- Started our unit on worms and created our class worm compost! We actually started this during Earth week and it has continued on. So far I have to say I have really enjoyed doing these lessons with the students. It has a lot of learning opportunities related to the environment and sustainability while also being really hands-on (yes, most of the students really enjoy holding the worms!).
-My class loves learning big words so we’ve discussed the term interdependence and how worms have interdependent relationships with plants.
Earthworm anatomy!
During centers a student showed me his awesome worm picture!
-We talked about the do’s and don’ts of what we put in the worm compost. We have a bucket that we put our compost stuff into so we can look over it before it goes in. The students love knowing that they are creating a home for the worms and that part of their lunches can contribute to it! What’s so great about a compost is that it provides learning opportunities throughout the year. It’s something I plan on visiting every once and a while with the students even when our worm unit is done. Unfortunately I won’t be in the class long enough to use the dirt made in the compost but I’m hoping the teacher will to really bring lesson of sustainability into full circle.
-From the books we’ve read we created a list of worm facts. In partners the students created a worm fact book using their iPads. The kids learned a lot even from just searching worms and looking for pictures to add to their books. They were really curious about some of the funny looking worms they found!
One of our friends!
-We shared our worm books using Apple TV to stream directly onto the television screen (isn’t technology a gem!).
Sharing our worm fact books the students created on the iPads.
-Also we got to create worm habitats using rip art. This idea came from my Art teacher at UBC and its so simple but so effective for younger students who can be self-conscious about their cutting skill (it also cuts down on time which is great). Basically after the few weeks of us reading a variety of worm books we discussed what a worm habitat looks like and then created our own habitat with construction paper. However instead of cutting out you had to rip the paper. NO SCISSORS NEEDED! I wasn’t sure how the students would respond to this but am delighted to report that they LOVED it. It was great to see the different things students were adding to their habitats. I’ll be putting them up in the halls and will take a photo of them when I do but here’s one below that I took a quick picture of.
Rip Art – Worm Habitat (I thought the mushroom & tunnels for the worms were too cute!)