Students in MacKenzie Bunker’s 7th grade science class at Fairplay Middle School recently began talking about living vs. nonliving. The discussion prompted the experiment: earthworms vs. gummy worms. This engaging and educational activity allowed students to compare gummy worms to live earthworms to explore these concepts.
While examining the distinctive characteristics, students drew pictures to represent each worm, used paperclips to measure the length of their worms, and interacted with the worms to determine whether they were living or nonliving. Bunker reported that, through their hands-on observation and classroom discussion, students gained an understanding of what it means to be living, bridging the gap between the natural world and everyday objects in a fun and memorable way.
“Throughout this activity,” Bunker noted, “some students showed hesitation when it came to touching a live earthworm. But by the end, all of the students were sad that they had to return their earthworms back to the environment.”
The fate of the gummy worms, however, was not reported.