Nature's Clean-Up Crew: teacher key

Bugs That Clean Up, grade 5 edition, written for 5th grade. Dead leaves, old wood and animal dung do not pile up forever. Meet the beetles, termites, worms and springtails that break them down.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What are decomposers?
   • Bugs that hunt other bugs
   • Living things that break down dead plants and other leftovers (answer)
   • Plants that grow without light
2. Where do tunnelling dung beetles lay their eggs?
   • In brood balls made from dung (answer)
   • In rotting wood
   • In a pile of leaves
3. Why do millipedes that wander indoors in dry weather usually die?
   • People step on them
   • They bite and get sick
   • A house has too little moisture and rotting leaf food (answer)
4. Why is finding springtails in soil usually good news?
   • It means the soil is bare
   • It is a sign of living, healthy soil (answer)
   • It means a house is in danger
5. What helps most termites turn wood into food?
   • Sunlight
   • Big beetles
   • Protists in the termite's gut (answer)

Words

• decomposers: nature's recyclers
• nutrients: food for plants
• casts: worm droppings
• protists: tiny one-celled life
• compost: rotted plant mix