Lesson 3
Cycles in nature and red worm
development
Aim
To learn that all animals and organisms create waste through the use of
natural resources, and that waste is cycled through natural systems. Nutrients
and natural materials are recycled in nature, and worms play an important role
in the recycling these nutrients.
Time Span:
60 – 90 minutes
Group size
Approximately 30 students split into
groups of 3-4.
Curriculum
Science: Living processes, nutrition,
cycles, movement, growth and
reproduction. Feeding relationships,
micro-organisms.
English: Use of grammar, creative
thinking and writing
Overview
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Examine the stages of decomposition of the items in the Wiggo pod.
Design a game to model the water cycle and identify the water cycle in
the worm life cycle.
Illustrate the stages of worm growth.
Determine the role red worms play in the nutrient cycle.
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© BEEcycle Ltd 2008
Lesson 3: Cycles in
Nature
and red worm
Development
Preparation
A potted plant
Rubber band
Plastic gloves for each group of
students
Paper plates/ paper towel
Magnifying glass
Glass jar (jam jar)
Cling film
Pre-activity Questions
Show the students a potted plant and then ask them the following:
What will we do with the plant when it dies?
Throw it in the bin, throw it in a composter, feed worms
What would happen to the plant if it lived outside and it died?
Cleaners will pick it up, it will stay there, leaves will be gone, it will be eaten.
What would happen to this plant if it grew and died in the forest?
Something might eat it, it will turn to soil.
What can help turn plants back into soil?
Bugs, worms, bacteria, fungi (they may not know these answers until the end of
this lesson)
What would happen if everything that dies and can breakdown, stayed where they
were and did not decompose?
We would have a very big mess
Idea: Ask students to think of a bicycle, and then encourage them to think
which part of the bicycle is a “cycle”. The wheels. Ask them what they think a
cycle is. Something that goes round and round. Ask them about the season
cycle, and encourage them to think up of different cycles around us.
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© BEEcycle Ltd 2008
Lesson 3: Cycles in
Nature and
red worm
Development
Procedure
Examining decomposition
Note: Remember to tell your students to use gloves through the handling of the
soil, and get them to wash their hands after the lesson.
Note: For the group with the bread, if it has gone too moldy do not allow the
students to open the lid themselves due to amount of mould spores.
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Tell your students that they will be learning about the decomposition process in this
lesson.
Empty the contents of the wiggo pod onto a plate or damp paper towel.
Have the students locate the food waste and the non-biodegradable material they
had put in.
Create a class discussion and draw a table noting down their answers to the
questions:
Describe what you see
Which group’s items looks as though it is decomposing?
Which groups items has totally decomposed?
Which items are not decomposing?
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Take the wigoo pod with the bread, and pass it around the class. Allow them to
see the mould on the bread and lead them to conclude that bacteria and fungi
moulds eat the bread and helps break it down to soil and simple nutrients.
Observing and identifying the stages in the life cycle of a red worm
With the existing pile of mixed soils and worm from the wiggo pod, ask the students to
search for the following:
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A worm cocoon
Baby worms
Adult worms
Go through the difference in colours of cocoons. Lead them to know:
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© BEEcycle Ltd 2008
Lesson 3: Cycles in
Nature and red worm
Development
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What a worm cocoon looks like.
They change colour from white to yellow to brown.
When it is brown in colour the cocoon is about to hatch.
Ask the students to count the cocoons and write on a blackboard the number of cocoons
each group has produced.
Idea: Separate the cocoons and place them in transparent box with a little soil.
Over the next few days you may be able to see new baby worms or even watch
one hatch from its cocoon!
Idea: You may print out the list of other creatures in a vermicomposting system
from the teacher’s manual and go through the list with the students. Print out
the pictures provided in the materials section on acetate. You may even ask
them if they could find any of the creatures in the wiggo pod. (The wiggo pod is
designed to contain less of other creatures compared to a normal
vermicompost pile)
Acting out the water cycle
Fill a jam jar with a few table spoons of water and cover the opening with cling film
secured by a rubber-band. Place the jar under the sun before the lesson. The water will
evaporate and condense on the film and then drip back as ‘rain’. Allow the students to
observe this process and lead the students to understand:
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The rain falls down on earth
The water runs down as rivers into lakes and oceans
Some rainwater seeps into the ground and ends up as groundwater
The sun evaporates the water into the sky to form cloud which then rains or snows
down back to earth
Discussion
What is considered waste in nature?
Leaves, animal droppings
Why are we not surrounded by these waste?
Decomposers, such as bacteria and fungus, decomposes and breaks down the
waste to smaller pieces. The worms and other living creatures eat the waste.
What more do we want to know about redworms?
(If a large piece of pin up paper was used to record results in lesson 1, use this
again to record further answers)
Does all animal produce waste?
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© BEEcycle Ltd 2008
Lesson 3: Cycles in
Nature and red worm
Development
Yes
If there were no decomposers, what would the world be like?
The world will be full of waste
Note: Tell the students that all animals produce waste in the form of faeces/
manure. Bacteria and fungi eat the manure and breaks it down into soil to
provide nutrients for plants. That is the reason why farmers use manure on
crops.
Plants also drop their waste on the ground, what could these be?
Leafs, branches, flowers
What happens when they fall off the plant?
The plants are decomposed by bacteria and fungi and their nutrients become part
of the soil again, providing nutrients to the other plants and continuing the cycle.
The nutrients are also used by new plants growing in the area.
Homework
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Ask students to describe their daily cycle.
e.g. I get up in the morning, I wash my face and brush my teeth. I then have my
breakfast and go to school)
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Print out the sheet ‘create a silly worm story’ for each of the students, and ask
them to fill in the blanks to create a silly story.
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© BEEcycle Ltd 2008
Lesson 3: Cycles in
Nature and red worm
Development
Materials
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© BEEcycle Ltd 2008
Lesson 3: Cycles in
Nature and red worm
Development
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© BEEcycle Ltd 2008
Lesson 3: Cycles in
Nature and red worm
Development
Create a silly story!
A story about _____________ the worm
Name _______________
(name)
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words and create a silly story!
It was feeding time for the worms in the compost bin, and not a _________________ too
(measurement of time)
soon, ______________ the worm was getting awfully ________________. “I wonder
(Worm name)
(adjective)
what kind of _____________ I will be ___________________ today,” _______________
(noun)
(verb ending in “ing”)
(worm name)
the worm thought. “It better be _____________. Yesterday, all I got to ______________
(adjective)
(verb)
was a _____________, and that was really ______________. The lid on the compost bin
(noun)
(adjective)
opened, and _____________ saw that familiar ________________. It was the same
(worm name)
(body part)
________________ that came every feeding day. _____________ the worm waited with
(same body part)
(worm name)
______________. “______________!” ____________ the worm shouted. “It’s a
(feeling or emotion)
(exclamation)
(worm name)
______________! This will keep me very ______________ until next feeding time.” With
(noun)
(adjective)
that, ____________ the worm went to bed with a very _____________ tummy.
(worm name)
(adjective)
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© BEEcycle Ltd 2008
Lesson 3: Cycles in
Nature and red worm
Development
Soil and Decomposition
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© BEEcycle Ltd 2008
Lesson 3: Cycles in
Nature and red worm
Development