Where do fallen leaves go?

Where do fallen leaves go?

Lesson narration:
Scroll for prep
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DISCUSS (1 of 2):

Where do you think all the leaves go?

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DISCUSS (2 of 2):

What could you do to find out?

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DISCUSS:

What do you think is happening in the photo below?

Where do you think the stuff growing on the fruit comes from? rotting lemons

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DISCUSS:

Imagine you were going camping for two weeks without a refrigerator and you wanted to bring some sliced oranges.

What might you do to keep the oranges from decomposing?

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soil


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covers the Earth's surface; made of tiny rocks and material from dead plants and animals
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fungus


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a living thing that is a decomposer and has spores, such as a mold or mushroom
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mushroom


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a type of fungus that usually has a stalk and cap
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mold


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a type of fungus that often decomposes food
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spore


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a part of a fungus that contains the offspring, similar to the seed of a plant
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decompose


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the process of breaking down dead living things
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decomposer


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a living thing that can break down dead living things
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compost


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decayed plant material that can be used as fertilizer
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predict


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to guess what will happen based on things you know
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experiment


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a test used to discover new information about a question
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control


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something in an experiment that you do not change
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variable


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something that you can change in an experiment in order to test an idea
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Image & Video Credits

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Exploration
leaves by Albert Bridge , used under CC BY-SA
walking on log-leaves by unsplash
leaf decomposition by Josh Williams
fungus mycelium by Kris H. Light
second log flip by Sergei A. Polozov
growing mycelium by franchise films
mushroom time lapse by OddScience
mushroom time lapse 2 by franchise films
fungi mycelium on wood by chanus
hands dug into work by 13Imagery
decomposition by StopWaste
Russula by Jerzy Opioła , used under CC BY-SA
cinnabar-red chanterelle by Jake Stookey
red capped mushrooms by Gemini78
yellow & white capped mushrooms by Kurt Bauschardt , used under CC BY-SA
mushroom by Mary Smiley , used under CC BY-SA
white mushroom by arhendrix
orange mushrooms by Mushroom Observer , used under CC BY-SA
Cordyceps_locustiphila_Henn by Mushroom Observer , used under CC BY-SA
mycelium growing more by Jerzy Opioła , used under CC BY-SA
trees broken up by shore by skeeze , used under Public Domain
man hiking by Poprotskiy Alexey
mushrooms growing outside complex by Vasile Cotovanu , used under CC BY-SA
forest floor by Alessandro Colle
pinic table lunch by adriaticfoto
moldy bread by Taborsky
moldy strawberries by rsooll
mycelium on potato by Telia
mycelium in orange substance by Irina Kozorog
moldy orange by Irina Mos
mushroom cap by Aleksey Gnilenkov
casual living room by Wonderlane
berry decomposition by webiocosm
compost bin by Evan Lorne
inside of compost bin by BMJ
woman inside grocery store by Adam Melnyk
moldy tomatoes by Comrade Foot
inside of fridge by thodonal88
camping- tent by Milaniphotography
Activity
black electric heater by ronstik
hands by photka
pencil by JohannPoufPouf
hands up by Rawpixel.com
Other
leaves on cement by Kichigin
walking through leaves by Suzanne Tucker
kid playing in leaves by Chris Nolan , used under CC BY
wintery road by David Merrigan , used under CC BY
spring/green road by artens
bag of leaves by MiVa
Unit: leaf by LilKar
Unit: leaf 2 by Etakundoy
Lesson narration:

Activity Prep

Print Prep

In this lesson, students discover the role fungi play in decomposing dead materials and in creating soil. In the activity, Mold Terrarium, students plan and conduct an investigation to discover the factors affecting decomposition. Students fill Ziploc bags with different types of foods and change environmental conditions to study how different variables affect mold growth. They then observe mold growth over a period of two weeks.

Preview activity

Exploration

20 mins

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