Composting

Recycling, Organic Gardening, and Soil Amendment

In the Garden

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• A Gift of Compost (PDF, 285 KB)
  A Change Over Time
  Life Lab Science Program, 1994.
  Grade: 4-6
  CA State Standards: Science 4th Grade: 2.a, c, 3d, 6c, e, f; Science 5th Grade: 2.f, g,  6.f-h
• Let's Make a Compost Cake (PDF, 338 KB)
  The Growing Classroom: Garden-Based Science
  Jaffe, Roberta and Gary Appel. Addison Publishing Company, 1990.
  Grade: K-6
  CA State Standards: Science 4th Grade: 2a, c, 3d, 6f; Science 6th Grade: 6b
• Let's Make Manure Tea
  How Much Is Too Much? How Little Is Too Little?
  Emery, Pamela. California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, 1993.
  Grade: 4-6
• Making a Worm Compost Bin (PDF, 397 KB)
  Kids Cook Farm Fresh Food: Seasonal Recipes, Activities, and Farm Profiles that Teach Ecological Responsibility
  Kraus, Sibella. California Dept. of Ed., CDE Press, 2002.
  Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAGE)
  Grade: K-3
  CA State Standards: 1st Grade: 2b, c; Science 4th Grade: 2c, 3d, 6c

In the Classroom

• Compost Bags (PDF, 358 KB)
  The Growing Classroom: Garden-Based Science
  Jaffe, Roberta and Gary Appel. Addison Publishing Company, 1990.
  Grade: K-3
  CA State Standards: Science 2nd Grade: 3c, e; Science 4th Grade: 2a, c, 3a, d
• Compost Creatures and Friends (PDF, 281 KB)
  Healthy Foods From Healthy Soils: A Hands-on Resource For Teachers
  Patten, Elizabeth and Kathy Lyons. Tilbury House Publishers, 2003.
  Grade: K-3
  CA State Standards: Science 4th Grade: 2c, 3d
• Dirt Made My Lunch (PDF, 58 KB)
  Banana Slug String Band: Singing in Our Garden
  Composed and Arranged by the Banana Slug String Band. Slug Music (BMI), 1991.
  Grade: K-6
• Dirt Made My Lunch--Now Lunch Will Make My Dirt
  What Do Plants Need to Grow?
  Emery, Pamela. California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, 1993.
  Grade: 4-6
  
• My Worm Biography! (PDF, 147 KB)
  The Worm Guide: A Vermicomposting Guide for Teachers
  Grade: K-6
• Promo and Play on Composting--By the Skins of Our Bananas (PDF, 1 MB)
  Closing the Loop: Exploring Integrated Waste Management and Resource Conservation
  California Integrated Waste Management Board, 2001.
  Permission granted by California Integrated Waste Management Board, ciwmb.ca.gov
  Grade: 4-6
• To be done after the class has been studying compost. Imagine that you throw an apple core into the compost pile. As a class (for younger students) or individually, write a story from the apple core's point of view about what happens to it over time. How does it change after a day? A week? A month? What might the apple core turn into in a year? What other organisms does the apple core interact with? Be sure to describe the setting of the compost pile with lots of juicy details, using interesting adjectives. Illustrate your story to show the life of the apple core.
  

Taking it Further

• Chart Your Lunchroom's Food Waste (PDF, 280 KB)
  Healthy Foods From Healthy Soils: A Hands-on Resource For Teachers
  Patten, Elizabeth and Kathy Lyons. Tilbury House Publishers, 2003.
  Grade: 4-6

Resources

Children's Literature

• Campbell, Stu. Let it Rot: The Gardeners Guide to Compost. Storey Books, 1998.
• Glasser, Linda. Wonderful Worms. Millbrook Press, 1992.
• Lavies, Bianca. Compost Critters. Dutton's Children's Press, 1993.
  Photographs and text inform readers of the different critters they may find in their compost pile. (Grade K-6)
• Macdonald, Margaret Read. Slop! A Welsh Folktale. Fulcrum Publishing, 1997.
  This Welsh folktale shows how a clever man and woman make compost with their leftover vegetable peelings and dishwasher. (Grade K-3)
• Nancarrow, Loren. The Worm Book. Ten Speed Press, 1998.
• Portman, Michelle Eva. Compost, by Gosh!
• Ross, Michael Elsohn. Wormology. Carolrhoda, 1996.
• Telander, Todd. Earthworms: Underground Farmers. Henry Holt and Company, 1994.
  This informational text, with short chapters and large print, provides detailed facts and photos that show the earthworm's role in ecosystems. (Grade K-6)

For Teachers

• Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System
• The Worm Café: Mid Scale Vermicomposting of Lunchroom Wastes. Binet Paine, 1999.
• California Integrated Waste Management Board Worms, Worms, and Even More Worms: A Vermicomposting Guide for Teachers.
  www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Schools
• Great information on worms, including a video on worm birth can be found on the Happy D Worm Farm site.
  www.happydranch.com

More websites:

• Visit The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems for information on composting. zzyx.ucsc.edu/casfs/gardenideas/soilfert.html
  

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