Educational Unit
Worms as an agent of waste minimisation using Composter Worms
Lession Planning:
Oral: Convince your parents to recycle food waste.
Debate: That all worms should be squashed.
Presentation: Speak for 1 minute (don't stop) on worms, recycling, waste, worm farms. All must listen without speaking.
Genre Writing: Procedure; Setting up a Worm Factory
Recount: A day in the life of a worm
Discussion: The value of waste minimisation
Explanation: How worms reduce waste
Poem Writing: Writing worm poems
Reading: Information skills for research project
Factual Texts: 'Earthworms' by Henwood, C. 'Infomazing' by Drew, D.
Human Society and Its Environment
- Invent a new slogan to reduce waste. Invite speakers to school who work in the waste management area.
- Write to the local newspaper about the communities need to improve waste management.
- Participate in a Clean Up campaign in the community and at school.
- Visit a waste management system or view a video of recycling.
- Predict future needs of school and community in regard to their waste management needs.
Creative and Practical Arts
Clay: make worms
Textures: make models out of various recycled materials.
Colours: the use of brown.
Environmental: spaghetti worms
Art: sketch movements of worms; design a poster for waste minimisation; design a poster advertising worms for sale.
Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE)
- Cleanliness, hygiene, care of worms.
- Discuss the rules for operating the Worm Factory.
- Feelings about touching worms.
- Interview parents, class members about how they can help minimise waste.
Maths
- Record worm growth.
- Measure amount of waste disposed of.
- Weigh 1 worm, 10 worms, 100 worms.
- Estimate weight of 1000 worms.
- Guesstimate weight of 1000 worms.
- Trade with 1s, 10s, 100s, 1000s or worms
- Graph types of waste disposed of.
- Weigh waste over a period of one week.
Designing and Making
Students design and make a new product that will minimise waste.
Investigating
Students investigate:
- natural and made environments
- biology and ecology of worms
- the workings of the Reln Worm Factory
Using Technology
Students will use:
- pH kit
- microscope
- magnifying glass
- Reln Worm Factory
Resources
Resources required for this unit:
- Reference books
- Reln Worm Factory
- Organic waste
- Recycled materials
Content Strands
Content Strands used in this unit:
- Built Environments
- Information and Communication
- Living Things
- Physical Phenomena
- Products and Services
- Earth and its Surroundings
Links with other K.L.A.s
- English
- Creative & Practical Arts
- Human Society and its Environments
- P.D. / Health / P.E.
- Mathematics
Evaluation
Teachers evaluation of this unit:
- Did all the children actively participate?
- Did all the activities produce more investigations?
Task 1: To Establish a Working Worm Factory
Task Outcomes:
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF CONTENT
Student will know and understand that:
- products are designed and made for particular markets
- people try to control the conditions in the environments they build.
OF PROCESS
Students will:
- investigate reliable understandings of the natural and made environments
SKILLS
Students will:
- devise fair tests
- identify data which supports a particular prediction.
VALUES AND ATTITUDES
Students will:
- exhibit self-direction in their own learning
ACTIVITIES
- Locate by walking around your school, a suitable environment to keep the RELN Worm Factory
- List all possible sites.
- Discuss attributes for each site chosen
- View video of establishing Worm Factory
- Discuss role of each part of Worm Factory
- Test various bedding materials to find best product (eg. manure, peat moss) to use.
- Discover pH level of materials (use pH kit).
- Observe worm eggs/worms through microscope magnifying glass.
- Use reference materials to label parts of worm.
- Follow instructions to place bedding and worms in RELN Worm Factory
- Write procedure for establishment of worm farm.
Reference: Reln Worm Factory Instruction Manual
Task 2: Build an Information Bank about Worms
Task Outcomes:
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF CONTENT
Student will know and understand that:
- all living things are different
- living things are interdependent in the ecosystem
OF PROCESS
Students will:
- undertake research individually
- identify investigations
SKILLS
Students will:
- present a report on worms
- seek information from outside sources
- observe using all senses
VALUES AND ATTITUDES
Students will:
- be curious
- appreciate the value of worms
ACTIVITIES
- Investigate: worms as living creatures
- Develop research/information skills using non-fiction resources
- Worm activities: Kids for Landcare
- Develop a Worm Map
Environment - Life Cycle - Reproduction
Food Source - Biology - Interdependence
- Discuss meaning of terms
- Observe worms' reaction to heat, smell, light, touch (the senses). Develop experiments to measure reactions.
