Nutrient Cycle: Healthy Soil and Composting with Worms Lesson Overview This lesson is designed to introduce the idea of the nutrient cycle and to reinforce the idea that all of our food comes from the soil. We use worm composting to demonstrate the nutrient cycle, how nutrients get into our food and the important role farmers play in caring for healthy soils. Objectives Students will learn 1. What the nutrient cycle is and the connection between healthy soils, healthy food and healthy people (Next Generation Science Standards K-LS1-1 and K-ESS3-3) 2. To describe soil and compare and contrast different soil types (WI Standards for Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources ESS2.b.1.e; WI Science Performance Standards E.4.2) 3. To describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment (Next Generation Science Standards 5-LS2-1) Lesson Introduction Discuss the definition of a cycle and of a nutrient. What are examples of other cycles? i.e. the water cycle, life cycle. Where do we find nutrients? Are they big or small? Explain the nutrient cycle within the context of the apple tree diagram (pg 6) or poster. Activities -Act out the Nutrient Cycle -Soil Samples -Engineer a Compost Bin -Explore the Worm Bin -What Worms Love and Hate -Songs Conclusion Discuss the importance of healthy soil and how it relates to the nutrient cycle. How does soil health relate to human health? What are the benefits of composting? Brainstorm ways to compost in the classroom, at school, or at home. Snack suggestions If possible, serve a local seasonal fruit or vegetable snack. Choose something that can be put in a worm bin or compost bin if there are leftovers! -apple slices -carrot sticks with hummus -celery with yogurt dip Book suggestions -Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser is a great book for younger students. Before or after reading you can go through the worm facts in the back of the book. Ask students what they already know about worms, answer any questions they may have, and test their knowledge by asking them questions from the book s questions. -Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals -Worms Eat Our Garbage: Classroom Activities for a Better Environment by Mary Appelhof contains great worm-related classroom activities suited for grades 4-5. -Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin page 1
Nutrient Cycle - Lesson Planning Keep in mind that these lessons are best formatted to a 45 minute time slot. The approximate activity time can be adjusted to your preferences. It is suggested that you choose one introduction option to pair with a few activities. Happy planning! snack Materials Checklist Introduction Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3 Conclusion Notes page 2
Nutrient Cycle - Introduction Begin a discussion about the term nutrient cycle. As a class, come up with examples of cycles - water cycle, sleep cycle, life cycle, bicycle, recycling. Take note of the similarities = no definitive beginning or end. Ask students what they know about the term nutrients. Connect the term to nutrition and ask who needs nutrients and why. Where do we get nutrients? Ask volunteers to draw an apple tree on the board and all of the things an apple tree needs to survive (sun, rain, air, soil or nutrients). Go through the nutrient cycle as it relates to the tree step by step drawing arrows as you go to create the visual of the cycle. You can use the diagram on page 6 as a guide or the Nutrient Cycle poster. Act out the Nutrient Cycle (gr 2-5) Ask for five student volunteers to act out the nutrient cycle. One 0f each of the following Tree - stand tall with arms spread out like branches Apple - stand next to Tree with hands reaching up to branch Soil - sit on the floor next to Tree Worm - lay on the floor Roots - Crouch in front of Tree with arms spread down as roots container of nutrients - fill a plastic container with dry black beans or seeds. Time - 5 to 10 minutes Position the students as the different parts in the front of the room. Ask the class where the cycle begins. This is a trick question - the cycle can start anywhere! Hand the container of nutrients to any volunteer. Tell them to pass the container of nutrients to the next part of the cycle. Ask the audience to call out the actor with the nutrients as they go. Worm! -> Soil! -> Roots! -> Tree! -> Apple! -> Worm! ->... As the actors and audience get an understanding of the loop, speed up the pace! page 3
Soil Samples (gr 3-5) Distribute four soil samples across the classroom. There should be at least one jar of each of the following - A - Sandy soil B - Rocky soil C - Potting soil D - Compost Divide students into groups by table, each with a soil sample labeled only by letter. Pass out observation sheets and ask students to take notes as a group. Students can open the jar and feel, smell, and observe the soil sample up close. four types of soil four or more jars for soil samples observation sheets pg 7 paper towels compost bin Once everyone has made observations you can either rotate the jars or the students so that each group has a chance to make observations about all the soil types. As a class, discuss the characteristics of different soil samples. Ask students to guess which type of soil is which. Ask them which soil sample is most nutrient rich. Explain why the characteristics of the compost sample reveal that it has a lot of nutrients. Nutrient rich soil is dark, fluffy, and moist. You may even see living things in the sample. Discuss the value of nutrient rich soil for plant growth. Engineer a Compost Bin (gr 3-5) Discuss how compost contributes to the health of soil and how compost can be used to provide nutrients to plants. Have students work in pairs or on their own to complete a design for a compost bin. Students can color their design, label the parts, and explain the purpose or goal of their compost bin if there is extra time. Students can also share their designs with the class. -Engineering a Compost Bin worksheet -colored pencils, markers -photo examples of compost bins Explore the Worm Bin (gr k-5) Give small groups of students the opportunity to look in the worm bin at some point during the lesson. Remind them that worms do like moist dark places and should be handled carefully. Ask them what ingredients were necessary to star the bin (worms, food scraps, and newspaper no dirt necessary!) Ask them to look for other living things in the worm bin. -worm bin -magnifying glass and trowels -Compost Critters sheet Time - 5 minutes page 4
What Worms Love and Hate (gr 2-4) Print photos on page 10 and put into a box. Pull up the chart on page 11 for the class to see. Tell the class that they have been put in charge of caring for a worm compost bin for a friend. Unfortunately someone has dumped a bunch of items in the bin that may or may not be easy for worms to break down. Ask the class to pull items out of the box and decide whether or not it can stay in the bin. Example of items that must come out - Pizza slice, toast, milk, lemon rind, chicken drum stick -photos from page 10 -What Worms Love, What Worms Hate page 12 -colored pencils Example of Items that can stay - Tea bag, coffee grounds, apple core, carrot sticks, lettuce Hand out the What Worms Love and What Worms Hate worksheet for students to complete in pairs or on their own. Songs (gr k-4) Dirt Made My Lunch Sing, teach actions, speed up or slow down pace once students have the idea and the words. Dirt made my lunch, Dirt made My lunch Thank you dirt, Thanks a bunch for my salad, my sandwich, my milk, and my lunch Cause dirt, (you) made my lunch Decomposition - This song is also by the Banana Slug Band and you can play a recording or sing and add actions. See pg 12 for words. Links -Decomposition audio: http://bananaslugs.bandcamp. com/track/decomposition - Fruit and Vegetable Decomposition time lapse can be played during song http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=c0en-_bvbgc Time - 5 to 10 minutes page 5