LESSONPLANTEMPLATE

YourName:MaelinLong
TitleofLesson:What/WhatNottoCompost
Grade:4th

STANDARDS
Grade4,Strand4,Concept3,PO4:Describewaysinwhichresourcescanbeconserved(e.g.,byreducing,
reusing,recycling,findingsubstitutes)

Grade4,Strand1,Concept2,PO5:Recorddatainanorganizedandappropriateformat(e.g.,tchart,table,
list,writtenlog)

LESSONSUMMARY/OVERVIEW
Inthislesson,studentswilllearnaboutthematerialsthatareusedincomposting.Wewillcovertheessential
ingredientstoincludewhenmakingcompost,whatextramaterialscanandcannotbeused,whatthese
materialsdo,andthenclassifywhichmaterialsarebrownandgreen.Oncestudentsunderstandthe
materials,theywilldiscusswhytheythinkcertainmaterialscanbeusedandwhyotherscannot.Studentswill
thenhavetheopportunitytosortthroughwastethathasbeenbroughtintogivethemhandsonexperience
withcomposting.Astheysortthroughthewaste,theywillalsochoosewhatmaterialstheythinkwillwork
bestandgivereasonsfortheirdecisions.Thisrelatestothesustainabilitytopicofcompostingbecauseit
teachesstudentsthefirstbasicstepstocreatingtheirowncompostpileorbin.

OBJECTIVES
Studentswillbeabletoidentifythekeymaterialstomakingcompost.
Studentswillbeabletoidentifywhatcanandcannotbeusedtomakecompost.
Studentswillbeabletodecideifthecompostfriendlymaterialisbrownorgreen.
Studentswillbeabletodeterminehowcertainmaterialsaffectthecompost.
Studentswillbeabletoseparatewastematerialintocompostfriendlyandcompostunfriendlypiles.
Studentswillbeabletoseparatecompostfriendlymaterialintobrownorgreenpiles.
Studentswillbeabletopredictwhatmaterialswillworkthebestintheircompostpilesandgivereasoning.

ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Studentswillbemeasuredonthefollowing:
Participationinthelesson(discussions,handsonactivity,writingactivity,etc.)
Completingthegroupactivityofseparatingwaste
Completingthechartonwhatmaterialsarebeingusedincompostpilesandwhatmaterialsare
beingthrownaway
Writingdowntheirpredictionsandreasoningforwhatmaterialswouldworkbestincompostpiles

PREREQUISITEKNOWLEDGE
Studentswillneedtoknowwhatcompostingisandthebasiclogisticsofhowitworks.
Studentswillneedtounderstandwhycompostingisimportant.
Studentswillneedtoknowwhatthedifferenttypesofcompostingareandhowtheyaresimilaranddifferent.
Thisknowledgewillbegainedthroughthepreviousdayslessonsandwillbeaccessedbyhavingareview
discussionatthebeginningofthelesson.Wewillreviewthematerialswehavelefthangingintheclassroom
suchasthedefinitionofcomposting,thechartscomparingthedifferenttypesofcomposting,andthevisual
ontheimportanceofcomposting.

MATERIALS
ResourcesonCompostingMaterials
VisualonWhatCan/CannotBeComposted(pinsonPinterest)
Collectedwaste
PlasticTubs(3pergroup)
Gloves
ChartPaper
LinedPaper
Markers/Pens/Pencils

VOCABULARY/KEYWORDS
Composting
CompostFriendlyMaterials
CompostUnfriendlyMaterials
GreenMaterials
BrownMaterials

