http://www.doityourself.com/stry/h2compostingimage:
Project Description
This project is intended to have observations completed for at least a month. Students should observe their composter every 4-7 days. The unit lengths do not include observation time for the composting project. Teachers may decide how long they want their composting projects to take. We have described a 3-week project.
Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to
1. Design and build an indoor composter
2. Record daily observations
3. Evaluate the designs of the various composters in their class, and decide how to improve their own
Materials: One clean 2-liter bottle/each group; aluminum foil; soil and other organic materials; gloves (optional) for sorting through composted material at the end of the final 3-4 week project; thermometers to measure temperature.
Procedure
1. Engage
The teacher should invite students to share what they know about composting. (What is composting? When do these materials decompose (under what conditions)? What kinds of items are placed in compost bins? What does not decompose? Do we have ideas about why some items do not decompose?)
Students will brainstorm a list of compost-able items for their bin. Students should bring these items to school the following period or week. These may include egg shells, banana or other fruit peel, apple core, fruit or vegetable pits/seeds, plant material -- grass clippings, leaves, etc.
2. Explore
The teacher will ask students to form small groups. Each student group will discuss how to use the available materials to design their compost bins. They should draw their ideas and plans in their respective notebooks. Each aspect of the design should be explained (shape, where the organic material should be deposited, where the composted material can be removed).
3. Explain
The teacher will invite student groups to share their designs by asking them to redraw them on the board or use a document camera. Students will explain why each design element is necessary for composting. The teacher will lead the discussion and then the class should conclude what design elements are most important.
4. Elaborate
Students, with teacher assistance, will build their mini composter. They will fill it with their organic materials. Every few days students should record observations in their science notebook of what is happening to the materials in their composter.
5. Evaluate
At the end of 3 or 4 weeks, the class will remove their organic material on garbage bag-covered tables. They will review what items they put in their respective bins and describe the state of each item in their notebooks. They can then sort the items into three piles: not composted, a bit composted, and very composted.
The teacher can lead the students in discussions about:
a. what types of materials compost quickly
b. what conditions are necessary for composting
c. what living organisms are important in the composting process
i. what can we see? earthworms that make tunnels through compost, and insects that feed on decaying organic matter
ii. what can we not see? microbes/bacteria that are breaking down organic materials.
Students will be able to
1. Design and build an indoor composter
2. Record daily observations
3. Evaluate the designs of the various composters in their class, and decide how to improve their own
Materials: One clean 2-liter bottle/each group; aluminum foil; soil and other organic materials; gloves (optional) for sorting through composted material at the end of the final 3-4 week project; thermometers to measure temperature.
Procedure
1. Engage
The teacher should invite students to share what they know about composting. (What is composting? When do these materials decompose (under what conditions)? What kinds of items are placed in compost bins? What does not decompose? Do we have ideas about why some items do not decompose?)
Students will brainstorm a list of compost-able items for their bin. Students should bring these items to school the following period or week. These may include egg shells, banana or other fruit peel, apple core, fruit or vegetable pits/seeds, plant material -- grass clippings, leaves, etc.
2. Explore
The teacher will ask students to form small groups. Each student group will discuss how to use the available materials to design their compost bins. They should draw their ideas and plans in their respective notebooks. Each aspect of the design should be explained (shape, where the organic material should be deposited, where the composted material can be removed).
3. Explain
The teacher will invite student groups to share their designs by asking them to redraw them on the board or use a document camera. Students will explain why each design element is necessary for composting. The teacher will lead the discussion and then the class should conclude what design elements are most important.
4. Elaborate
Students, with teacher assistance, will build their mini composter. They will fill it with their organic materials. Every few days students should record observations in their science notebook of what is happening to the materials in their composter.
5. Evaluate
At the end of 3 or 4 weeks, the class will remove their organic material on garbage bag-covered tables. They will review what items they put in their respective bins and describe the state of each item in their notebooks. They can then sort the items into three piles: not composted, a bit composted, and very composted.
The teacher can lead the students in discussions about:
a. what types of materials compost quickly
b. what conditions are necessary for composting
c. what living organisms are important in the composting process
i. what can we see? earthworms that make tunnels through compost, and insects that feed on decaying organic matter
ii. what can we not see? microbes/bacteria that are breaking down organic materials.