Task
Increase knowledge and explore worms and their role in composting by using internet resources.
Take information from various sources to create their own composting bins using worms at home.
Process
1) Complete the activities using the chrome books. http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormgloss82.html#wormgloss
2) Learning the vocabulary and information provided to understand the role of the worm and why they are important to soil. http://extension.illinois.edu/worms/anatomy/anatomy8.html
Collect your materials
- a medium sized Ziploc style bag
- a hole punch
- 1 cup of damp soil (you can take it out of your home flowerbed)
- some food that a worm would like (see Worm Deli for ideas)
- 3-5 worms (you can get them from your flowerbed or buy them at a bait store with mom or dad's help)
Observe your materials
- Use your magnifying glass to look at your soil.
- Draw a picture and color it to show what you see right now.
- Do the same thing with your worm food.
- How does the soil feel? Record your ideas in your notebook.
Assemble your compost bag
- punch 4-6 holes in the top half of your Ziploc (near the zipper)
- fill the bottom of the bag with the damp soil
- add worm food
- carefully transfer worms into your compost bag
- close zipper on bag carefully
Maintain your compost bag
- Keep the soil moist (not wet) with aged water (water you let sit out in an open container overnight from the faucet to get rid of the chlorine).
- Store your bag in a cool, dark place.
Observe your worms at work
- Watch the worm food in your bag and write in your notebook about what is happening.
- Include drawings as well as writing about what you are seeing.
- After 3-4 weeks you will notice major changes in the worm food.
- Remove some of the soil and look at it with a magnifying glass. Record what you notice.
- Compare your drawings now to the ones you made a the beginning of your study.
- Write about what you notice.
- How does the soil feel now? Record your ideas in your notebook.
Evaluation
4,3,2,1 scale with 4 being the highest 1 lowest.
Worm vocabulary
4 glossary words defined 3 glossary words partially defined 2 glossary words written 1 no glossary words
Worm anatomy
4 Label and plot all parts of the worm 3 label and plot half the worm parts 2 label or plot worm parts 1 nothing labeled or plotted
Creating a compost with the worms
4 Finish the compost with the worms 3 Create the compost but no worms 2 Gather the material for the composite 1 no information or composte
Conclusion
After learning the parts (anotomy) of the a worm, using the glossary words provided, and creating a composite with worms students will understand what it is like to be a worm farmer.
Print your certificate as a wormologist
http://extension.illinois.edu/worms/funplace/wormologist.html