LibGuides: Educator Guide: Crazy for Composting: Crazy for Composting Educator Guide

Crazy for Composting

Tips to Come Prepared

Before you visit the Genovesi Environmental Study Center (GESC) with your class, review the Educator's Guide to prepare for your students.

Read the Essential Questions (p. 1) and Connections to Standards (p. 2) to decide how you want to link your curriculum with your field trip
Complete the Pre-Visit Lesson with your class activating student interest and engagement
Come to GESC ready to engage and learn with our experiential, hands-on field trip program, Crazy for Compost

Library Finds

The Life Cycle of an Earthworm by Bobbie Kalman Following earthworms from birth to maturity, The Life Cycle of an Earthworm explains the stages of development these ancient annelids undergo before they reach adulthood. Children will be surprised to discover the enormous impact earthworms have on the environment.
Next Time You See a Pill Bug by Emily Morgan Chances are that just under a nearby rock, you'll spot a roly-poly pill bug. Encourage a child to take a close look, and introduce a fascinating creature. Gently pick it up and watch as it rolls into a ball and unrolls to take a walk. This cousin to lobsters and crabs sheds its crusty skin and will tickle your hand with its 14 (count 'em!) wiggly legs.Awaken a sense of wonder in a child with the Next Time You See series from NSTA Kids. The books will inspire elementary-age children to experience the enchantment of everyday phenomena, such as pill bugs, fireflies, seashells, and sunsets. Free supplementary activities are available on the NSTA website.Especially designed to be experienced with an adult--be it a parent, teacher, or friend--Next Time You See books serve as a reminder that you don't have to look far to find something remarkable in nature.
A Pill Bug's Life by John Himmelman Examines the life cycle of a Nature Upclose: A Pill Bug's Life
Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow by Linda Glaser; Shelley Rotner (Photographer) What is that garbage doing next to the garden? It's not garbage. It's compost! In this book, you can watch as one family makes compost for their garden and also learn how to start your very own compost bin!
Not for Me, Please! I Choose to Act Green by Maria Godsey; Christoph J. Kellner (Illustrator)
Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals; Ashley Wolff (Illustrator) An A to Z Recipe for the Earth Apple coresBananas, bruisedCoffee grounds with filters, usedJust add to the potand let it all rotinto Compost Stew!From eggshells to wiggly worms, this delightful recipe in bouncy verse features items-some familiar and some not so-that are fit for the home compost bin and will nourish Mother Earth. Vibrant collage illustrations use recycled and found materials to further a timely message. And to keep young environmental chefs fully informed about composting do's and don'ts, there's a note in the back about what's not fit for the bin.
Composting by Robin Michal Koontz; Matthew Harrad (Illustrator); National Geographic Learning Staff Dead leaves, food scraps, and grass clippings for lunch? Small animals, fungi, and bacteria called decomposers turn trash into a tasty compost treat. Learn more about compost and how you can use it in your garden or yard.
Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer; Steve Jenkins (Illustrator) Read and find out about worms and the important work they do in this colorfully illustrated nonfiction picture book. Crawling through the dirt, worms are hard at work. Worms help the fruit and vegetables we eat by loosening the soil and feeding the plants. Read and find out about these wiggling wonders! This clear and appealing science book for early elementary age kids, both at home and in the classroom, lets readers know about all the important ways worms work to help the environment--and people. It contains a find out more section with fun activities. This is a Level 2 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out, which means the book explores more challenging concepts for children in the primary grades. The 100+ titles in this leading nonfiction series are: hands-on and visual acclaimed and trusted great for classrooms Top 10 reasons to love LRFOs: Entertain and educate at the same time Have appealing, child-centered topics Developmentally appropriate for emerging readers Focused; answering questions instead of using survey approach Employ engaging picture book quality illustrations Use simple charts and graphics to improve visual literacy skills Feature hands-on activities to engage young scientists Meet national science education standards Written/illustrated by award-winning authors/illustrators & vetted by an expert in the field Over 130 titles in print, meeting a wide range of kids' scientific interests Books in this series support the Common Core Learning Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) standards. Let's-Read-and-Find-Out is the winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Outstanding Science Series.

Essential Questions

What is compost?
Why compost?
What should you compost?
What are the benefits and challenges of different compost systems?

Our Educator Guide

Explore the Crazy for Composting Guide! Click the "Crazy for Composting" educator guide to access information regarding your trip to GESC, pre- and post- lessons, as well as tips on how to make your field trip successful.

