Death is Earth's original re-cycling plan. It is the way that shared life materials become available to new lives. A tree dies and rots back into soil for new trees to grow. A deer dies and is food for wolves, crows, blue jays, bacteria, and beetles. Mice gnaw on its antlers for calcium.
Decomposition is what happens to all bodies, plant and animal, after death.
Decompose means to break down into basic elements, to return the Life Materials in that body to their simple re-usable form. Each student should chose an animal from the local habitat or a habitat the class is studying. Remind students that birds, insects, turtles and frogs and fish are animals, too, not just mammals. On construction paper, students draw the animal's outline to fill the paper and then paint or color it. Cut it out and tape a stick or dowel on the back to turn it into a simple puppet.