Soils
Lesson 16
What Is Your Local Soil?
A student writing up her conclusions. |
Students will observe plant growth in local soil compared to that of the individual soil components. They will draw scientific conclusions about what components are in local soil.
3. Lesson set up and Management
INQUIRY 2.1-Investigating Systems: Develop the knowledge and skills necessary to do scientific inquiry.
APPLICATION 3.1-Designing Solutions: Apply knowledge and skills of science and technology to design solutions to human problems
GLE 3.1.1 Know and understand problems that can be solved or have been solved by using scientific design.
GLE 3.1.2 Understand how to construct and test a solution to a problem.
GLE 3.1.3 Understand how well a design or a product solves a problem.
When teaching Soils, if teachers have students analyze the school's soil or soil from home and design an improved soil for plants, this is an Application piece to this unit. There aren't many opportunities to do design in primary grades, and this can be a good one: designing an improved soil for plants. Decide whether you want to include these GLEs or not as you think makes sense.
- Simple tests can be performed to identify soil components.
- Test results should be observed, recorded, organized and interpreted to draw conclusions about soil composition.
- Test results can be communicated through writing, drawing, and discussion.
- You can use previously learned concepts and skills to analyze unfamiliar soil samples.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Materials:
The lesson suggests using popsicle sticks, which students color to the measured height of plants. It is just as easy, and a good measuring exercise, to just have students measure their plants with a centimeter ruler or stackable centimeter cubes. Then compile data in a class bar graph.
Student Management:
Caution students to take care not to damage plants as they measure.
When teaching Soils, if teachers have students analyze the school's soil or soil from home and design an improved soil for plants, this is an Application piece to this unit. There aren't many opportunities to do design in primary grades, and this can be a good one: designing an improved soil for plants. Decide whether you want to include these GLEs or not as you think makes sense.
Writing Support:
If you choose to have students design an improved soil for growing plants, then students can write a business letter to parents, the school gardener, or the PTA to make suggestions as to what could be changed in local soil to make plants grow more productively. Students may suggest adding more sand or humus or clay, for example.