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. 

Eager ecologists explore ecosystems through video and photographs of a Mangrove. They discuss the animals in this habitat and how they interact with each other after reading and discussing "The Sea, the Storm and the Mangrove Tangle."...

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,

What a web we weave. Pupils use yarn as the primary resource to create a web depicting the intricacies of a salt marsh ecosystem. They participate in a question and answer session, which leads to an in-depth facilitated discussion...

How is a movie theater like a desert biome? Compare systems to ecosystems with a set of activities that focuses on accessing multiple intelligences and building upon knowledge. As learners discuss the ways elements of an ecosystem depend...

Students obtain remote sensing data to compare and contrast global biomass data with global temperature data.

Learners examine the ecosystem by playing a game. In this ecosystem lesson plan, students are put into groups of decomposers, consumers, and producers. Learners create a list of animals that fit into each group and items that represent...

How does water pollution affect the environment? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question as they learn about eutrophication and ecosystem changes. Over two weeks, they simulate the effects of pollution on the...

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.

Students are introduced to the various organisms that live in a salt marsh. They recognize adaptations of organisms that live in the salt marsh. Pupils review concepts of the ecosystem and niche. Students explain the different roles...

The class studies the soil food web that includes earthworms and conduct four experiments using the crawly critters. Individuals determine whether earthworms are sensitive to light, touch, temperature, and acid.

Students identify animals in ecosystem depicted on 16th Century ceramic basin and classify them as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores based on physical characteristics and prior knowledge, determine which life forms in ecosystem are...

In this ecosystem worksheet, students answer questions about energy pyramids, food chains, consumers, producers, decomposers, biotic and abiotic factors in an environment, natural selection and the importance of biodiversity in an...

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...

Students explore natural decomposers. In this decomposing lesson, students participate in a WebQuest to discover how nature handles decomposition. Students compare natural methods for decomposition with recycling efforts.

Students explain why dissolved oxygen is important in aquatic ecosystems. They evaluate the optimal dissolved oxygen levels for living organisms.

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...

The 2005 version of the Regents High School Examination in ecology is as comprehensive as previous years' exams. It consists of 40 multiple-choice questions on topics ranging from the structure of DNA to interactions within an ecosystem....

Students study life science. In this food chain lesson, students discover the different types of animals that make up an ecosystem. They discuss as a class and then work independently on a food chain activity. This lesson includes a...

How can you tell if a microorganism is helpful or detrimental to an ecosystem? Learners inspect slides or pictures of microorganisms and record their observations to...

How is energy transferred within an ecosystem? What would happen to a food web if one of the organisms was removed? Elementary or middle school ecologists examine these questions and more in a comprehensive 5E learning cycle lesson....

Scholars become part of the cycle of matter with a reader's theater that showcases producers, consumers, decomposers, and the sun. A diagram and discussion concludes the learning experience and enhances comprehension. 

Students explore the ecosystem by conducting a ziploc bag experiment. In this recycling lesson, students identify decomposer organisms in our environment and how they speed up the recycling process. Students utilize a ziploc plastic bag,...

Students become familiar with the temperate rainforest.  In this forest ecosystem lesson, students identify the producers, consumers and decomposers in the forest ecosystem.  Students sort cards and identify the trophic level...