National Wildlife Federation
Soil Decomposers
The class studies the soil food web that includes earthworms and conduct four experiments using the crawly critters. Individuals determine whether earthworms are sensitive to light, touch, temperature, and acid.
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: An Earthworm's Life (Himmelman)
Explore some tier-two vocabulary using John Himmelman's informational text An Earthworm's Life. Recommended words for this slimy text are: bulge, burrow, journey, soil, and underground. After introducing these words, help...
Curated OER
The Earthworm
In this science related learning exercise, students complete a wide variety of interactive activities associated with earthworms and their inhabitants.
Curated OER
Earthworms
Students observe and chart the body of earthworms. For this earthworm lesson plan, students each get their own earthworm to observe and play with. They then record the different body parts of an earthworm and the different behaviors they...
Curated OER
Earthworms and Making a Wormery
Students explore the environment by researching insects. In this earthworm lesson, students utilize soil and plexiglass to build a see through wormery in which students can observe the worms at work. Students identify the benefits of...
Curated OER
Composting With Worms
Third graders predict what happen in two (control and experiment) containers -- one with soil and trash, the other with soil, trash, and worms.
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Agriculture is a Cycle
Young scholars explore cycles in nature. In this cross curriculum agriculture lesson, students define "cycle" and research weather and planting folklore. Young scholars make a bracelet in which individual colored beads represent the many...
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Science: Where the Worms Live
Learners build mine-earthworm habitats to discover their niche in them. They make predictions about what the niche looks like in a week and draw a picture of it. Students notice the tunnels in the soil and how the sand and dirt are now...
Desert Museum
Daisy Ecology
Here's a fine activity that combines poetry with life sciences. Learners carefully listen to a poem that's all about a food chain. As the poem is read, learners name the producer, the herbivore, the carnivore, and the omnivore. Lots of...
Curated OER
Dirty Decomposers
Students explore the ecosystem by conducting a ziploc bag experiment. In this recycling lesson, students identify decomposer organisms in our environment and how they speed up the recycling process. Students utilize a ziploc plastic bag,...
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Reptiles and Amphibians
Fourth graders explore biology by viewing animal videos in class. In this amphibian and reptile lesson plan, 4th graders identify the key differences between reptiles, amphibians and other animal classifications. Students view video...
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Forest Decomposition
Students explore decomposition. Students define and describe components of the decomposition process. Students make a composter in a terrarium. Students record observations and changes weekly, drawing conclusions about the results...
Curated OER
Ecosystem Energizers
Fourth graders see how the flow of energy through an ecosystem made up of producers, consumers, and decomposers carries out the processes of life and that some energy dissipates as heat and is not recycled.