Goal
Students will investigate and analyze earthworms.
Estimated Time
45 MinutesSetting Required
Inside or OutsideStandards
- S3L1c. Students will identify features of animals that allow them to live and thrive in different regions of Georgia.
- S3L2b. Students will identify ways to protect the environment (conservation of resources, recycling of materials).
- MCC3MD4. Generate measurement data by measuring lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch.
Materials
- Earthworms for investigation
- gathered from worm bin
- garden soil (see http://www.nrri.umn.edu/worms/research/methods_worms.html)
- red wigglers from local bait stores or department stores in sporting goods section
- Journals or 8.5×11 copy paper (1 per student)
- Coloring supplies (enough for each student)
Procedures
- Ask students to create a list of facts that they already know about earthworms in a K-W-L chart. Then work with students to develop a list of questions that they want to learn the answer to.
- Provide students with the opportunity to investigate a worm and record their observations in their journal including a labeled sketch with measurements.
- Research earthworms to find the answers to unobservable questions.
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/search/Worm.html http://www.wormdigest.org/content/view/35/2/
4. Review with students what they learned to add to the class K-W-L chart.
Additional Content for Exploration
Contribute to a Nation-wide Database Tracking the First Worm Sighting in Spring http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/worm/About.html
Example Experiment Questions:
- Does vermicompost affect plant productivity, soil fertility, soil moisture, etc?
- What vegetable will decompose the fastest in a vermicompost bin?