Pre-School Lesson: "Your Garden is a Habitat…. For Earthworms!"

 

Funded by The McHenry County Community Foundation Grant program

Plants grow in garden soil but do animals? Absolutely! In this lesson, children discover an important organism living in a sample of soil taken from a schoolyard garden - Earthworms! Children will be encouraged to explore the characteristics of earthworms and what worms need to stay alive. They will investigate earthworm interactions with the soil to discover the job earthworms play in making soil a healthy habitat for plants and other soil critters too.

Big Idea

Living organisms live in certain environments or habitats. Their role in that environment is called a niche.  We can observe the characteristics that can be used to identify them and how they interact in that environment.

Objectives

 Children will be able to:

1. observe earthworms in a sample of their soil habitat

2. use words and drawings to describe the characteristics, movements and interactions of earthworms in and out of the soil

3. work as a nature-scientist (Naturalist) using their senses and other tools: magnifiers, microscopes, scales, and rulers

Vocabulary

Living things- organisms that need food for energy, water, air, and shelter, grow, reproduce, and respond to their environment

Habitat - a home for a living thing in the environment

Earthworm - an invertebrate animal that lives in soils

Garden - a habitat for plants and animals

Naturalists - a scientists that studies nature

Camouflage -the covering of an animal that helps it blend in with their environment

IL Early Learning Standards met by this lesson:

Science:

11.A: Develop beginning skills in the use of science and engineering practices, such as observing, asking questions, solving problems, and drawing conclusions.

12.A: Understand that living things grow and change.

12.B: Understand that living things rely on the environment and/or others to live and grow.

Language Arts:

5.C: Use writing (dictation or drawing) to research and share knowledge

Mathematics:

7A: Measure objects and quantities using direct comparison methods and nonstandard units.

7C: Explore tools used for measurement

“Everyone Needs a Rock”

Objectives:

1. The students will be able to sort materials be shape, size and color

2. The students will be able to compare rocks by weighing them with a balance using washers or other “units”

3. The students will explore the campus for rocks and look for similarities and differences

Each student is given (or chooses) a small rock to hold.   Students examine the rock for shape, size and color.

Students form a circle and hold their rock but do not show their rock to anyone else.

Students close eyes and teacher directs them to:

“ pass your rock to the left and stop passing when you think you have the rock that you started out with”

Activity starts.  When complete the teacher asks how many got their correct rock back.  How do they know?  What is “unique” special about their rock?

Teacher reads the book Everyone Needs a Rock with the students and asks questions as they read.

Teacher directs students outside for them to search for rocks and to bring them back OR

Teacher assigns students to a group where a bag of rocks is located with water and a small tub.

Students are asked to “wash” the rocks by placing them all in the tub with water and close the lid to shake.  Afterwards students take the rocks our and sort rocks by finding their “twin”

Students go outside and search for rocks that are different from their rock.

Students must say how they are different.