By Kimberly Koogler
Kimberly Koogler is the Farm to School Coordinator at Georgia Organics.
Last week, in partnership with teacher and farm to school expert Jenna Mobley, our Farm to School team presented a bilingual workshop all about composting and teaching composting lessons to English Language Learners. “Creating Rich Environments: In the Classroom and the Compost Bin” (click to view) was, much like compost itself, packed with super rich content.
We covered the why, who, what, how, and where of composting—the benefits, the decomposers, the compostable ingredients, and the containers and spaces for composting—in English and Spanish. We interspersed all of that information with interactive, dynamic lessons that teach composting in a way that is accessible to English Language Learners and fun for everyone, using the ten key components of Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE).
Farm to school expert Jenna Mobley
If you imagine all of the info, facts, rules, tips, and tricks that were presented as brown ingredients and all of the fresh, juicy lessons as green ingredients, our workshop itself resembled a healthy compost bin.
We sang, danced, made compost cake, even used some sign language, and we learned A LOT.
You can teach a group of students how to compost, the science behind it, and why it’s important, in such a way that they are also learning English and having fun. What a productive way to teach and what a rich environment you create in doing so!
Some key takeaways in case you missed it:
Everyone can make compost! Choose from a diverse array of compost bin options for affordable, indoor and outdoor composting.
There are many “rules of three” by which you can help yourself remember the how-to's of composting and troubleshooting.
The FBI (fungus bacteria invertebrates) have a very special job—decomposition!
We can help them by giving them home, food, water, and air.
For their food, remember: if it grows, it goes.
We can put it in the pot, and let it all rot, for compost stew!
If any of the above left you wondering, you definitely need to check out the recording of this workshop, as well as our composting resources: Georgia Organics Composting Handbook in English and Spanish.
To learn more about Farm to School at Georgia Organics, visit farmtoschool.georgiaorganics.org, and follow Georgia Organics on social media @GeorgiaOrganics and at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics.