to the original phenomenon of disappearing bees- how might students choose a solution that addresses this problem within their own neighborhood or school?