Rotting Away, Day by Day
Lesson Plans
Grades5Science
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Provided by FoodCorps
What it is
- In this 5th-grade lesson, students will learn about decomposition, make predictions about how different objects decompose over time, and test their predictions by buring various items for a period of time.
- It is divided into two sessions and can be adapted for various situations.
Teaching tips
Positives
- Students will enjoy digging in the dirt and feeling connected to nature.
- The lesson includes many adaptations and extensions.
Prerequisites
- Teachers will have to prepare and gather materials ahead of time and search for the FBI song online.
- This lesson is designed for a class garden but it can be done in any natural environment.
- Students should know how to safely use a trowel or cup to dig.
- Students should know the terms decompose and spectrum.
Differentiation & Implementation
- This lesson was written for a push-in teacher from Food Corps. There are tips for the Food Corps instructor to engage the classroom teacher. Classroom teachers can use this lesson, and the tips may be useful for engaging a student-teacher or co-teacher.
- After doing this lesson, students can discuss composting and create a classroom compost system.
- Teachers can use this lesson to introduce the role of decomposition in the carbon cycle and the huge importance of this as it relates to the effects of human activity on climate change.
- Students can make connections to poetry by writing poems to describe how their objects have changed.
- When students write their predictions, they can do so using a Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning model and supporting their theories with facts and understanding.
- Teachers can choose to have students observe garbage that will not decompose and discuss the importance of limiting waste and pollution.
From the scientist review
In this activity, students will learn about decomposition and the factors that impact decomposition rates. Factors can include many things, including weather and climate. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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