Nature’s Recyclers

Mystery Bags!  YahoOOOOooOO!  We dove into our science unit and started investigating things in nature in our mystery bags.  They had a wonderful time touching and smelling the items.  Talking to one another about what they were, and what they would look like in 6 months.  What do they all have in common?  What’s differences are there in the items?  So much to discover! 

Here’s an overview of this unit (from Science Companion)

Students discuss what the term “waste” means, examine a “mystery bag” filled with examples of natural waste, and speculate about why the world is not covered in organic remains.  They arrange illustrations showing progressive decomposition of several organisms, or parts of organisms.  They suggest reasons for why the organisms decompose. 

Students consider some examples of nature’s recyclers such as dung beetles, earthworms, and fungi.  They observe how composting worms turn dead plant matter into nutrient-rich castings.  Then they plant seeds in organic material and perlite to see if the organic material helps plants grow better.  With fungi they observe mycelium growth, make spore prints, and identify the parts of mushrooms.  They conduct experiments to study bread mold growth and graph their results.