Biodiversity Lesson: Educators Guide

BIODIVERSITY...and Why It's So Important
EDUCATORS’ GUIDE

BIODIVERSITY…

and why it’s so important

Grades 4-5
Grades 6-8
Grades 9-12

EDUCATORS' GUIDE

Overview

The purpose of this guide is to accompany NEPC’s Biodiversity… and Why It Is So Important lesson. It is designed to help educators adapt the lesson for students in grades 4-12 by providing suggested pacing, grade-level expectations, background knowledge, vocabulary, guiding questions, differentiation strategies, standards connections, and optional extensions.

Educators can choose to use the complete lesson, or to select individual sections to complement an existing life science, ecology, evolution, or conservation unit.

The Lesson

Biodiversity can be difficult for students to fully understand because it extends far beyond simply recognizing that many different species exist. This lesson helps students see biodiversity as a connected system in which genes, species, ecosystems, and ecological relationships work together to support life on Earth.

Through examples involving primates and the ecosystems they inhabit, students explore how living organisms depend on one another and how each species contributes to the health and function of its environment.

Why Educators Use This Lesson

Educators may use this lesson to:

  • introduce genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity as interconnected parts of biodiversity
  • help students understand how organisms depend on one another and contribute to ecosystem function
  • connect adaptations and evolutionary relationships to the environments in which organisms live
  • develop systems thinking by examining how changes to one species may affect other parts of an ecosystem
  • connect classroom science to real-world conservation challenges and the importance of protecting biodiversity

Learning Goals Across Grade Levels

Students will:

  • define biodiversity and recognize genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity as interconnected levels of biological variety
  • explain how organisms interact with and depend upon one another within ecosystems
  • connect adaptations and evolutionary relationships to the environments in which organisms live
  • analyze how changes to one species, population, or habitat may affect other parts of an ecosystem
  • evaluate the importance of biodiversity and identify ways that people can support conservation

Grades 4-5: Students focus on observing biological variety, recognizing patterns, and identifying relationships among organisms and their habitats.

Grades 6-8: Students explain interactions within ecosystems, connect the three levels of biodiversity, and examine how changes to one part of an ecosystem may affect other organisms.

Grades 9-12: Students analyze complex ecological relationships, evaluate evidence, investigate threats to biodiversity, and examine the ecological consequences of environmental change and conservation decisions.

Grade-Band Snapshot

 

Grade band

Main focus

Recommended approach

Watch for

Grades 4-5

Recognizing and describing biodiversity

Use familiar organisms, photographs, sorting activities, and local habitats. Keep explanations concrete and observation-based.

Students may think biodiversity means only “many kinds of animals” or may struggle with genetic differences that are not visible.

Grades 6-8

Connecting the three levels of biodiversity

Use food webs, ecosystem examples, diagrams, and cause-and-effect questions. Ask students to support explanations with evidence.

Students may memorize the three levels without explaining how they interact or may view ecosystems as naturally balanced and unchanging.

Grades 9-12

Connecting biodiversity with evolution, ecosystem function, and conservation

Use datasets, case studies, scientific sources, and conservation problems with more than one possible solution.

Students may oversimplify complex ecological problems or assume that greater biodiversity is always better in every situation.

The central ideas of the lesson should remain the same, but the depth of evidence, independence, and analysis should increase across grade levels

Helpful Resources

Return to the Biodiversity Lesson Introduction
Sources
Sources

RESOURCES USED TO CREATE THIS LESSON

What is Biodiversity?

  • https://internationalprimatologicalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PSG-report-2018-2021-IPS-FINAL.pdf

Earth's living organisms and the roles they perform

  • https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity-and-wildlife#:~:text=We%20have%20identified%20and%20described,most%20diverse%20and%20unique%20ecosystems.
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3138616/#:~:text=Mammals%20undoubtedly%20play%20an%20important,general%20ecosystem%20health%20%5B23%5D.
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2839384/
  • https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345504520_The_functional_roles_of_mammals_in_ecosystems
  • https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/bacterialh.html

Genetic Diversity

  • https://neprimateconservancy.org/aye-aye/
  • https://neprimateconservancy.org/mongoose-lemur/
  • https://neprimateconservancy.org/golden-bamboo-lemur/
  • https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Phylogenetic-tree-of-all-lemur-species-used-for-Phylogenetic-comparative-analyses-in-this_fig7_320959199
  • https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/research-posts/island-life-drove-lemur-evolution
  • https://www.lemurworld.com/lemur-evolution/
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45250302

