We had a great time getting dirty today! As an extension of Earth Day we have been learning about earthworms. We started out with the cute KWL chart I blogged about earlier. Then we read several great books about these very interesting little guys. The kids and I loved everyone of these books. The stories were great and we even learned many interesting facts about worms.
We read a few traditional non-fiction books about earthworms as well as internet research. The students were really engaged in all of these lessons.
After reading and researching, the real fun began! I spread out a plastic picnic table cloth and we gathered around. I then proceeded to dump out a container of red wigglers! I wish you could have seen their faces. At this exact moment I was elevated to the coolest teacher and girl ever!!! I was amazed at the kids who had never played with these little guys. After talking about what we were observing, I told them how to handle them and not to squeeze to hard. I also had to reiterate that "yes we learned they can regenerate a part of their body if a small section is cut off but we are not doing this today or ever!" Then I paired them up and passed out plates of worms. I then realized I should have also mentioned not to kiss the little wigglers!
After we examined out red wigglers with magnifying glasses and were over the gross factor, I pulled out another container. This container was full of night crawlers and they were HUGE! The kids loved them even more. I added a night crawler to each place and we examined and compared the two. The body parts were easier to see on these juicy little guys.
Then we took the plates back to our seats and filled out an observation sheet of what they observed. We measured them with rulers too! I loved watching them try to figure out how to get them to be still and straight! I took some great pictures too! (I will admit it took us a little while to bring it back together after all this fun!)
Tomorrow we are comparing our worms to gummy worms! I will be sure to share!
Have a great day and don't be afraid to get dirty!
I love the worm entry! This is such a cute blog!! Thank you for sharing the fun and exciting things that you are doing in first grade!!
ReplyDeleteDare I confess, years ago we did worm art as a part of out worm unit. We would let them crawl through paint (nontoxic) and then wiggle around on paper. Many worms and many colors later we had some beautiful "modern art".
ReplyDeleteCindy
Granny Goes to School
We are having a rep from the soil and water conservation come to my classroom on Tuesday for some worm compost action!
ReplyDeleteI also did the worm art a few years ago! I loved it. I did hear that red was not good for them. Maybe the red dye? My co-teacher isn't a worm fan but she's going to put on a brave face.
Brenda
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