CommonLit Dream Home for Earthworms PDF 2022

Name: Class: Dream Home for Earthworms By Susan Yoder Ackerman 2022 Earthworms may seem icky — but they are actually very important!...

Name: Class: Dream Home for Earthworms By Susan Yoder Ackerman 2022 Earthworms may seem icky — but they are actually very important! In this text, Oscar and Rosie help their mom plant flowers and learn how worms help their garden. As you read, take notes on how earthworms help the garden. “What’s in your pocket, Oscar?” asked Rosie. “Did you catch another toad?” Mom came out of the garage, a pot of zinnias1 in each hand. “Oh, Oscar. Please be careful! I don’t want any of your little friends ending up in the washing machine!” Oscar reached into his pocket and gently pulled on something. Something soft and thin and pink. "Untitled" by sarahharding is licensed under “I rescued it,” he explained. “It’s an CC0. earthworm. But it wasn’t in the earth. It was out on the sidewalk on the cement.” It had rained hard the night before. Now the pavement was covered with worms. “Earthworms always feel kind of wet and watery,” Rosie said. “How come they aren’t fine in the rain?” “They are,” Mom said. “Their little bodies are mostly water, and they need to stay moist.2 It’s usually too dry for them above ground.” “Oh,” interrupted3 Rosie. “I get it. When it rains, it’s wet enough for them to come up and explore!” 1. a kind of flower 2. a little bit wet 3. Interrupt (verb) to speak over someone else 1  “I don’t know if they’re exploring,” said Mom, laughing. “But they don’t always make it back down before the rain stops.” The worm wriggled and curled in the palm of Oscar’s hand. “This guy didn’t seem very happy on the sidewalk,” he said. “Of course not,” said Rosie. “He wants to go home to the dirt. Worms can’t dig through cement.” “They need something soft,” muttered Oscar, looking around. Mom carried the flowerpots over to the garden. She knelt down and started pulling raggedy old plants out of the ground. “It’s getting too hot for lettuce,” she said. “We’ll put summer flowers in this row instead. Rosie, can you take the lettuce to the compost4 pile? And Oscar, this might be just the place for your worm.” “What about my sandbox?” Oscar said. “Sand is nice and soft. I’ll take my worm there.” He ran to the sandbox, where trucks and shovels were half buried in a white sparkling pile of sand. He started digging a deep hole where he could bury the worm. “Wait!” said Mom. “This guy is an earthworm, and sand isn’t really earth.” “What do you mean?” Rosie asked. “Isn’t sand just white dirt?” “Well, sand is a type of soil,”5 said Mom. “But it’s made entirely of tiny bits of rock and minerals.6 It pours and slides around, so worms can’t build tunnels in it. It dries out fast too — too fast for worms. Remember, they need to stay moist.” She dug a hole in the soft dark dirt where a lettuce plant had been growing. “Good garden soil contains sand, but it also has broken-down rotted leaves and other stuff called organic matter. It’s nice and crumbly and holds water.” Rosie peered into the hole. “Eek!” she shrieked. “There’s a worm here already!” “It might be looking for something to eat. Worms find dead leaves and grass near the soil’s surface. They grab a mouthful, then carry it down through tunnels into the soil.” “Is that why you spread chopped leaves all around the garden plants?” Rosie wanted to know. “So the worms will have something to eat?” 4. recycled plant and vegetable waste that is added to soil to help plants grow 5. Soil (noun) the top part of the earth where plants grow that is made from remains, clay, and rock pieces 6. Mineral (noun) something formed in the earth that is not from an animal or a plant 2  “Leaf mulch7 helps the flowers and the worms both,” Mom said. “Decaying8 plants have healthy bits that living plants and worms both need. That old lettuce you threw on the compost pile? When it breaks down, I’ll put it back here for the worms and next year’s lettuce.” Oscar knelt down and dangled the worm over soft brown earth. “He’s wiggling! I think he likes it,” he said. He carefully laid the worm in the hole, where it quickly disappeared into the crumbly soil. “He must have found a tunnel.” Mom placed a zinnia into the hole and began filling the hole with soil. “These little zinnias like worm tunnels too. The tunnels are like tiny water pipes where water can drain away and air can move. Plants can put their roots into those tunnels, finding food and water.” Rosie said, “Maybe the zinnias would like it better if the worms weren’t eating the leaves and bits of food the flowers need.” “But here’s the cool part,” Mom said. “It’s all about worm poop. Or, as the scientists call it, ‘castings.’ A worm can eat its own weight in soil each day, and then it also poops that much. But the worm’s tummy is like a magic machine. When the poop comes out, it still has lots of healthy bits that plants need to grow well. But now they’re broken down and easier for a plant to soak up.” “I think my worm is already working for our zinnias,” said Oscar. “Probably going to get a mouthful of leaves now. That’s so awesome.” Rosie and Oscar helped their mother plant the rest of the zinnias and spread leaf mulch over any bare spots in the garden. At bedtime that night, lightning flashed and rain dashed against the windowpane. Oscar looked up at Mom. “More worms!” he said, grinning. “Not in your pocket, I hope!” she said. “Nope, more worms for me to carry from the sidewalk to the garden tomorrow,” Oscar said. “We’ll have the best zinnias in town!” "Dream Home for Earthworms" by Susan Yoder Ackerman, Click, © by Cricket Media, Inc. Reproduced with permission. All Cricket Media material is copyrighted by Cricket Media, Inc. and/or 7. a thin topping of leaves or compost 8. rotting 3