TEACHINGPROCEDURES
1. Teacherwillgatherclassesattentiontobeginlesson.
2. Askstudentstothinkaboutourpreviouscompostinglessonsandwhattheyhavelearnedsofar.
3. Askforvolunteerstosharewhattheyrememberofourpreviouslessons.
4. Facilitateaclassdiscussiontoaccesstheirpriorknowledgeoncomposting.Makesuretoreviewwhat
compostingis,whyitisimportant,andthedifferenttypesofcomposting.
5. Nowtellthestudentsthatwearegoingtolearnevenmoreaboutcomposting,morespecificallywhat
materialsareusedtomakecompost.
6. Askstudentsiftheyknowofanymaterialsthatareusedincompost.Writethesesuggestionsdown
onthewhiteboard.
7. Nowtakethetimetoinstructtheclassonthematerialsthatareusedincompost.Beginwiththekey
ingredientsthatareusedinallcompostbins/piles.
8. Askstudentswhytheythinkthesematerialsareusedineverytypeofcomposting.
9. Thentellstudentsthatnotonlydoweusethesekeyingredients,butthatwealsoincludewaste
productstogivethecompostmorenutrientsandmakeitbettersoil.
10. Bringoutvisualofwhatcanandcannotbeusedincompost.Reviewthisvisualwithstudentsandask
themtosharewhytheythinkcertainmaterialsareputintoeachcategory(compostfriendlyor
compostunfriendly).Thisutilizessystemsthinking.
11. Thendescribethatthecompostfriendlymaterialscanbebrokendownintotwomorecategories:
greenandbrown.Explainwhatthismeansandshowavisual.Reviewthisvisualwithstudentsso
theyunderstandthedifferentgroups.
12. Askstudentsiftheyhaveanyquestions.Answeranyquestionsthatcomeup.
13. Nowtellstudentsthatitistimeforthemtogettheirhandsdirty.Theygettoseparatewaste.
 14. Splitstudentsupintogroupsofabout34students.Giveeachgroupabagofwaste,gloves,andthree
plastictubs.HavethetubslabeledGARBAGE,GREENCOMPOST,andBROWN
COMPOST.
15. Tellthestudentstheywilltaketheirbagofwasteandseparateitintotheappropriatebins.
16. Onceeverygroupisfinishedseparatingtheirwaste,tellthemthattheywillnowwritedownhowthey
separatedthewaste.
17. GiveeachgroupapieceofchartpaperthathasatchartwithCompostononesideandGarbage
ontheother.Studentswillwritewhatwastetheyputineachgroup.
18. Whentheyfinishtheirtchart,tellstudentsthattheywillnowchoosewhichcompostmaterialsthey
wanttouseintheirowncompostbins.
19. Studentswilldecidewhatmaterialstheythinkwillworkbestintheircompostbinsandprovide
supportandreasoningfortheirdecisions.
20. Bringtheclassbacktogetherforaconcludingdiscussionofthelesson.
21. Havestudentssharetheirtchartsofwhattheychoseforcompostandgarbageandhaveclassdecide
iftheyagreedwiththegroupschoices.
22. Thenhavestudentssharetheirchoicesforbestcompostmaterialandtheirreasoning.Havea
discussiononwhatmaterialstheythinkshouldbeusedandasaclassdecidewhatfinalmaterialswill
beusedintheclasscompostbin.
23. Cleanupmaterialsandsavetheseparatedwasteforthenextdayslesson.

RESOURCES
ZeroWasteNerd.(2016).CanICompostThat?.Retrievedfrom:
http://www.zerowastenerd.stfi.re/2016/04/canicompostthat.html?sf=ljoexnp#aa.

GlobalNews.(2015).Countertopcompostingcatchesonamongapartmentdwellers.Retrievedfrom:
http://globalnews.ca/news/1771011/countertopcompostingcatchesonwithapartmentdwellers/.

HomeandGardenAmerica.(2016).TheUltimateGuidetoMakingOrganicCompost.Retrievedfrom:
http://homeandgardenamerica.com/makingorganiccompost.

WAYSOFTHINKINGCONNECTION
Thislessonconnectstosystemsthinkingbecauseitallowsstudentstounderstandhowcertainaspectsofthe
compostingsystemaffecteachother.Theyhavetothinkabouthoweachmaterialusedinthecompostingpile
hasaspecificjobandwhatwouldhappenifthosematerialswerentthere.Compostingpileshavemanyparts
andthislessonchallengesthemtothinkabouthowmaterialswillaffecttheoverallsystemandwhatmaterials
workthebest.

Thislessonconnectstostrategicthinkingbecauseitchallengesstudentstocomeupwithasolutiontomake
thebestcompost.Studentsareaskedtochoosewhatcompostfriendlymaterialstheywillwanttouseintheir
owncompostpilesinthenextlesson.Thisactivityforcesthemtocomeupwithaplanorstrategytocreatethe
bestcompost.