- container of compacted soil
- pencil
- airy
- breathe
- gardener
- grow
- plant
- underground
- worm
MA Standards:
English Language Arts/Speaking and Listening/SL.PK.MA.2: Recall information for short periods of time and retell, act out, or represent information from a text read aloud, a recording, or a video (e.g., watch a video about birds and their habitats and make drawings or constructions of birds and their nests).
MA Draft STE Standards:
Life Sciences/From Molecules to Organisms: Inheritance and Variation of Traits/LS1/3.A: Describe/draw and compare the body parts of animals (including themselves) and plants they are investigating [System] and explain functions of some of the observable body parts. [Structure and Function]
Head Start Outcomes:
Language Development/Receptive Language: Attends to language during conversations, songs, stories, or other learning experiences.
Logic and Reasoning/Reasoning and Problem Solving: Classifies, compares, and contrasts objects, events, and experiences.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Language 3: Communicate personal experiences or interests.
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 12: Listen to, recite, sing, and dramatize a variety of age-appropriate literature.
Watch Together: “Wonderful Worms” (BTL show)
STEM Key Concepts: Plants get their needs met from the environment (their habitat); Some parts of plants are below the ground and some are above; Earthworms are animals that live in the soil, underground
ELA Focus Skills: Active Viewing, Parts of a Book, Story Comprehension, Vocabulary
Hold up the book Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser. Tell children they are going to watch the video Between the Lions “Wonderful Worms.”
Before You Watch
Ask children to recall what happens in the story. Then set a viewing focus for children and have them watch how the worms work underground and what they do to the soil. Say, Let's see what the worms do to the soil that helps the plants get the air and water they need to grow.
As You Watch
- Pause the show a few times to help children understand what worms do underground and how it helps plants get what they need to grow.
- Pause the video when the boy says “They are wonderful diggers.” Ask, How do you think the worms can dig without shovels, fingers, or toes? Why do you think worms dig?
- Pause the video when the mole eats the worm. Explain that worms are food for moles. Emphasize that all living things need food.
After You Watch
Talk with children about how plants’ needs are met in the natural environment. Ask questions such as,
- Do you think the title Wonderful Worms is a good title for the book and the video? Why do you think that?
- The boy says that earthworms are his helpers. How do you think the worms help the boy in his garden?
Educator Tip: Help children understand how compacted dirt does not let water flow through easily. Replay the the scene where the boy says, “They make the soil soft and airy so the roots of plants can breathe and grow.
- Then hold up a container of compacted soil. Let children poke their finger in to see how hard it the soil is. Pour water in to show how it doesn't easily seep in.
- Ask, What do you think would happen to plant roots if they had to grow through this hard dirt? Do you think they would get enough water or air?
- Move a pencil around in the dirt and explain that this is how worms loosen up the dirt so the roots can easily grow. Let them feel the dirt now. Pour water in to show them how easily it flows through the soil.