Sora eBooks

Access these free ebooks by signing in to the Sora app with your NYC DOE credentials.

Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman From the often Caldecott-buzzed Deborah Freedman, a sweet and funny story about finding your place in the world. Carl is an earthworm. He spends his days happily tunneling in the soil until a field mouse asks him a simple question that stops him short- "Why?" Carl's quest takes him on an adventure to meet all the animals of the forest, each of whom seems to know exactly what they were put on this earth to do, unlike the curious Carl. But it's not until the world around him has changed that Carl begins to realize everyone, no matter how small, makes a big difference just by being themselves.
Composting by Dwayne Hicks Good gardeners know how to grow healthy plants. Great gardeners know the secret may be composting, a practice that has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. Young gardeners will learn the basics of composing with this text, whose hands-on approach to classroom science concepts makes learning fun. This science-rich text covers the basics of decomposition and the impact recycling organic material can have on our world. Readers will also learn about soil makeup, nutrients, humus, and more. Informative diagrams and fact boxes supplement learning.
Worms Eat My Garbage, 35th Anniversary Edition by Mary Appelhof; Joanne Olszewski; Amy Stewart (Foreword by) For more than three decades, this best-selling guide to the practice of vermicomposting has taught people how to use worms to recycle food waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer for houseplants or gardens. Small-scale, self-contained worm bins can be kept indoors, in a basement, or even under the kitchen sink in an apartment -- making vermicomposting a great option for city dwellers and anyone who doesn't want or can't have an outdoor compost pile. The fully revised 35th anniversary edition features the original's same friendly tone, with up-to-date information on the entire process, from building or purchasing a bin (readily available at garden supply stores) to maintaining the worms and harvesting the finished compost.
Earthworms by Nikki Bruno Clapper; Gail Saunders-Smith (Consultant Editor) With no ears or eyes, it can be tough to find the head on these fascinating creepy crawlers. Big, up-close photos, body diagrams, and fun, informative text show how every creepy feature helps these creatures survive.
Black Gold by Sara Cassidy; Helen Flook (Illustrator) Cyrus and Rudy spend the last days of summer selling dahlias, blackberries and tomatoes at their roadside stand. When a neighbor drops off a bin full of red wigglers, California earthworms that break down compost into fertilizer, Rudy and Cyrus become worm moguls as they discover just how in demand the Eisenia fetidaare. Black Goldis the third book featuring Cyrus and Rudy's adventures on the farm, following Not for Saleand Blackberry Juice.
Ruby the Red Worm's Dirty Job by Scott Stoll (Editor, Photographer, Designed by); The Waukesha STEM Academy (Illustrator) Ruby the Red Worm is a humorous and educational introduction to composting and the essential role worms serve in the ecosystem. More importantly, it is a story about living a life of passion despite life's bullies - even if it means eating dirt!
Let's Compost! by Vita Jiménez; George Ermos (Illustrator) Composting is one way of reducing waste. Instead of throwing away things like banana peels and eggs, you can compost them! It's nature's way of recycling. In this catchy song paired with colorful illustrations, children learn how to compost. This hardcover book comes with CD and online music access.

Crazy for Composting

Materials for Pre-Visit Lesson

Household Waste Survey worksheet

Materials for Post-Visit Lesson

Compelling Compost Facts

The Australian Brush-turkey creates huge mounds of compost in order to use the heat generated to incubate its eggs! The mound can produce more than 20 times the heat of the resting parent bird, making it possible to incubate many more eggs than would be possible in a normal nest. After hatching, chicks dig their way out.
President George Washington kept a “stercorary”- a structure devoted to composting manure and plant material- to improve the poor soil at Mount Vernon.
The Vermont Composting Company creates commercial compost using chickens! The chickens eat from the compost pile, and as they do they turn it over. Not only that, as they work the pile they add nitrogen-rich waste.
Cleopatra declared worms to be sacred in 50 BC, and made removal of earthworms from Egypt punishable by death.
Charles Darwin was fascinated by earthworms and investigated them for 40 years, exploring such questions as what foods they prefer (carrots and wild cherry), how they sense the world (they are sensitive to vibrations), and whether they are intelligent (they pull leaves into their burrow by the most efficient method).

Educator Guide: Crazy for Composting: Crazy for Composting Educator Guide

Crazy for Composting

Tips to Come Prepared

Library Finds

Essential Questions

Our Educator Guide

Sora eBooks

Crazy for Composting

Materials for Pre-Visit Lesson

Materials for Post-Visit Lesson

Compelling Compost Facts

Connections to Standards