Four Winds Nature Institute
4 Casey Rd. Chittenden, VT 05737
802-353-9440 www.fourwindsinstitute.org
Ecosystems – LIFE IN THE DIRT – Activities
FOCUS: Life abounds in the soil, from plant roots to earthworms to moles and millipedes. All
these organisms play important roles in the flow of energy and matter through an ecosystem.
Many soil critters act as decomposers, breaking down plant and animal materials and returning
them as nutrients to the soil where other living things may use them again. The soil is a rich
ecosystem teeming with life in a complex food web.
Opening Question: (holding up a teaspoon of soil) What do you think might live in this
teaspoon of soil?
PUPPET SHOW “Worm Wonderings”
Objective: To learn about the four components of soil, meet some inhabitants and think about
their roles in the soil food web.
Perform the puppet show or have a group of children perform it for the class. Afterward, ask
questions to review the key ideas and vocabulary in the play.
What are the four components of soil? (air, water, rock bits, organic matter)
What does “decompose” mean? (to break things apart)
Why are worms called “decomposers”? (They eat dead leaves and grind them up into tiny bits.)
What else do worms do for the soil? (They dig tunnels that make spaces for air and water and
roots to grow.)
Which animal was a predator (meat eater)? (the mole)
What was an herbivore (plant-eater) in the puppet show? (cicada – drinks sap from tree roots)
What food chains can you make with characters in the puppet show? (dead leaves–worms–mole;
tree roots–cicada–mole)
Materials: puppets, script, props.
EARTHWORMS UP CLOSE
Objective: To view some special characteristics of earthworms and consider how these make
them well-suited to life in the soil.
Bring in a container of worms in soil. Have children work in pairs or small groups. Before you
start, have children rinse their hands to remove any soap, sanitizer, or hand cream as this could
injure the worms. Have them wet their hands before handling worms or dampen them with the
water mister. Set out paper plates covered with damp paper towels at each table. Review use of a
magnifying lens with the children. Place a worm (rinsed in clean water if needed), on each plate.
Things to look for with a lens:
Body segments (Notice how the body seems to be made of many rings.)
The worm’s digestive tract full of dirt
The front end or mouth of the worm; the tail end (Can you tell which is which?)
The top and bottom side of the worm (How can you tell?)
The worm’s protruding lip (called a “prostomeum”)
The band or clitellum, a thickened area around the worm (easier to see in nightcrawlers than in
some smaller worms where it can look like an indentation rather than a bulge)
Does the worm have eyes? (No, though it can sense light through its skin.)
Pick up the worm
Feel the worm’s skin. Is it smooth on both top and bottom of the worm?
Why might it feel prickly on the underside? (It has little bristles called setae.)
Look at the bristles with a magnifying lens (easier to see on night crawlers than smaller worms)
Feel the bristles by rubbing a finger gently one way and then the other on the worm’s underside.
Why would a worm have bristles? (to hold onto the soil so it cannot be easily pulled out)
Watch the worms as they move
What do you notice about changes in the worm’s shape as it moves? (gets longer, then wider,
then longer) Show the worm muscle diagram and practice squatting down and then stretching up
as high as you can reach. Keep an eye on the worms; as they warm up, they may get very active
and crawl off the plates. Afterward, collect the worms and return them to their container of soil.
Store in a cool place.
Materials: earthworms, one for each pair of children (any kind of garden worm is fine; nightcrawlers are less active but larger so the parts are easier to view; smaller worms are often more
active and so more fun); water mister, paper plate and damp paper towel for each worm;
magnifying lenses, Worm Innards Diagram, Worm Life Diagram.
EXPLORING THE SOIL FIELD WORK
Objective: To examine the soil and its inhabitants, and investigate the number of earthworms
present.
Make Predictions
Ahead of time, ask the children to think about what you might find if you dig up a shovel-full of
soil and sod. Make a list of their predictions. Keep the list and add to it as children make
discoveries. One question that the group could investigate is, “How many animals live in each
cubic foot of soil on the playground?”
Dig a Hole
Working in teams with four or five children and an adult, have each group dig a small hole on
the edge of the school grounds. If space is limited, carefully mark spots ahead of time. These can
be in different kinds of places for comparison. The holes should be one foot square and one foot
deep and far enough apart so there is room by each one for the group, their equipment, and a
plastic sheet on which to sort through the soil. If there isn’t a place to make holes at the school,
an alternative is to dig a hole at home and bring in the plug of dirt and sod in a plastic bag or
basin for each group.
Before digging, have children look at the plants that are growing in their section of ground.
Catch and gently place any animals in bug jars to share later, keeping them out of the sun. Part
the grass to look for any dried or decaying plant material. Are there any dead leaves? Are there
any holes? Are there ants or other insects? Are there worm holes or worm castings? What else is
there of note?
With shovel, dig a hole 12" deep and about 12" on a side. Remove the sod and dirt and place it
on a piece of white plastic to one side for further study.
Explore the Hole
Have children examine the hole itself, and the soil and sod you removed, for signs of layers or
differences from top to bottom. Note where there are rocks, different colors, large roots, or
anything else of interest. Look for large and small tunnels. Have children take turns putting their
faces into the hole and sniffing. What does it smell like?
And What Came Out of It
Help the children to carefully take apart the soil plug, spreading it out and sifting through it on
the plastic sheet. Sort the contents into piles of similar-sized stones, different colors or textures
of soil, plants. Carefully catch any worms, ants, millipedes and other creatures in bug jars and
examine with magnifying lenses; compare to the Soil, Litter and Log Critter Guide to identify
them, if possible. Place some of the topsoil in the corner of a clean white dish basin. After a few
minutes, some of the tiniest soil creatures may be more visible as they walk out onto the white
surface. Look closely! Have the children in each group count up the number of earthworms in
their soil sample and enter their result on a chart.
