Ecosystem project rubric: grades K–2, 3–5 and 6–8
This ecosystem project rubric scores a project on one ecosystem or biome, as a poster, a diorama, a report or a model: the living and nonliving parts, a food chain or web, how energy moves, adaptations, and what changes the ecosystem. Grades 3–5 and 6–8 use four levels with points, with the food web counting twice; K–2 uses three levels with no points. Print it, or open it in the rubric maker to change any cell.
Ecosystem project rubric, grades K–2
3 levels, 3 criteria, no points (a switch in the maker adds them).
| Criteria | Wow! | Yes | Not yet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living things | I show three or more plants and animals that really live there. | I show one or two that live there. | My plants and animals do not live there. |
| What they need | I show water, sun, air and shelter. | I show one or two things they need. | I do not show what they need yet. |
| Who eats what | My food chain has three steps and arrows the right way. | My food chain has two steps. | I do not have a food chain yet. |
- I can show plants and animals that live there.
- I can show what living things need, like water and sun.
- I can make a food chain with arrows.
Ecosystem project rubric, grades 3–5
4 levels, 5 criteria, 24 points in all.
| Criteria | Exceeds4 points | Meets3 points | Approaching2 points | Beginning1 point | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living and nonliving | Accurately describes the climate, soil or water, and several plants and animals that live there. | Describes nonliving parts and several living things. | Some parts missing or wrong for this ecosystem. | Few accurate parts. | / 4 |
| Food webcounts ×2 | A food web with producers, consumers and decomposers, arrows showing energy flow, and each role labeled. | A food chain or web with producers and consumers and correct arrows. | Arrows point the wrong way, or roles are missing. | No food chain or web. | / 8 |
| Adaptations | Explains two or more adaptations and how each helps in this ecosystem's conditions. | Explains one adaptation and how it helps. | Names an adaptation without explaining it. | No adaptations. | / 4 |
| Changes | Explains how a change, such as drought or a lost species, affects several parts of the web. | Explains how one change affects the ecosystem. | Names a change without its effects. | Not addressed. | / 4 |
| Presentation | Neat, labeled and organized, with a title and sources listed. | Neat and labeled, with a title. | Hard to read or few labels. | Unfinished or unlabeled. | / 4 |
- I can describe the living and nonliving parts of my ecosystem.
- I can make a food web that shows how energy moves.
- I can explain how living things are adapted to the ecosystem.
- I can explain what happens when the ecosystem changes.
- I can present my project neatly with labels.
Ecosystem project rubric, grades 6–8
4 levels, 5 criteria, 24 points in all.
| Criteria | Exceeds4 points | Meets3 points | Approaching2 points | Beginning1 point | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biotic and abiotic factors | Explains how specific abiotic factors limit or support the populations living there, with data. | Describes biotic and abiotic factors and one interaction. | Lists factors without interactions. | Factors missing or inaccurate. | / 4 |
| Energy and mattercounts ×2 | A food web with trophic levels and decomposers, energy loss between levels explained, and a matter cycle shown. | An accurate food web with trophic levels and energy flow. | Food web is partial or arrows are wrong. | No energy model. | / 8 |
| Interactions | Describes three kinds of relationships with real examples from this ecosystem and their effects on populations. | Describes two kinds of relationships with examples. | Names relationships without examples. | Not addressed. | / 4 |
| Disruption | Predicts the ripple effects of a specific disruption and supports the prediction with evidence. | Predicts the effects of a disruption with reasons. | Names a disruption without effects. | Not addressed. | / 4 |
| Sources and presentation | Clear, organized presentation with labeled visuals and consistently cited credible sources. | Organized, with sources listed. | Disorganized, or sources incomplete. | No sources are listed. | / 4 |
- I can explain how biotic and abiotic factors interact.
- I can model how energy flows and matter cycles through the ecosystem.
- I can describe relationships such as competition, predation and symbiosis.
- I can predict and explain the effects of a disruption.
- I can present clearly and cite credible sources.
When to use it
- A biome project: rainforest, desert, ocean, tundra, grassland, forest or pond.
- An ecosystem diorama or poster at the end of a food web unit.
- A schoolyard ecosystem study, with students recording what lives nearby.
What to say to students
- Show both the living things and the nonliving things they need, like water and sunlight.
- Draw arrows from the food to the eater. The arrow shows where energy goes.
- Pick two animals or plants and explain how their bodies fit this place.
- Tell us what would happen if one part disappeared.
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The criteria are generic and written for this site, with no standards codes, so they fit any curriculum. Open one in the maker to change a word, add a row or switch to a single-point rubric; what you change stays in your browser.