Grade 6 · Biodiversity · Biodiversity and Resilience
Map Diversity in a Wetland
Biodiversity includes variation within a species, among species, and among communities and habitats. These layers of diversity affect how natural systems respond to change.
Visual model
See how the ideas connect
Classify using distinguishing characteristics
Describe biodiversity at several levels
Explain resilience and interdependence
Biodiversity and Resilience
For students
Notice, predict, explain
Choose one part of the model. Predict how it connects to another part, then use the lesson evidence to explain your thinking.
For teachers
Pause for science talk
Show the model before the explanation. Ask “What do you notice?” and “What might change?” Then revisit student ideas after the worked example.
The big idea
Diversity gives natural systems more ways to respond
When organisms and their relationships vary, some may tolerate a disturbance or continue an ecological role, helping the community recover and remain resilient.
Work it through
Compare two wetland communities
- Step 1 Classify observed organisms using shared characteristics and record variation within each group.
- Step 2 Map relationships such as feeding, pollination, shelter, and decomposition between species and their environment.
- Step 3 A wetland with several pollinators, food sources, and shelter types has more possible responses when one population declines.
- Step 4 An invasive species or changing climate can disrupt relationships and reduce the biodiversity that supports recovery.