from each location, and one third counting worms on three different tarps in class the following day. My students had fun gathering and organizing supplies (shov-
els, gloves, buckets, etc.) and creating a packing list. I introduced a number of other important considerations such as time of day, hole size and depth (18 cm — the most likely depth at which to find earthworms8
) , nearby plants, and how to determine where to dig.
To reduce confounding variables, we planned to collect soil from all three locations on the same day and on the same afternoon. Two other adult facilitators were briefed to assure that each group had a clear plan to map out the area and dig and collect soil in the same fashion. Facilitators were given an instruction sheet.
Lesson 7: Start action plan (Q.U.E.S.T) Field day
Time: 60 minutes My students arrived in class ready and excited to go. Each group did one final check with their designated adult to assure they had the necessary supplies. As we walked to our field study, I listened to eager students making observations about plants and birds, and I was reminded how much I love taking students outside. Each group arrived to their assigned site, and each location was measured as a 7- x 7-ft square. Cones marked the perime-
ter, and student researchers tossed four sets of gloves blindly into each marked-off area to locate four random spots to collect soil samples. This was done to avoid researcher bias. Then, the digging began. “We already found 15 worms!” “Woah, this is hard work.” A few students in the natural and foot-traffic groups agreed to switch places, since the foot-traffic
ground was compact, difficult to dig, and less satisfying with so few worms. Overall, this day was an exciting one for all my students, as they proudly shared with each other how they had carried their heavy buckets back all by themselves and found so many earthworms.
Lesson 8: Think hard about findings (Q.U.E.S.T) Recording data and graphing Time: 60 minutes Student researchers in each respective location sorted through the soil samples on tarps designated for each location, carefully tallied the number of worms on recording sheets, shared their data with other location groups, and graphed their results on grid paper. A few students at a time met with a parent volunteer to create a pie graph and a bar graph on the computer. “What can we learn from our data?” I asked the class. “I was surprised the landscape area won! They had the most worms! We all thought it would be the natural area with the
most worms!” “I wonder why there were so many earthworms in the landscape area,”
I asked. One student replied, “Well, if I were a worm I would like to live under the grass since it probably gets watered a lot and it has a nice roof!” “There was [sic.] only 5 earthworms in the footpath area and there was
[sic.] 78 in the landscape area!” “I think we should stop walking through the planted areas because
there’s probably a LOT of earthworms there and they will get smashed and die!” After discussing how they would prevent these shortcuts from happening,
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