Wonderful Worms {Science, Reading, & Writing FUN}

I have been teaching about worms for a LONG time!  I do have to adapt my plans each year to fit the needs of my students, but worms are just FUN!! Every child enjoys the hands on experience of wiggling worms! Now that I am teaching to the common core standards, I find that it is easier to teach with a theme!  I try to incorporate science into reading and writing whenever I can because it just makes learning more exciting! I want my kids to be excited to come to school and those dirty & nasty worms have definitely done the job this week!  My kids were EXCITED to write, and getting first graders excited about writing is a wonderful thing!  So... here are just a few snapshots of our week.  We definitely "dug" deep into my Wonderful Worms unit.

We began the week by observing worms. My students had a blast using their observational skills to determine which side was the head and which was the tail! They had to write and draw about their observations. I have to say... It is amazing to see the difference in student writing when they are EXCITED to write!

We learned all about worms by reading Wiggling Worms at Work.  A few guided reading groups got to explore the fictional side of worms by reading  Diary of a Worm.   

Of course, we had to "become" worms by wearing our worm hats.  We used our worm structures to move like worms... or at least we tried!  It was a little hard to move our bodies like a slinky!!! Our observations definitely helped, because students learned they should stretch out their front ends to become long and thin and then slink up their back ends... I'm so glad the kiddos don't ever notice that I'm making a fool of myself!

After learning about worms we made worm habitats. Students learned that worms help the earth by mixing up the soil and creating tunnels for rain water. {We focused on the rainforest floor because we are learning about the rainforest.} We completed our first observation on Tuesday and our second observation on Friday.

In reading, my school uses the Harcourt Trophies Reading Series.  This week our whole group skill was "sequence of events."  I try to make the reading/writing connection whenever possible, so we began by using this story organizer to sequence the events in Jack and Rick. (Our Harcourt Story of the Week.) If interested, you can find all of my Harcourt Trophies supplements here.

In writing, we focused on informational writing by writing paragraphs about worms as well as writing a "how to" paper.  The how to paper was perfect because it fit right in with our reading theme of "sequence of events." My first graders were just not ready to complete the full blown how to paper, so we improvised and used this sheet!  It worked out AWESOME!  Being able to draw the steps was such a big help!!! 

I did a lot of modeling to create the first how to piece and wanted to give them the opportunity to write on their own, so we made worm pudding!  It was super easy.....

Step 1 - Add pudding

Step 2 - Add crushed oreos (each child only needs 1)

Step 3 - Add chocolate chips (To be honest, I only added this step because I needed a third step!  I told the kids the chocolate chips were the rocks!!)

Step 4 - Add worms

Their writing turned out AWESOME!!!

I wish I had some examples to show.. I'm just a little afraid to put close up shots of student work samples on my blog!  So... that's just a little sneak peak of our Wonderful Worms!! Stay tuned... Next week we are moving up the rainforest to the canopy to learn about birds!  You can find all of the worm activities here. And now I'm off to enjoy my weekend!  Here in Kentucky, we are experiencing our first feel of "fall." I might stay outside all weekend!!!