Super Soils and Daring Decomposers
Activity 1: Soil Sampling
1) Ask students to think about what plants need to grow (most likely will answer water and
sunlight). The teacher may need to guide response that plants also need nutrients which
they get from the soil (ask what holds the plant in the ground-roots- and what does the
plant grow in). Explain that not all plants need the same kind of soil but each has different
kinds of soil needs.
2) Show the soil poster and the soil samples. Allow students to use their senses to examine
each soil sample and ask them how each one looks, feels and smells. Discuss the properties
of each kind of soil. Sandy soil is dry/doesn’t hold water well, it feels rough; clay soil holds
water very well and feels sticky; it is usually reddish brown; loam soil is mix of sand, silt (no
sample) and a small amount of clay soil, feels smooth and is dark brown.
3) Tell students they are going to figure out what kind of soil is here at Schmidt. Give each
student (or pair of students depending on numbers) a trowel and bucket. Demonstrate how
to collect a soil sample by moving leaves or other debris out of the way and digging down
an inch or two.
4) Once students have the soil sample have them spread it out on a tray. Ask them to observe
its smell, feel/texture and color.
5) Tell students they are going to perform a test to see how much clay their sample has.
Explain you will spray each of their samples with water and they are then going to first try
and roll their sample into a ball and, second, try to make it into a “snake”. The easier this is,
the more clay the soil has.
6) Students should find that their sample is rather sticky. Ask students what kind of soil that
was discussed was sticky. Students should be able to identify that the soil is mostly clay.
Activity 2: Vermiculture/Composting
1) Ask students to think about what kinds of things might live in the soil.
2) Discuss how worms live in the soil and act as decomposers. Ask/explain what a
decomposer is and how they play an important role in soil health.
3) Tell students that worms can be used in a special way- to compost the food we eat so
there is less that goes in the trash. Explain that they will eat the food and turn it into soil
which we can then use for gardening. This kind of composting is called “vermiculture”.
4) Point out that only fruits and vegetables can go in this kind of compost bin. No animal
products like meat or cheese are allowed because they will rot.
5) Show students the compost bucket. Explain how there are two buckets with holes in the
top one so that liquid “compost tea” (not drinkable!) can drain to the bottom. Explain
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that both the rich soil (known as worm “castings”) and the “compost tea” are great for
plants in the garden.
Remove a few worms and put them out on a tray with some of the damp soil. Explain
that this type of worm is called a “red wiggler” and they are the best kind to use for
composting.
Allow students to examine the worms with their magnifying glasses. Students who wish
to hold a worm may once their hand is sprayed with water. Have them hold their hand
out flat and place the worm in it. Be sure to remind students not to handle the worm
roughly.
Discuss features of worms- They have to keep their skin moist or they will die because
they breathe through their skin. They have no eyes but can sense light because they are
covered in special sensory organs. They have at least 5 hearts. They are cold-blooded.
They can eat their own weight in food each day.
Return the worms to the bucket. If available, students can add fruit and vegetable
scraps to the bin.
Activity 3: Decomposer Hunt
Allow students to look for worms, snails, slugs, mushrooms and other decomposers using hand
lenses. Students can look underneath of rotting logs, rocks and other debris (the teacher can lift
these things up or turn them over). Be sure to remind students not to remove any of the
decomposers they find and to put logs, etc. back how they found them.