In this short game, students can test what they know about what does and does not belong in their home compost bin.
There are three different trials of pictured and labeled items for students to drag and drop before checking their choices.
Teaching Tips
Positives
There is a self-check function, so students can get feedback and make corrections without the teacher needing to check their work.
The use of pictures and their names make the game accessible even for ELLs and students with limited reading skills.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should know what composting is and its purpose.
Differentiation
This game can supplement a lesson about composting, decomposition, and the carbon cycle. After talking about what kinds of things can be composted, students can use this game to demonstrate their understanding.
After completing the game, teachers and students can discuss the things that did not belong in the bin and why they wouldn't belong. This is a great introduction to recycling and choosing recyclable or compostable products when buying things.
Students can brainstorm a list of things that can go in the home compost bin, both using their own ideas and items from the game.
Use this game to introduce a classroom compost bin project to help reduce waste and provide fertile soil for school gardens and flower beds.
Scientist Notes
This sorting game from Green Guardians walks students through what can and cannot be composted at home. Three rounds provide students with scraps that need to be sorted into "should be composted" and "should not be composted." This resource would be a great addition to a classroom discussion on composting and how to compost at home.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
5-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
PS1: Matter and its Interactions
2-PS1-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
5-PS1-3 Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