Ecosystem Diversity

  • https://sciencing.com/10-examples-natural-ecosystem-7836.html
  • https://reliefweb.int/report/world/state-world-s-forests-2020-forests-biodiversity-and-people-enarru#:~:text=Forests%20cover%2031%20percent%20of,one%2Dthird%20is%20primary%20forest.
  • https://www.treehugger.com/how-much-carbon-do-different-forests-store-4857854
  • https://www.nrdc.org/stories/why-we-must-protect-canadas-boreal-forest
  • https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/grassland-biome
  • https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/food_practice/grasslands_and_savannahs/
  • https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/ecosystem-diversity
  • https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/ecosystem-connections
  • https://www.science.gov/topicpages/a/african+savanna+ecosystem
  • https://sciencing.com/tundra-important-5329435.html
  • https://sciencing.com/why-are-deserts-important-12322785.html
  • https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/deserts/minerals/
  • https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Mutual-benefits-Semi-arid-ecosystems-such-as-the-Kalahari-pictured-here-are_fig4_5988089
  • https://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/articles/can-namibia-balance-mining-and-nature/
  • https://thewildclassroom.com/biomes/alpine-tundra/
  • https://thewildclassroom.com/biomes/artictundra-2/
  • https://archive.epa.gov/aed/lakesecoservices/web/html/ecosl.html
  • sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0380133017300412
  • https://eartheclipse.com/science/geography/rivers-formation-importance.html
  • https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/why-are-wetlands-important
  • https://d2ouvy59p0dg6k.cloudfront.net/downloads/pantanal_snapshot_8a__002__copy.pdf
  • https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/florida/stories-in-florida/why-mangroves-important/#:~:text=Mangrove%20forests%20nurture%20our%20estuaries%20and%20fuel%20our%20nature%2Dbased%20economies.&text=Mangroves%20are%20important%20to%20the,deposits%20that%20reduce%20coastal%20erosion.
  • https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plants-algae/seagrass-and-seagrass-beds
  • https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ocean-oxygen.html#:~:text=At%20least%20half%20of%20Earth's%20oxygen%20comes%20from%20the%20ocean.&text=Scientists%20estimate%20that%2050%2D80,some%20bacteria%20that%20can%20photosynthesize.
  • https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/deepocean/
  • https://maritime-executive.com/features/ocean-storage-of-co2#:~:text=Carbon%20dioxide%20is%20naturally%20stored,wind%2Dup%20in%20the%20ocean.
  • https://www.sierraforestlegacy.org/Resources/Conservation/FireForestEcology/ForestEconomics/EcosystemServices.pdf
  • https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/glr2.12012#:~:text=The%20results%20indicate%20that%20the,global%20grasslands%20exceeds%20%2420.8%20trillion.
  • https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314261395_Economic_value_of_ecosystem_services_minerals_and_oil_in_a_melting_Arctic_A_preliminary_assessment
  • https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/economic_benefits_of_wetlands.pdf
  • https://unctad.org/meeting/oceans-economy-and-ecosystem-services-sustainable-fisheries-and-coastal-tourism-side-event

What are Biodiversity Hotspots?

  • https://www.conservation.org/priorities/biodiversity-hotspots#:~:text=Certain%20areas%20have%20large%20numbers,in%20securing%20our%20global%20biodiversity.
  • https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/hotspots-defined

What factors impact biodiversity?

  • https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2019/09/25/the-global-impacts-of-habitat-destruction/
  • https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/invasive.html
  • https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1008922
  • https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news-health/news/article/4823/species-invasions-can-teach-us-about-covid-19
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4947151/
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8337078/
  • https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/protect-water-and-land/land-and-water-stories/invasive-plant-species-invasive-species-education-1/
  • https://www.allianceforthebay.org/2018/02/10-ways-you-can-prevent-the-spread-of-invasive-species/
  • https://www.doi.gov/blog/invasive-species-finding-solutions-stop-their-spread

We invite your feedback…

Let us know how we’re doing!

  • What worked in your classes?
  • What didn’t work?
  • What did you add to enhance the lesson?
  • What did you find valuable?
  • What can we do differently?

We’d love to hear from you!

Lesson developed by Stephanie Young, 2023

Educators’ Guide developed by Timothy Gordon, 2026

NEPC lessons are designed to be flexible. Educators are welcome to use the complete lesson or select and adapt individual activities, questions, and materials to complement their existing curricula and meet the needs of their students. NEPC’s factual and scientific content should remain unchanged when shared or distributed as NEPC material.

Copyright © New England Primate Conservancy 2026. You may use, copy, and share these Learning Activities for educational purposes.

For questions or comments, e-mail us at info@neprimateconservancy.org.