LIBRARY MEDIA SKILLS OBJECTIVES: The student will identify the environment in which a worm lives from reading and viewing materials about worms.

CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES: This activity may be incorporated into an art unit on mixed media or a science unit on invertebrates.

INSTRUCTIONAL ROLES: The teacher or library media specialist may complete this art project after a story time about worms.

ACTIVITY AND PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETION: Begin with songs or a short story about worms. If possible, show live worms to the class and discuss the environment in which these creatures live. As students name what they see, repeat and encourage them to look more closely. Discuss why worms are so important. Prepare a chart and record the words and simple line drawings of what the children see as part of a worm environment. Record the elements of the environment and review when complete. Give children a minute or two to think about the kind of home or environment they would like to give their own worm pets.

When children have decided and shared some of their ideas aloud, they may move to the make-it table. There are several options. This example requires two small wax paper sheets for each child. They will need yarn or cooked spaghetti (kept in the water until ready to use), leaves, fine sand, dirt, or other small found materials from outside. Instructions: Lay one piece of wax paper on the table. The child may sprinkle or place materials for the worm home in any arrangement they wish. Next the yarn or spaghetti dipped in paint is placed in the worm home on wax paper. The spaghetti will dry to the wax paper. When the spaghetti is dry, place the second piece of wax paper over the environment. An aide or volunteer can help iron the wax paper sheets together. To iron the sheets, place a brown paper bag over the sheets and use a low heat setting. Gently move the iron over the sheets so that the two sheets fix together. Trim the ironed sheets and the children will see the worm environments that they created. These may be hung in front of the windows so the light can show through, or be hung as mobiles.

FOLLOW-UP: A second option is for the children to draw their environments on a large piece of paper. Yarn or spaghetti may be dipped in tempera paint and moved across the paper to show worm movement through the environment created. Students may point out their worm art environment and share what they learned about where worms live.