The Compost Bin, Month by Month is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on using a year of compost records as evidence that decomposers return matter, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 5-LS2-1. It prints 7 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Monthly notes and masses from the school compost bin, over one year.
WHAT WENT IN AND WHAT CAME OUT
September: 40 kg of leaves, peelings and grass added
December: pile warm inside, worms and woodlice present, 26 kg
March: dark crumbly material, few recognizable pieces, 17 kg
June: dark soil-like compost, 14 kg, spread on the beds
Plants grown in that bed were noticeably greener.
1. What claim does this record support?
2. How much material was added in September?
3. What does this record not tell you?
4. What happened to the mass over the year?
2.A fallen log in a wood is soft and crumbly after a few years. What has happened?
A.The rain has melted it
B.It has turned back into a seed
C.Fungi and other decomposers have broken it down
3.What would happen in a wood with no decomposers at all?
A.Nothing would change
B.Dead leaves and wood would pile up, and their matter would not return to the soil
C.The trees would grow faster
4.Why should a compost heap be kept damp rather than dry?
A.Dry compost is heavier
B.Decomposers need water to live and do their work
C.Water makes it smell nicer
5.Where do the minerals in fallen leaves end up after they rot?
A.Back in the soil, where roots can take them up
B.Nowhere, they are destroyed
C.In the clouds
6.Some of a compost heap's mass is lost to the air. In what form?
A.As gases given off while the material is broken down
B.As smoke from burning
C.As light
7.Why is compost good to dig into a vegetable bed?
A.It returns matter to the soil that plants can take up
B.It makes the soil heavier
C.It keeps slugs away for ever
LessonPrint · 5-LS2-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — The Compost Bin, Month by Month
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Matter moves from plants through decomposers back into the soil and the air. 2. 40 kg of leaves, peelings and grass. 3. It does not tell you which decomposers did most of the work. 4. It fell from 40 kg in September to 14 kg in June.
2.Fungi and other decomposers have broken it down
3.Dead leaves and wood would pile up, and their matter would not return to the soil
4.Decomposers need water to live and do their work
5.Back in the soil, where roots can take them up
6.As gases given off while the material is broken down
7.It returns matter to the soil that plants can take up
Questions about The Compost Bin, Month by Month
What does the The Compost Bin, Month by Month worksheet cover?
It practices using a year of compost records as evidence that decomposers return matter — 7 questions for Grade 5, all on NGSS 5-LS2-1: Model how matter moves between plants, animals, decomposers and the environment. The instruction to students is “Read the record, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does The Compost Bin, Month by Month practice?
5-LS2-1, under Life Science for Grade 5. The published performance expectation reads: “Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
The Compost Bin, Month by Month is written for Grade 5, typically ages 10-11. It is one of the sheets on 5-LS2-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does The Compost Bin, Month by Month come with an answer key?
Yes. All 7 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of The Compost Bin, Month by Month can I print?
25 — one per student, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is The Compost Bin, Month by Month free to print and photocopy?
Yes. The Compost Bin, Month by Month, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
More practice for 5-LS2-1
Model how matter moves between plants, animals, decomposers and the environment.