COLLECTION

PRIMARY ELEMENTARY  |  SCIENCE

Rotting Away

Students will review the tree life cycle and then extend their understanding to the rotting of the logs. Students will learn about the different decomposers (fungus, bacteria, invertebrates) then search for evidence of them in the garden.

Concepts: Tree Life Cycle | Fungi | Decomposition

Essential Questions

  • How can we describe the full life cycle of a tree?
  • What is the role of fungus, bacteria, and invertebrates in the trees life cycle?
  • How does a tree change through the seasons?

Standards Addressed

Focus
  • S2L1b. Students will relate seasonal changes to observations of how a tree changes throughout a school year.
  • S2L1d. Students will identify fungi as living organisms.
  • S2E3a. Students will recognize the effects that occur in a specific area caused by weather, plants, animals, and/or people.

Explorations in this Collection

fungi

Searching for Decomposers in the Garden

decomposition / fungi
fungi_fungus_mushrooms_moss_stump-281219.jpg

Identifying Decomposers

decomposition / energy web
high_fungi_hires_resolution_5d_hi_res_tochigi-788768.jpg

Singing About Decomposers (FBI)

decomposers
rottinglog

Singing About Decomposition

decomposition / life cycle / trees
stump

Continuing the Tree’s Life Cycle

decomposition / life cycle / trees

Recommended Resources

Educators

Children’s Literature

  • A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeffer (Provided in Lesson Kit)
  • Life in a Rotten Log by Malcom Penny
  • Who Eats What? By Patricia Lauber
  • Log Hotel by Anne Schreiber