Teach Engineering
Investigating the Properties of Plastic and its Effects on the Environment
Pore over the properties of plastic. Working through four different stations, pupils investigate some properties of plastic, including chemical decomposition, mechanical breakdown, density, and the ability to infiltrate the food chain....
National Park Service
Reduce Our Carbon Footprint, Let’s Compost!
Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready...
Curated OER
Observing Decomposition
In this science worksheet, students focus upon the concept of decomposition and collect data in order to make interpretations or observations.
National Park Service
The Secret of Life
Dead trees provide nutrients for the soil, food for animals, protection and a home for organisms, a seed-bed for new trees, and a place for nitrogen-fixing bacteria to live. In the activity, pupils collect decaying logs, expose them to a...
Teach Engineering
Dirty Decomposers
Do not let the class just sit and rot. Pupils learn how decomposition and nutrient recycling is important to an ecosystem. Groups design an experiment to determine how environmental conditions affect decomposition. They develop a poster...
Curated OER
What Is Clay?
This resource could come in handy the next time you feel like teaching about clay. Basic sculpting techniques, vocabulary, and history of clay are outlined in this informative resource. Use prior to teaching an art project involving...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Electrolysis Using a Microscale Hoffman Apparatus—Microscale Chemistry
Get big results out of a small-scale lab! Young chemists observe the electrolysis of sodium sulfate using a microscale experiment. A colorful indicator solution combined with the production of gas bubbles yields a variety of observations...
Curated OER
A Symphony of Decomposers
Students discover decomposition. In this environmental lesson, students explore different types of decomposers and their role within the ecosystem. Students also discover how waste interferes with the decomposition process.
Curated OER
A Design You’ll Dig: Designing a Habitat for Worms
Middle schoolers discover how worms contribute to the balance of the environment. In this composting lesson, students study the composting and decomposition processes. Middle schoolers then create habitats for worms that allow them to do...
SF Environment
Compost Tag
Composting is a great way to get children involved in recycling. First, they discuss how biodegradable products decompose to make compost. Then, they talk about what can and cannot be composted. They play a game similar to around the...
California Academy of Science
Composting: A Scientific Investigation: California Academy of Sciences
Garbage, recycle, compost: Does it really matter where we put our trash once we are done? By making detailed observations over seven weeks, kids will see which materials break down naturally to become a healthy part of the soil, and...
Curated OER
Slow Rot or Not?
Fifth graders examine how environmental factors affect decomposition. In this decomposition lesson plan, 5th graders experiment with the decomposition of grapes in five different environmental settings. They look at images of items that...
Curated OER
Case of the Missing Pumpkin
Students explore the process of decomposition in plants. In this plant biology lesson, students use a cleaned out pumpkin and observe how the decomposition process takes place. Students write down adjectives to describe the pumpkin.
Curated OER
Compost Lesson
If you are looking for how to introduce elementary environmentalists to the process of composting, here is a comprehensive outline for making it happen. The plan is to set this up at the beginning of a school year in order to observe the...
Curated OER
Marine Debris
Now is the time to educate tomorrow's citizens to care for the planet, and here is a activity to help facilitate the process. Collect some marine debris and bring it into class. Have your class separate it into types and then test each...
Curated OER
Buried Treasure
Students examine the role of micro and macro organisms in the decomposition process. They record their observations and discuss. They also read a book about decomposition.
Curated OER
Let's Build a Worm Bin
Learners explore the process of decomposition. In this ecology and measurement lesson, students prepare a worm home to be used for vermicomposting. Learners weigh a group of worms and the added food, recording this information on a data...
Discovery Education
Perfectly Decomposed!
We all know someone who won't eat the banana with a brown spot, the grape with a dimple, and the apple with a bruise. Scholars use different fruits to explore what happens when fruits really start to decompose. They set up an experiment...
Chymist
Landfills and Recycling
Examine the nature of landfills through experimentation. Scholars build miniature landfills and monitor changes over a six-week period. Observations allow individuals to draw conclusions about the different types of trash and their...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Winogradsky Columns: Microbial Ecology in the Classroom
Substances that decompose with the help of living organisms do so at different rates. Scholars experiment with Winogradsky columns to determine the rate of decomposition, the oxygen and sulfide content changes, and bacteria levels. The...
Curated OER
Environment: Banana-in-a-Jar Experiment
Students conduct experiments using bananas sealed in jars to observe the effects on biodegradable waste in landfills. They cover the lid with a plastic sandwich bag to create an airtight seal. Students observe how the oxygen is used...
Curated OER
Dirty Decomposers
Seventh graders design and conduct experiments to determine what environmental factors favor decomposition by soil microbes. They use chunks of carrot for the materials to be decomposed, and their experiments are carried out in plastic...
Curated OER
Rotten Truth
Students complete activities to study decomposition. In this decomposition lesson, students work in pairs to observe a decay buffet experiment. Students keep compost bag journals. Students define and discuss the process of decomposition.
Curated OER
Backyard Bacteria
Students experiment with different bacterias that they found and make predictions of their growth. In this investigative instructional activity students use petri dishes to grow their bacteria then summarize what has happened.