Get your hands dirty with an interactive lesson that showcases the process of decomposing and returning nutrients back into the soil. After building a compost pile, pupils regularly observe the ways worms help with changes to the soil and predict what they will find next.

Concepts

ecosystems, food chains, matter, producers, consumers, nutrients, soil, living things

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Post discussion questions on a classroom blog, and encourage learners to respond to at least one peer 
• Give the cafeteria notice that your class requires food scraps so they can set extra food to the side 
• Keep the compost heap going after the lesson concludes; visit it as a class or in small groups for any management needs 

Classroom Considerations

• Requires continued observation over three months 
• The tenth of 17 resources in a unit all about ecosystems 
• The Coast Live Oak is a tree native to California 

Pros

• Includes class members in building the compost pile 
• Provides tips to make the heap less messy
• Offers detailed steps that are easy to follow 

Cons

• None