NASA
Decomposers Get Energy From Dead Things
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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FBI
Fourth graders experiment with compost. In this Science lesson, 4th graders begin a worm compost as well as an outdoor compost. Students discuss decomposition.
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Building Soil Nature's Way: Exploring decomposition and soil health
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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Biological Relationships
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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it's Lonely At The Top
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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F.B.I.
Learners 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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Composting
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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Cleaning Up With Decomposers
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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Nutritional Relationships Chart
Producers, Herbivores, Carnivores, Decomposers, oh my! Help organize the intricacies between these four types of eaters with this biology activity. Scientists display nutritional relationships in a graphic organizer. They place 15 terms...
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Ocean Life Lesson Plans
Students learn about life in the ocean with lessons that connect science, art, and environmental topics.
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Eco-Detectives
Students explore natural decomposers. In this decomposing lesson plan, students participate in a WebQuest to discover how nature handles decomposition. Students compare natural methods for decomposition with recycling efforts.
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Ecosystem Game
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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Ecology Study Guide
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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Mini-Ponds
In this mini pond worksheet, learners 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. Learners identify all the pond water microorganisms...
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Flow of Energy Through An Ecosystem
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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Yucky Worm World
For this earthworm worksheet, students 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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Our Friends or Foes
In this living organisms activity, 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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Energy Through the Ecosystem
In this ecosystem activity, learners 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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Ecology
In this ecology 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 plant roles...
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Squiggly, Wiggly Worms
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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The Mighty Hudson Stretches its Mussels
Young scholars 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...
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Food Chains
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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Producers, Consumers, Decomposers (3-5)
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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Forest Food Webs
Students consider the interdependency of life in a temperate forest by studying selected organisms from an Asian temperate forest and creating a food web.