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Sustainability Lesson Clearinghouse
Build an Indoor Compost Bin
Lesson Description:
Students will be able to...
Students will be able to...- Describe the composition of soil and give examples of the ways in which it is formed
- Identify and describe ways to protect the environment (e.g., composting and recycling)
- Identify and describe the role of decomposers (worms) in a community
- Write an expository piece that provides facts and details, and describes and analyzes the composting process
Lesson Type:
- Project
Sustainability Topic:
- Gardening
- Waste Reduction
GEF Program Category:
- Waste Reduction Challenge
- Green Thumb Challenge
Time Needed:
60 minutes for lesson and 3-6 months to add materials to the compost bin
60 minutes for lesson and 3-6 months to add materials to the compost bin
Standards Addressed:
Science Standard 2: Understand earth’s composition and structure
Science Standards 6: Understand relationships among organisms and their physical environment
Technology Standard 4: Understand the nature of technological design
Technology Standard 6: Understand the nature and uses of different forms of technology
Geography Standard 14: Understand how human actions modify the physical environment
Language arts Standard 1: Use the general skills and strategies of the writing process
Science Standard 2: Understand earth’s composition and structure
- Benchmark # 4:
Science Standards 6: Understand relationships among organisms and their physical environment
- Benchmark # 5: Know that all organisms (including humans) cause change in their environments and these changes can be beneficial or detrimental
Technology Standard 4: Understand the nature of technological design
- Benchmark # 6: Use appropriate tools, techniques and quantitative measurements to implement proposed solutions
Technology Standard 6: Understand the nature and uses of different forms of technology
- Benchmark # 2: Know that elements of an agricultural system are designed to maximize the interaction and production of all the elements in the system (e.g., by composting)
Geography Standard 14: Understand how human actions modify the physical environment
- Benchmark # 3: Know how human activities have increased the ability of the physical environment to support human life in the local community, state, us and other countries (e.g., improving soil quality through composting)
Language arts Standard 1: Use the general skills and strategies of the writing process
- Benchmark # 7: Write expository compositions (e.g., develop the topic with simple facts, details, examples, and explanations, use structures such as cause-and-effect, chronology, similarities and differences)
Materials Needed:
- Opaque (no light shows through) plastic or wood bin with a lid
- Earthworms (the best kind are called “red worms,” “red wigglers’ or "manure worms")
- "Brown" material (newspaper, paper towels, leaves, cardboard)
- "Green" material (coffee grinds, plants, grass, vegetable and fruit scraps)
- Thermometer
- "Building an Indoor Compost Bin Directions" worksheet provided below
Submitted By:
Green Education Foundation (GEF)
Green Education Foundation (GEF)
School or Group:
Green Education Foundation (GEF)
Green Education Foundation (GEF)
Contact Email:
service@greeneducationfoundation.org
service@greeneducationfoundation.org
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