Worms at Work

Lesson Plan

On this page, you will find the steps taken while at the Day Care center.

STEP 1
 Begin by introducing the kids to worms using these three basic fun topics. Immediately address any fears or questions the kids might have had, and have them share their worm experiences.

 STEP 2
 Allow them to explore actual worms to get to know them, and particularly learn about what worms eat, so they could later "feed" the worms in the worm compost bin. 

 STEP 3
 Lastly, explain to them so they will know WHY anyone would like to keep worms, which is basically to recycle food waste into usable compost for their garden that they are starting at the Day Care Center or any other Pre-School learning facility.  Worms are a great way to do small scale composting.

 So the activities were chosen for that reason:

 1.  The story was to introduce the element of fun and get the kids interested in a worm's life.

 

 2.  The chance to observe and draw the worm was to teach them some basics about what kind of animal a worm is.

 

 3.  The seed planting was to show them how we could use worm compost to grow healthy plants.

 OUTLINE

*   "See "Wormology" link for background information. 

  Read a Worm Story

 Start off by reading a basic pre-school book about Worms (preferably one that has great pictures). 

  We recommend: Diary of a Worm, by Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss, published by Harper Collins 2003.  (Select sections of the book to read that are at an appropriate level for pre-school age children)

   Worm felt board - Felt board questions

Where do worms live?  (in leaves)

What do worm eat? (Apple cores, banana peels, and newspaper. Yes really!)

What eats worms? (Worm’s enemies: mole, bird, shovel.  And kids feet!)

What other animals live with worms? (worm’s friends: spider)

What is the job of worms in nature?  [to eat garbage and create fertilizer (worm poop) for helping plants (flowers) grow]

  
  Meet the Worms

 1.   Get out the worm box and open the lid to see if we can find the worms living in the box.  Point out the worms home, which is made up of dead leaves and newspaper (which is like a leaf).  Put some worm food in the worm box.

 2.   Next, find a worm for each student group of two.  Put the worms on wet paper towels so they won’t dry out.  Each kid will then “get to know” their worm.  Make sure to tell the kids to be GENTLE with the worm and touch them gently.

       Cue Questions:

 The following are a few “sample cue questions” that you may want to ask the kids after the story is read.

 1.   How does your worm move?

2.   How does your worm feel?

3.   How does your worm smell?

4.   Does your worm make any noise?

5.   What is your worm doing?

6.   What if you gently touch your worm, what happens?

7.   What shape is your worm?

8.   A worm doesn’t have eyes or ears, just a mouth.  The mouth is hard to see,

      but the head of the worm is the part that moves first.  Which end do you think

      is the head?

 

   Create a Worm Book

 1.   Create a Worm Book by using a 8 ½” x 11” sheet of placard, and simple folding in Half (fold the top half towards the bottom).

2.   There are TWO things to do in the worm book.  ONE is to draw a picture of their

      worm. The next thing is to draw a worm story.  

      Here are some story starters: 

      The first time I saw a worm . . . . 

      The first time I touched a worm . . . . 

      What did my worm do at work today . . . . 

      Where does my worm live? 

      Who are my worms friends? 

      What did my worm have for lunch? 

       How do worms help plants? . . . .

 

  And Finally . . . Start a Garden!

Take some soil, some worm fertilizer, and plant some seeds. 

* CAUTION  When planting the seeds, caution the instructors to use LARGE seeds such as beans, peas, lentils, nasturtiums, squash, melons or sunflower seeds, or they'll blow all over the place like ours did!  Also ,make sure the plant pots don't have HOLES in the bottom!

  BONUS ACTIVITIES:

  Flower, Dirt, Worm Art Activity 

1.  Make a dilute glue solution with washable white glue.

2.  Thin the glue with enough water so kids can dip a paintbrush in the glue and spread it around on a piece of paper.

3.  Have the students draw a flower with roots on a white sheet of paper.   Then have them paint around the roots with the glue.  Lightly sprinkle potting soil or coffee grounds over the paint.  Shake off excess dirt and allow glue to dry before hanging up or taking home.

 4.  Lastly, kids can stick little bits of yarn or cooked spaghetti in the dirt to represent worms.   Choose thick spaghetti!

 *  Note: Kids could also do this activity with a brown cardboard cutout representing a worm box.  They could make fruit and vegetable stamps with dilute paint and plant leaves, cut apple rounds, celery stems, etc., representing the worm's food, and then glue string worms in between the stamps.  You could also use spaghetti for the worms and then you wouldn’t have to use glue, since the starch in the spaghetti would keep the worms stick to the cardboard.  (Well, unless the kids knock it off!)

  Just Desserts

 Worm snack:

 Mix crushed chocolate wafers with chocolate pudding. 

Spoon a small amount of the mixture into small clear plastic cups (enough to cover the bottom).

Place a Gummy worm on top of the pudding mix. 

Add one more spoonful of pudding to cover the worm.

Put bits of apple or banana in the "dirt" to represent worm food.

Cover the fruit with one last dollop of pudding. 

The kids can have fun finding the worm food and the worm as they eat their snack!
 

   SING ALONG SONGS

 The kids can sing along with these songs:

 *  Note:   Red worms are the species of worm used in worm composting.  They are smaller than the night crawlers most people are used to seeing, and they are used because they are easier to manage in a limited space.

 The Itsy Bitsy Red Worm - sung to "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" rhythm

The itsy bitsy red worm, crawled up through the dirt.

Down came the rain and washed the little worm out.

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,

So the itsy bitsy red worm, crawled through the dirt again.

 

This Little Worm - sung to "This Old Man"

 This little worm, wiggly worm

He goes creeping through the dirt

With a squirm and a squiggle and a dig, dig, dig

Hide from the robin, oh so big!