Identify the three factors that contribute to the process of composting and explain how they are related to one another
Explain the ideal ratio of organic materials in a compost pile
Learning Tasks for this lesson:
THINK: In your reflection journal, draw on what you already know about compost. Write a working definition for the word compost.
LEARN: View a screencast and play a game.
SHARE: Contribute to a class discussion reflecting on your experience with the game.
REVIEW: Based on your new learning, revise your initial definition of Compost.
THINK
Reflection Journal Your first task is to access your Reflection Journal in Google Classroom. For this lesson, you will consider what you already know about compost. Write your own definition for compost. You do not need to consult an outside resource for this definition and you will have an opportunity to revise it later.
This task is worth up to 5 points. Full points will be granted for a thoughtful, detailed definition that is at least 2-3 sentences in length.
LEARN
To begin, please watch the following screencast. A copy of the slide show in this screencast is available here and in Google Classroom.
Now that you have learned about the factors of compost and the ideal ratio of materials containing carbon and nitrogen, it is time to put your new knowledge into action! You are going to play a game to practice using this information. Here is what you'll need to do:
Access the game from the provided link. Explore the webpage and, when you're ready, launch the game. All of the needed instructions are available on the page. You may need to install Adobe on your device to ensure the games works properly.
Play the game until your microbe achieves maximum happiness. Pay attention to what the microbe wants and notice when the health bar moves left or right. Jot some notes for yourself about your observations.
When you are finished playing, take a screenshot. You will upload the screenshot on the next learning task.
SHARE
SHARE Discussion
The SHARE learning task is an online discussion hosted in Google Classroom. You will first respond to the following two questions:
1. What did you notice or observe while playing the composting game?
2. How are the factors of compost (oxygen, water, and temperature) related to one another?
Then, you will comment on the responses of two of your classmates. If you are among the first to post, you may need to check back at another time to complete your responses. The criteria for this assignment are explained in more detail on Google Classroom.
REVIEW
In this lesson, you have learned about compost as both a thing and an action. You have learned about the factors that speed up decomposition - the process we call compost. You have considered how those factors relate to one another and some of the actions we take to ensure those factors occur correctly. You have also learned about the ideal ratio of materials that should be present in a compost pile.
To show your learning from this lesson, you will return to your working definition of compost. Create a revised definition that represents your new learning. This new definition should include: - A definition of compost used as both a noun and a verb, - The three factors of compost, - and the ideal ratio of organic materials in a compost pile. Then, copy and paste that new definition in this Popplet. The link for the Popplet is also available on Google Classroom.