Ecosystems are available to educators as interactive units and as such the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and the Excellence in Environmental Education: Guidelines for Learning (EEE) put considerable emphasis on ecosystems. This ERIC Digest describes the NSES and EEE guidelines for grades 5-8 and 9-12 to provide a basic ecosystem framework and includes information on instructional materials, activities, and World Wide Web resources. (YDS)