How many Earthworms?
As a group, look at the chart and compare the number of earthworms in each sample. Which one
had the most? Fewest? What is the average number per sample? What might affect the number in
one sample compared to another? (temperature, shade, type of soil, etc.) How could you test
this?
*With an adult, older children can try to estimate how many worms there would be in the whole
playground by estimating the area in square feet, and multiplying by the average number of
earthworms per sample.
Root Sort (Grades 4-6)
Have the students soak the plant roots and then gently separate them, laying them out for
comparison. Which plants have tap roots, which have fibrous roots? Which have the deepest
roots, the shallowest, the finest small roots? If there is any clover, look for swellings on the roots.
(These nodules contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which help the plant grow dark green, healthy
leaves.)
Before You Leave!
Carefully replace the material that was removed from the holes. Gently return any animals you
collected, or do this after the Dirt Painting activity (below). Scatter grass and clover seed over
the soil you replaced. Pat it down and sprinkle with hay or dead grass as mulch.
Materials: sharp spade; for each group: plastic sheet (about 4'x5'), white dish basin, magnifying
lenses, bug jars, small amount of grass seed mix, Soil, Litter and Log Critter Guide; optional:
field guides, bucket of water for older students to rinse plant roots.
EARTH PAINTING (K-3)
Objective: To visually depict life in the soil, noting plants and animals above and below the
ground.
Give each child a clipboard with a piece of card stock or other heavy paper, and crayons to draw
with. Ask them to draw a line across the middle of the paper to represent the surface of the
ground. Now have them draw everything but the dirt in the scene above and below, including
things that they found while doing the soil study such as rocks, plants with their roots, worms,
and other creatures. When the crayon drawings are done, the children can finger-paint with some
mud over the underground part of their drawings. (The crayon, being waxy, will repel the wet
dirt.) Have children share their pictures, then dry and display in the classroom. Be sure to return
any animals you collected to the soil.
Materials: Card stock on clipboards, one per child; crayons; small plastic containers of watery
mud for finger-painting; water and an old towel for washing and drying hands.
JOURNAL ACTIVITY (Grades 3-6)
Objective: To record observations about a soil organism.
Ask the children to draw and describe something they found in their soil samples. Include as
many details as possible about the appearance and behavior of the critter (if they choose an
animal). If possible, try to count the number of legs on the animal and then compare to the Soil,
Litter and Log Critter Guide. Try to identify the group to which the animal belongs. Have
students share their journal entries in small groups.
Afterward, gently return any animals to the soil, using the release poem below.
Goodbye Poem
I’m glad you shared this time with me
But now I’ll gently set you free
So you can hop or crawl or fly
It’s time for us to say goodbye.
Goodbye!
Materials: paper or journals, clipboards, pencils, soil animals in bug jars from above activity,
Soil, Litter and Log Critter Guide.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Objective: To reflect on the discoveries made while investigating the soil.
Have children complete the sentence: My favorite soil discovery today was ______________
because of the way it _________________.
UPPER GRADES CHALLENGE (Grades 5-6): Two Tests of Soil Conditions
Objective: To test whether soil is compacted or has room for water and air, and compare
percolation rates at different sites.
Compaction Test
Have the students work in small groups. Each group will test the compaction of the soil by
pushing a sharpened pencil into the ground at various locations on the school grounds. Discuss
what it means when the pencil goes in far (lots of spaces between soil particles) and when it is
hard to push in (soil is compacted, few spaces between the particles).
Have students record the depth that the pencil penetrates, testing different kinds of places (eg.
playing field, lawn, garden, flowerbed, near a pathway, in a parking area, etc.) and listing the
depth for each location. Gather the students and review their findings. What kinds of places were
compacted? Where was the soil the loosest?
Example of data table:
Location
Pencil Depth
Percolation Time
Near front path
1"
20sec
Sliding hill
2"
10sec
Parking lot
.5"
>1min
Based on the findings of the compaction test, ask students to make a prediction about
percolation. At which of the locations would rainwater soak into the ground the fastest? Where
would it go the slowest? Have students test their predictions with a percolation test (see below) at
different sites, comparing places where the pencil went in easily, and where it was hard to push
in.
Percolation Test
At each site, have students push the prepared soup can (or tomato paste can) into the soil to the
1" mark by rotating it while pushing down hard or by placing a small board over the top of the
can and hammering it in. Quickly fill the can up to the top with water and time how long it takes
the water to sink to the 1" mark inside the can. Repeat at the second site, and at other sites if time
permits. Did the times differ? How did this compare to their predictions? What does this tell you
about spaces in the soil? (The more spaces in the soil, the more easily water can soak in, unless
it’s already water-logged or if it’s completely dry.) What might happen when rain falls on the
most compacted sites? (It might puddle up or run off, carrying soil with it.) What makes
compacted soil a difficult place for plants and animals to live? (It has fewer spaces for air and
water and roots.)
Materials: small soup cans or tomato paste cans with ends removed and a line marked 1" from
the bottom on the outside, and 1" from top on the inside; small board 4"x4" to fit over can;
hammer; water container; timer; for each group of students: pencils (at least 6" long) with
sharpened points for compaction test, ruler, clipboard, paper, pencil.
Copyright © Four Winds Nature Institute –7/14