Draw pictures of what you find and decide if your soil would be good for growing plants. Go outside and find some worms! Dig up some soil (with permission) and find the different organisms that live in it. By combining household waste (vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells, shredded newspaper) with plant material from your yard (dry leaves and twigs) to create your own compost pile (see more information below). You can be part of the decomposition process as well! Composting is a way people can help speed up soil decomposition. Thousands of FREE teaching resources to download Pick your own FREE resource every week with our newsletter Suggest a Resource You want it Well make it. They all work together to aid in a process called decomposition, the natural breaking down of organic material into soil.

Other important organisms in soil include bacteria, fungi, and insects. They eat the soil, creating tunnels for oxygen to move through, and then put out additional nutrients in their waste. In The Diary of a Worm, we see how worms take part in creating healthy soil. Soil is the foundation for growing healthy plants and living organisms in the soil are an important part of keeping it full of nutrients for plants to thrive.

Read The Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin or enjoy the story online.

Download garden worm