Learning Objectives

In Lesson 1 students will:
• Brainstorm what they know and what they would like to know about worms.
• Set up a vermicomposting bin.
• Classify those items that can be fed to red worms and those that cannot be fed to red worms and write a poem about it.
• Design a chart with pictures of what to feed and what not to feed red worms.
• Record the weight and type of worm food and where it was placed in the worm composting bin.
• Select questions about red worms that they can research in books, on the computer, through videos, and through personal observations.

In Lesson 2 students will:
• List the ways to humanely observe and handle a red worm, and using the list, they will then write a song or sing a song that is already written.
• Observe a red worm by using a magnifying lens and record their observations.
• Conduct humane experiments to determine whether red worms prefer light or dark.
• Practice measuring on gummy worms and then measure live red worms, chart these measurements, and develop a graph to compare the length of 20 red worms.
• Draw pictures or write stories about red worms.

In Lesson 3 students will:
• Examine the stages of decomposition of the items they buried at the beginning of this unit.
• Design a game to model the water cycle and identify a water cycle in the worm bin.
• Illustrate the stages of growth of a red worm.
• Determine the role red worms play in the nutrient cycle.
• Make a mural of cycles in a well functioning vermicomposting bin.

In Lesson 4 students will:
• Observe, touch, and describe soil.
• Examine and describe worm castings and compare them to soil.
• Discuss the effect worms have on soil and how their actions may benefit other organisms.
• Sing a song about the importance of worms and soil to people.
• Design collages showing ways people use soil.

In Lesson 5 students will:
• Harvest the vermicompost from the worm bin.
• Conduct an experiment to test whether worm compost affects plant growth.
• Read or listen to Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney and Johnny Appleseed by Eva Moore and discuss the special things each character did to improve the environment.
• Make a red worm mascot, puppet, or clay model, and use these to share what they know about red worms and vermicomposting.
• Write poems, songs, and stories or design murals, illustrations, and posters to teach others about the importance of vermicomposting.

Teachers Notes

A detailed unit plan can be found in the attached web link.
Lesson 1
Students are introduced to the basics of vermicomposting and learn about the physical requirements of red worms as they set up a worm bin to demonstrate how food waste and paper can be recycled.
Lesson 2
Students learn about red worms through observations and humane experiments.
Lesson 3
Students will learn about the role of cycles in nature by observing the stages and results of decomposition.
Lesson 4
Students will learn how red worms improve soil and how people depend on the soil enriched by the worms.
Lesson 5
Students will learn ways to harvest and use worm compost. They also share information about red worms and vermicomposting with other students.