Pre-Visit Activities : Decomposition Terrarium : Assessment Third - Fifth Grade Online Curriculum : Communities

Assessment
A Language Link: A Worm’s Journal
Imagine that you are an earthworm. You have been placed in a "worm recycling center" by a student.

1. Use words and pictures to describe what you see as you travel through the recycling center on the first day.
2. Use words and picture to describe how things have changed after two weeks.
3. Use words and picture to describe how things have changed after three weeks.
4. Use words and picture to describe how things have changed after four weeks.
5. Use words and picture to describe what it might be like after a whole year.

Your finished product will be an earthworm’s journal. As you record your observations and create your journal, remember to:

• Tell what changes you observe and what stays the same.
• Be very detailed about what you observe.
• Tell the whole story. What happens to the organic or inorganic material in your "home"? Is it disappearing? If so, where is it going?
• Explain what role the earthworm is playing in the wildlife community and how it helps the community.

Scoring Rubric (Out of 6 points)

• Include a detailed description or drawing of the soil, the worms, and the amount of organic or inorganic material present in the ecosystem (1 point)
• Demonstrate how some things stay unchanged over time (inorganics) or how some things change over time (organics and soil) (1 point)
• Communicate some connection between the earthworms, the soil, and organic material, if an "organic recycling center" is used for the earthworm journal (1 point)
• Communicate the lack of a connection between earthworms and inorganic material, if an "inorganic recycling center" is used for the earthworm journal (1 point)
• Predict a believable one-year outcome (1 point)
• Explain that worms are decomposers and that they help the plants in their community by breaking down organic material and replenishing nutrients in the soil (1 point)
• Total: 6 points

Cross-Curricular Extensions
Art Extension
Have students create posters that show why decomposers are important to communities.

Social Studies
Have students research what happens to wastes in their area. Have them start a composting project in the school to take advantage of decomposers and to reduce the amount of wastes going to local landfills.