Worm Experiment
OBJECTIVE
Students will perform an experiment to answer questions they have about worms. Students will go through the scientific process to answer these questions.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Where does soil come from?
MATERIALS NEEDED
Worms
Shredded paper
Spray bottles
Empty clear recycled containers (tennis ball containers, plastic ice cream containers)
Rubber bands
Fabric to cover top of container
Black construction paper
Food scraps
Science journals/notebooks
PROCEDURE
Introduction:
Review what students know about worms. You could create KWL sheet for this–I Know, I Wonder, I Learned.
Ask why students think experiments are important for scientists.
Explain the scientific process:
1) Ask a question
2) Construct a hypothesis
3) Conduct an experiment
4) Analyze the results
5) Make a conclusion (and perhaps find more questions!)
Students come up with questions they have about worms. Write down the questions on the board.
Students choose one question, and write that question in their science journal/notebook.
Ask students how they think we could come up with answers to these questions. Introduce experiment.
Activity:
Set up different stations for students to build their own worm bin. Ask students to describe the needs of a worm: food, air, water, shelter, darkness.
- Worm bin (plastic container; ask students to write their name on a piece of tape and place on top)
- Add shredded paper (fill half of container)
- Spray down shredded paper with water
- Add food scraps (fill half of container)
- Add worms (5—10 worms per container)
- Note: if students finish earlier than others, they can take a closer look at their worms. Ask students to find the biggest/smallest worm, worm eggs, worm head vs. tail. Identify colors, textures, shapes, sizes.
Wrap up/ Assessment: Each student shares the question they chose to explore and their hypothesis, and writes them down in their science journal.