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050
16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07
Where We Live
Wherever you live, you are part of an environment.
An environment is all the living and nonliving things that
surround you. This includes the people in your family, your
friends, and others who live and work near you. Animals and
plants that live near you are part of your environment
as well.
Nonliving things are also part of your environment.
Water, air, soil, and weather are all examples of nonliving
things that are around you.
Environments change all the time. Sometimes the
changes are slow. When big changes in an environments
weather occur over a long period of time, certain plants and
animals can no longer live there. Other changes can
happen quickly, such as when a bridge or a house is built.
Plants die and animals must quickly nd a new home.
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Get Connected
Every environment has a system that connects living and
nonliving things to one another. It is called an ecosystem.
An ecosystem is a community and its physical environment.
Some ecosystems may be smaller
than the tip of your nger. Other
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ecosystems may be bigger than the
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ocean. Ecosystems may have just a
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few living things or hundreds of
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Think of a crack in the sidewalk,
a hole in a tree, or even the land
under a bridge. You would nd plants, insects, and other
animals living there. You can see some of them easily, but
others you can only see under a microscope.
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Living Things
Each person in your home is an individual. The people in
your home make up a population. A population is a group
of the same kind of individuals living in the same ecosystem.
A group of palm trees is a population. So is a group
of silkworms.
Populations live among other populations. Swans might
live on a pond with ducks. Because ducks are different from
swans, they are a different population.
Some animals live in groups. People live in groups called
families. Dogs living in the wild live in a group called a pack.
Some populations can live in only one place. Other
populations, such as people, can live in many different
ecosystems.
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Change in Ecosystems
A good example of how animals depend on plants
might be the last meal you ate. It probably had fruits or
vegetables in it. Other animals, like birds, insects, and
squirrels, depend on plants in another way. They make their
homes in plants.
Plants also depend on animals. Animals that eat plants
keep the plants from spreading too much. This leaves space
for different plants to grow near one another.
Because animals and plants depend on each other, any
change can have a big effect on an ecosystem. Some
changes involve living things. Deer that live in a forest nd
food from plants and trees that grow there. If there are too
many deer, there will not be enough plants and trees in the
forest to provide food.
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13
14
You can help protect air and water by turning off the
lights when you are not in a room. You can cut down on
how much water you use. You can ride together with people
and walk to destinations that are close by.
Governments can tell people not to pollute local
waterways. They can pass laws so that factories will not
pollute the air.
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Summary
We live in environments that have ecosystems in which
living and nonliving things are connected to one another.
Changes in an ecosystem affect both animals and plants.
Living things are adapted to changes in the environment.
Humans have harmed ecosystems, but they can do things
to restore and protect the environment.
15
Glossary
community (khusMYOOsnuhstee) All the populations of
organisms living together in an environment (7)
diversity (duhsVERssuhstee) A great variety of living things
(10, 11)
ecosystem (EEskohssisstuhm) A community and its physical
environment (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15)
environment (ensVYsruhnsmuhnt) All of the living and
nonliving things that affect an organism (2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11,
13, 14, 15)
habitat restoration (HABsistat resstuhsRAYsshun) Returning
a natural environment to its original condition (15)
pollution (puhsLOOsshuhn) Waste products that damage
an ecosystem (14)
population (pahpsyuhsLAYsshuhn) All the individuals of the
same kind living in the same environment (6, 7, 10)
16
Hands-On Activity
With a friend, go to the library and look at a book about
the tropical rain forest. Draw pictures of some of the many
animals and plants that live in the rain forest. If you have
clay, model your favorite rainforest animal.
School-Home Connection
Ask an adult to take you to a nearby stream or park.
Together, make a list of all of the living things you can see or
imagine in that environment. Discuss how the living things
depend on one another.
GRADE 4
OL Book 5
WORD COUNT
1500
GENRE
Expository Nonfiction
LEVEL
See TG or go Online
Harcourt Leveled
Readers Online Database
www.eharcourtschool.com
ISBN 978-0-15-362226-7
ISBN 0-15-362226-1
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