Nature Cycles Our Food -- Compost Lesson

Not just another 'how to compost' lesson, this activity addresses the intersection of human needs and environmental processes. In the garden or the classroom, this fun activity helps students 3rd-8th grade understand the important role of compost for soil health and sustainable food farming. After an exploratory introduction lesson, students each get a puzzle piece (printables included!) to help them discover the ecological connections between humans and the dirt the grows our food. Easily modified, this could be a quick add-on activity to a biology or ecology lesson, an ice-breaker in a garden class, or an active get-out-of-the-chairs break in a nutrition or food curriculum. This practice of systems-thinking sets up for lessons on sustainability, environmental conservation, ecological service-learning projects, and biomimicry STEM design. Lesson includes two different sets of color puzzle pieces to print (lamination recommended), options for introducing the concepts, activity directions and modification, and follow up service-learning project ideas.