- Record information
- Observe worms over a long period
- Keep a diary to record changes
- Graph length, food eaten, mass
- Monitor mass of food eaten
- Report findings to class
- Present research project to class
Reference: Kids for Landcare: Wormwatch pp. 18-23, pp. 60-64.
Task 3: To Adopt Procedures which Minimise Waste
Task Outcomes:
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF CONTENT
Student will know and understand that:
- activities of people can change their environment
- the consequences for/against waste minimisation
OF PROCESS
Students will:
- make detailed observations
- examine and evaluate waste systems
- explain how waste can be minimised
SKILLS
Students will:
- devise ways of minimising the waste of schools
VALUES AND ATTITUDES
Students will:
- demonstrate a commitment to waste minimisation
ACTIVITIES
- Brainstorm the idea of waste
- Categorise waste items
- Students devise their categories: eg. plastic-paper & household-school-community
- Focus on school waste
- Trace where waste goes
- Develop a flow chart of waste products
- Interview cleaner, gardener, council workers for their opinions on minimising waste
- Discuss: How can we reduce our waste products?
- IRe group waste products, what can be recycled?
- Discuss the term recycling
- Measure the culmination of one waste product over a week. how much? How often? Record findings.
- Devise ways of collecting, storing, recycling. What can we do with it?
- Graph types of waste
- Monitor waste over a period of a month. Has it decreased. Why/why not? propose theory.
Reference: Waste Matters - Gould League of Victoria (1993)
Task 4: To Design and Make a New Product that will Minimise Waste
Task Outcomes:
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF CONTENT
Student will know and understand that:
- there are environmental consequences of production and consumption
- systems are designed for specific purposes
OF PROCESS
Students will:
- produce a brief and plan choices
- justify materials and equipment used
SKILLS
Students will:
- develop a design
- produce a model
- use appropriate equipment and tools
VALUES AND ATTITUDES
Students will:
- demonstrate confidence in themselves to attack problems
- demonstrate confidence to seek help
ACTIVITIES
- Evaluate the effectiveness of current disposal units, (eg. recycling bin, compost bin)
- Outline advantages/disadvantages of each system
- Discuss: What else could be recycled?
- Follow design process for Creative Problem Solving:
- Define Task - what waste product have you chosen
- Explore Ideas - what will it be made of?
- Develop Ideas - draw, desgn, model
- Selection Solutions - refine model
- Using resources - test various materials
- Evaluate outcome - problems associated? positive aspects? Is it possible to make it at production level?
- Present product to class assembly
- Invite an expert to give a professional opinion on construction, ideas and material
- Find out more about recycled plastics and products
Reference: Waste Matters - Gould League of Victoria (1993)
Extension Activities:
- Elect monitors to find students who are Environment Friends . Give awards in assembly
- Tally and record the number of earthworms brought to school by students.
- Link up with other schools to discover how they use their worms.
- Visit Calmsley Hill City Farm and go on the Worm Walk.
- Make a list of other animals that are hermaphrodites.
- Find out more about soil and soil conservation.
- Discover worms' natural predators.
- Have a worm race.
- Construct a Worm and Ladder game.
- Join the CSIRO Double HELIX Science Club.
- Organise guest speakers: Keep Australia Beautiful.
- Arrange an excursion to a Worm Farm (see list of worm growers in Worm Factory instruction manual).
References:
Appelhof, M. 1982. Worms Eat My Garbage. Flower Press, Michigan.
Armstrong P. / Laffin J. 1993. Waste Matters. Gould League of Victoria.
Board of Studies, 1991. N.S.W. Science and Technology Syllabus, K-6.
C.S.I.R.O. 1978. Earthworms for Gardeners and Fishermen. CSIRO East Melbourne.
Douglas, D.E. / Gaddie. 1977. Earthworms for Ecology and Profit. Vol II Bookworm, California.
Lambert, D. 1983. Earthworm Breeding for Profit. Weston & Co. Kiama.
S.A. Dept. of Education, 1991. Environment.
S.A. Dept. of Education, 1992. Kids for Landcare, Wormwatch.
Sosnowski, J. 1982. Earthworms. The Big Fat Worm Farm, Valla.
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