Review of Compost Plan

The Compost Plan offers a fun, year-long activity that students are bound to adore. It also provide a fair amount of basic information for teachers about how to go about composting. Ho... See More

The Compost Plan offers a fun, year-long activity that students are bound to adore. It also provide a fair amount of basic information for teachers about how to go about composting. However, this plan doesn't seem to do enough to inspire inquiry or actively involve the community. I would like to see students be allowed the first few weeks to try their own compost mixes. I know it can get messy, but let them see if they can discover the "perfect recipe" for compost on their own (by the way the example of good and bad biscuit recipes is great). I would also like to see more outreach into the school cafeteria and community. Start using kitchen scraps, or as is more likely, talk about why you can't use some of those scraps. Expand the program and have students give presentation to other classes, or to community farming groups. I would also like to see more of an effort to document which families take the ideas home.

Get the Dirt on Composting

Setting up a composting bin is a perfect way to engage younger students in hands-on learning in which science process skills and topics related to life science and renewable resources can be... See More

Setting up a composting bin is a perfect way to engage younger students in hands-on learning in which science process skills and topics related to life science and renewable resources can be addressed. The authors are enthusiastic in their writing, but the piece lacks the detail necessary for replication in most classrooms. Issues with safety are mentioned but not fully addressed.