Introduce decomposers with a Tree of Life poster.
Every living thing needs to eat, and get energy to stay alive. You’ll eat your lunch when you get hungry.
Some living things, like [deer] eat plants. Some living things, like [eagles] eat animals to get energy.
(Trees and plants use the energy right from the sun.)
Some smaller living things eat plants and animals after they have died, and break them into tiny parts.
They are called Decomposers.
Snail, millipede, worm, maggot (insect), slug, ant, wasp, beetles are decomposers. They eat dead things and poop out rich soil!
Mushrooms and bacteria do not poop like larger animals, but they also break down dead things to make rich soil.
Decomposers are really important.
If there were no decomposers to eat up dead living things, dead stuff would pile up.
Energy and nutrients would be stuck in dead things, and there would be no soil, so no plants…
Optionally include a walk outside to find worms and other animals in the soil: decomposer hunt activity, or hunting for animals in soil brought into the classroom: soil habitat study activity.
Study decomposer(s) more closely:
Worms observation to observe and draw adaptations that help them survive, then place outdoors or in worm bin.
Wood bug observation to observe and draw adaptations that help them survive, then place outdoors or in habitat.
These decomposers eat dead plants and wood. The plants are also rotting from other decomposers, fungi and bacteria, which make it mushy and easier for worms to eat. Wood bugs can chew.
So the decomposers work together to break down dead living things, putting chemicals back into the soil and fertilizing it.
