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Lesson Plan
NASA

Decomposers Get Energy From Dead Things

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
When life gives you mold, make penicillin. Scholars design an inquiry experiment to determine what causes rotting and mold growth. It also covers decomposers and the important role they play for other living things. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

FBI

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders experiment with compost. In this Science lesson plan, 4th graders begin a worm compost as well as an outdoor compost. Students discuss decomposition.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Building Soil Nature's Way: Exploring decomposition and soil health

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore decomposition and soil health by creating their own garden.  In this agriculture lesson, students build a "lasagna garden" with organic matter found in the area and plant perennials native to their region.  Students are...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biological Relationships

For Teachers 6th
Create a written document to show knowledge of producers, consumers, decomposers, and symbiotic relationships. To investigate food consumption, your classes will differentiate between types of symbiosis and explain examples of each.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

it's Lonely At The Top

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the differnences between food producers in food webs and food consumers in food chains. Behavioral choices of primary and secondary consumers such as herbivores, vegetarians, carnivors, and omnivors are analyzed.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

F.B.I.

For Teachers K - 4th
Students create a worm bin full of fruit and vegetable scraps wit paper and observe what happens over time. In this decomposers lesson plan, students observe that the fruit and vegetable scraps become new soil.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Composting

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Using 2-liter bottles, junior ecologists create composting tubes in which they place nitrogen-rich and carbon-rich materials. They observe what changes occur over two weeks' time. Provide more specific direction to your class as to what...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cleaning Up With Decomposers

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students read and discuss decomposers and how they affect the environment. In this decomposers lesson plan, students also discuss how engineers use decomposers to help the environment.
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Organizer
Curated OER

Nutritional Relationships Chart

For Students 5th - 8th
Producers, Herbivores, Carnivores, Decomposers, oh my! Help organize the intricacies between these four types of eaters with this biology worksheet. Scientists display nutritional relationships in a graphic organizer. They place 15 terms...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Ocean Life Lesson Plans

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students learn about life in the ocean with lessons that connect science, art, and environmental topics.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eco-Detectives

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners explore natural decomposers. In this decomposing instructional activity, students participate in a WebQuest to discover how nature handles decomposition. Learners compare natural methods for decomposition with recycling efforts.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecosystem Game

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students examine the ecosystem by playing a game. In this ecosystem lesson, students are put into groups of decomposers, consumers, and producers. Students create a list of animals that fit into each group and items that represent...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Ecology Study Guide

For Students 8th - 10th
In this ecology study guide, students fill in a table about producers, consumers and decomposers, they draw the water cycle, they fill in diagrams about cell respiration, the food pyramid, protein synthesis and nitrification, population...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mini-Ponds

For Teachers 7th - 9th
In this mini pond worksheet, students create a mini-pond ecosystem with soil, water, and plant life. Students let their ecosystem sit for a day and they observe a sample the next day. Students identify all the pond water microorganisms...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flow of Energy Through An Ecosystem

For Teachers 7th - 9th
In this flow of energy in an ecosystem, students complete a graphic organizer and show the flow of energy from the sun to producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers and then decomposers. Students define each of...
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Interactive
Curated OER

Yucky Worm World

For Students 8th - 10th
In this earthworm worksheet, learners use an on line site to answer questions about the structures and their functions of an earthworm. They also answer questions about planarians, leeches and tapeworms.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Our Friends or Foes

For Students 6th
In this living organisms worksheet, 6th graders choose the multiple choice answer to 10 questions. Students then read and answer 10 statements as true or false and fill in the blanks to 5 statements.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Energy Through the Ecosystem

For Students 3rd - 8th
In this ecosystem worksheet, students use a diagram of an ocean-based food web to complete 5 short answer questions about the energy flow through this ecosystem.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Ecology

For Students 6th
In this ecology instructional activity, 6th graders will review ecology vocabulary words by circling the word that doesn't belong in each group of words for 6 questions. Then students will determine if 9 statements relating to animal and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Squiggly, Wiggly Worms

For Teachers K
Students, who are in early elementary grades, pair with fifth grade students to study worms. They observe worms in experiments, create research questions, and complete the research using Internet sites. They participate in a "Worm...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mighty Hudson Stretches its Mussels

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students brainstorm possible causes of zebra mussel migration and population expansion. They identify the key causes and effects of the disturbance of the Hudson River ecosystem and research causes and effects in the disturbances of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Food Chains

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study food chains, producers, consumers, and decomposers. They play a food chain game and create food chain mobiles or posters. They take a nature hike around the school and observe various parts of a food chain.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Producers, Consumers, Decomposers (3-5)

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students gather evidence to explain that organisms in an ecosystem are tied together by their need for energy. They see that decomposers break down dead organisms and wastes and release the nutrients they contain into the soil,
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forest Food Webs

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers consider the interdependency of life in a temperate forest by studying selected organisms from an Asian temperate forest and creating a food web.