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Earthworms Unit & Lapbook
by Lynn Pitts and Ami

             

Vocabulary
burrow: a hole in the ground made by an animal
segment: any of the parts into which a thing is divided or naturally separates
anterior: placed or being before or toward the front
posterior: located behind or toward the back
cocoon: hard oval case where the worm’s eggs grow
castings: the waste products of the worm’s digestion
compost: a mixture of decaying plant matter
setae: small bristles spaced along length of worms
bristle: tiny stiff hair
saddle: swollen part of adult worm’s body where the eggs are made, and which it uses during mating to make a cocoon

Worm Word Cards & Pocketbook

All About Tunneling
A worm makes tunnels by pushing its way into the soil and eating it. As the worm moves forward, it’s body coats the soil with slime. This makes the soil (the tunnel) stronger. 

Worm tunnels make airy spaces under the soil. These help rainwater drain away. As it drains, the soil becomes looser and finer, so it is easier for plants to grow. 

Some worms burrow deeper underground when the weather is too cold or too dry.  They push down a few feet below the surface, then coil up and go to sleep.

Tunnel Travels Accordion (words)
Tunnel Travels Accordion (blank)

How Do They Move?
~Worms have strong muscles to help them move. There are ring shaped muscles inside each segment. These make the worm's body shrink or spread out.

~The dampness of its body make it move easily through the soil.

~A Worm moves by pointing its head in the direction it wants to go. It anchors its body and the head end becomes thicker. Then it stretches its body to push through the soil. It anchors the front of its body and brings up the rear.

A worm’s bristles are very important in helping it move. The worm digs them into the soil-- using them like little anchors.

Worms on the Move Tri-fold

Mating
Worms like to mate on warm, damp nights. They lie next to each other and wrap themselves together with slime  .After mating, the saddle on each worm makes a sticky belt of slime. It wiggles out of its belt and lays its eggs in it.  The belt turns into a hard cocoon. Its smaller than a pea. Every worm has both male and female parts to its body, but it takes two worms to mate.

Hatching
~Worms eggs take many weeks or months to grow in the cocoon. In that time some of the eggs will die. Sometimes just 1 or 2 worms will hatch out of the cocoon.
~Young worms are about as long as a thumbnail. They are whiter than their parents and they have no saddles at first.
~It takes 18 months for a young worm to grow up and lay eggs of its own. A worm can live in the soil for 10 years or more if not eaten.

Mating & Hatching Matchbooks

Enemies
Hedgehogs: eat while worms are active at night.
Moles: eat 30 worms a day as they tunnel under ground. They keep them from escaping by biting their heads off.
Birds-Robins, Blackbirds and Thrushes: birds hunt for worms in Spring when other food is scarce.
Shrew: eat while worms are active at night.

Earthworm Enemies Shutter

What Do They Eat?
Worms eat rotting parts of dead plants. They have no teeth or jaws so the food must be soft.   They feed on soil. They use the good parts as the soil goes through their bodies. In the daytime, they stay under the soil and feed on the roots of dead plants.  Sometimes they store dead leaves in their tunnels until they rot. All of this makes the soil healthy.

Worms love compost.  Their favorites include potato peelings, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, celery, apple peelings, banana peels, orange rinds, and grapefruit.   They also like cornmeal, oatmeal, crushed eggshells, coffee grounds with the filter, and tea bags. 

Favorite Compost Foods
Hotdog Book Instructions

Anatomy of An Earthworm
Print-out at Enchanted Learning 
*You can fold this in half and put a label on it.  Label is found in the Tug of War Simple Fold file.

Herman the Worm explains anatomy

Earthworm Body
Worms breathe through their skin. They take air in that is trapped in the soil. There body is damp, but not slimy. The front end is more pointed than the back.  A worm has no skeleton, eyes, lungs or ears. Its tube like body is made up of many tiny segments. Each is filled with liquid and covered with bristles to help the worm move.  Worms can tell the difference from light and dark. On wet days, worms’ air pockets fill with water, and have to come up to the surface to breathe.

Worm Bodies Fan (words)
Worm Bodies Fan (blank)

Worm Wonders
As you read books about worms, record some of your favorite worm facts in this minit book:  Worm Wonders

Record the names of the books you read in this Book Log.

Tug of War
Have you ever seen a robin struggling to pull an earthworm from the ground? Everyone knows that earthworms don’t have legs, but they do have special structures that help them stay anchored in their burrows. On the side of each body segment, a worm has four pairs of tiny bristles.  These are called setae (SEE-tee); they help the worm crawl about or hold fast to its burrow. Whenever the worm shortens itself, the segments get fatter and the setae are pushed out. As the worm extends, the setae are pulled in.

Tug of War Simple Fold

Earthworm Observations

Setting up an observation center:

Option #1-- Dig for worms
Option #2-- Purchase Earthworms from a Bait/Tackle shop or in the sporting goods section of the store
Option #3-- Buy a Worm Vue Wonder Kit

Used a large glass jar for the habitat. Layered various types of soil (choose different color/texture to see the burrows better). Sprinkle oatmeal on top. Added water to moisturize the dirt.  Covered the jar with black construction paper; take it off when you want to observe the worms.

Ideas for Earthworm Experiments

Library List
The Magic School Bus Meets The Rot Squad: A Book About Decomposition by Joanna Cole
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer

Links
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/worms/
The Adventures of Herman the Worm
Worm World
Worm Unit
Make a worm t-shirt
Virtual Worm Anatomy

Recipes (if you dare!)
Worms on a Bun
Cheesy Scone Worms 
Mud Pie with Worms
Worm Cake

When you finish this unit, print out this Prepared Wormologist Certificate from Herman the Worm