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Bring the
amazing world of fungi into your classroom with a complete, standards-based
lesson plans, anatomy and lifecycle worksheets, and our exclusive Mushroom
Modules
Why should you be
teaching your students about fungi?
As Earth’s recyclers, fungi are essential
components of our ecosystems cycling nutrients for plants,
animals and bacteria. It has recently been discovered that
over 90% of all land plants grow in conjunction with a fungal
partner that protects them from disease and aids in the
absorption of nutrients from the soil. Many plant-fungal
partnerships are even required for plant growth and survival.
Finally, if you’ve ever eaten bread, enjoyed blue cheese
dressing, drank wine, taken an antibiotic or ordered mushrooms
on a pizza, then you’ve benefited from this incredible group
of organisms! |
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The Educator’s Mushroom Growth Kit ™ will
allow you to bring the amazing world of fungi into your
classroom with a complete, standards-based lesson plans,
anatomy and lifecycle worksheets, and our exclusive Mushroom
Modules ™ make the growing of mushrooms easy and fun. No matter
what grade level, the Educator’s Growth Kit will allow you
to effectively deliver a high quality and exciting lesson on
the wonders of the fungal kingdom.
NSES based lesson plan :
Offered for all grade levels, our professionally authored National Science Education Standards
(NSES) based lesson plans give you everything you need to get started teaching your students about the amazing world of fungi. They’ve been aligned with the national content standards eliminating guesswork and streamlining your preparation time.
Both lesson plans (Basic & Advanced) include a full chapter’s worth of textbook-style background information as well as concepts, science themes, laboratory and extension activities. In addition, the
Educator’s Mushroom Growth Kit ™ lesson plans have been reviewed and endorsed by the California Department of Education as an approved NSES based teaching resource.
Basic Lesson Plan:
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Observe mycelial (vegetative) growth and mushroom
(reproductive) growth.
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Learn to identify the basic parts of a mushroom and learn how
fungi reproduce using a life cycle diagram.
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Harvest a fresh mushroom, take a spore print on paper and
compare them with one another.
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Demonstrate natural nutrient recycling and how plants, and
fungi work together in nature.
Advanced Lesson Plan:
Observational experiments and activities.
Be introduced to the fungal kingdom.
Understand the many roles fungi play in our environment.
Learn how fungi reproduce through study of a lifecycle
diagram, and identify the basic parts of a fungus/mushroom.
Learn basic features and examples of the four major fungal
phyla (Chytridiomycota, Zygomycota, Basidiomycota, and Ascomycota).
Observe fungal mycelium and all stages of mushroom growth.
Collect mushroom spores to visualize the reproductive units of
mushrooms.
Investigate the effects of gravity (gravitropism) on mushroom
growth, adaptive responses and the implications for fungal reproduction. An
optional lab report with results and analysis can be assigned.
Understand and observe how fungi transform organic wastes (in
this case sawdust) into a nutritious soil that can support plant growth.
Lifecycle & Anatomy worksheets:
Our accurate and up to date lifecycle and anatomy worksheets will allow you to show your students the biological features of fungal growth and reproduction. The middle/high school level lifecycle diagram is also designed as a worksheet complete with a key for teaching fungal terminology and/or preparing examinations.
24 worksheets included with each Kit.
Our exclusive Mushroom Modules™ make growing mushrooms easy and fun!
The Educator’s Growth Kit ™ state of the art Mushroom Modules
™ make classroom/laboratory mushroom cultivation nearly foolproof. Extensively tested by teachers and curriculum developers alike, they will bring the exciting world of fungal growth and reproduction into your classroom or laboratory! Each Mushroom Module
™ will produce enough mushrooms for demonstration activities like creating spore prints and/or microscopic examinations. The Modules
™ will produce a cluster of the common Oyster mushroom (P.
ostreatus) which are completely safe and edible.*
Our basic K-4 kit includes one Mushroom Module ™. The middle and high
school kits include two Modules for the optional laboratory investigation of
the physiological effects of gravity (gravitropism) on mushroom growth..
After harvesting the decomposed sawdust mushroom substrate in the module can
be used for plant propagation to demonstrate nutrient recycling.
*NOTE Although the Oyster mushrooms produced by the Module
™ are completely safe and edible, we do NOT recommend consuming them because they will not be grown in a food-safe, sanitary environment
(i.e. your classroom or laboratory). |
