When life gives you mold, make penicillin. Scholars design an inquiry experiment to determine what causes rotting and mold growth. It also covers decomposers and the important role they play for other living things. 

Concepts

bacteria, decomposers, fungi, mold, decomposition, energy flow

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Additional Tags

bacteria, decomposers, fungi, science

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Instructional Ideas

• Research the different decomposers that live in various ecosystems

Classroom Considerations

• Requires prior knowledge from previous lesson in the series
• Lesson lasts 12 days with some days lasting just a few minutes
• Materials needed include a refrigerator and dehydrated fruit without preservatives
• Be aware of all food allergies
• Lesson is the fifth in a series of seven

• This resource is only available on an unencrypted HTTP website.It should be fine for general use, but don’t use it to share any personally identifiable information

Pros

• Provides ideas for accommodations and extensions
• Contains discussion questions and ideal answers
• Offers many tips to facilitate the lesson

Cons

• None

Common Core

RST.6-8.4