DeLuca Fifth Graders Study Terrariums

Photo courtesy of North Babylon School District

Fifth graders in Ms. Richardson and Ms. Pellegrino’s classes at William E. DeLuca Elementary School in the North Babylon School District recently created biomes and terrariums. For the biome project, students created dioramas that depicted one of the major biomes or ecosystems. For the terrarium lesson, the students worked in small groups and discovered the role that fungi played in decomposing materials and creating soil. The students used Ziploc bags with different types of foods, and each group changed their environmental condition to study how different variables effect mold growth. During a two-week period, they observed which factors effected decomposition the most.