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Students design an investigation about the best soil type in which to grow radish plants from seeds.

The students:

with guidance, plan and conduct investigations.

explain the importance of soil in ecosystems.

describe the different components of soil.

The students understand:

investigations lead to an understanding of the natural world.

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For each student:

1 Think About It! What is Soil?

1 Soil & Seeds Investigation Plan

1 Soil & Seeds Procedure Steps

1 Soil & Seeds Data Table

For each pair/small group:

Soil mixture, made of a combination of humus, sand, rock, clay, and/or silt

1 Soil Mixture Card

1 Milk Carton

10 Radish Seeds

1 Plastic Spoon

1 Graduated Cylinder

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Lesson 1 Steps: Engage, Explore, Explain

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Lesson 1 Steps: Engage, Explore, Explain

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Engage:

Project Slide 7 of the Soils PowerPoint, showing the radish seeds packet. Explain to students that we want to add radishes to our school salad bar and are going to plant radish seeds in different soil mixtures to see which would be best for our school garden.

Ask: what do we need to know to be able to do this?

Explore:

Explain that the students will need to design an investigation that will test how well radish plants can grow from seeds in several different soil mixtures.

*Students fill out the investigation plant worksheet*

Assign students groups to align with the soil mixture cards. Have the groups create the assigned mixtures, plant the radish seeds, water the seeds, and place them in the designated place in the classroom.

Explain:

Ask: Which combinations of soil do you think will grow a radish best? Why? Why do you think we are using different combinations of soil instead of all using the same combination?

Students then record daily observations of how many radish seeds are growing for 10 days.

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Students investigate soil samples from their neighborhoods and around the school to determine if soil from different areas is the same or different.

The students:

use appropriate methods and/or tools for collecting data.

use evidence (measurements, observations, patterns) to construct or support an explanation.

describe the different components of soil.

The students understand:

soil varies from location to location due to a variety of factors.

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For each student:

student science notebook

1 Soil Sample Sorting Mat

1 Soil Test Results

2 paper plates

1 hand lens

For each pair/small group:

1 soil sample from home

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Lesson 2 Steps: Engage, Explore, Explain

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Lesson 2 Steps: Engage, Explore, Explain

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Engage:

Project Slides 8-9 of the Soils PowerPoint showing pictures of different types of soil from around the world/different areas.

Ask: What do you see? What do you think it's made up of? Why do you think the different types of soil look so different?

Explore:

Distribute a Soil Sample Sorting Mat to each student. Have the students pour their soil sample from home on a paper plate and then sort the components onto the sorting mat. The have the students use a Soil Test Results sheet to do each of the tests on their soil sample and record their results.

Explain:

Have students share what they observed in their soil samples and the results of their soil tests.

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The students struggle to find motivation with this particular lesson, as they find it boring. There is no formative assessment for this particular lesson, it is observational data. The students are using the knowledge they have gained from the previous units in the lesson to sort their soil components and compare soil mixtures with their classmates.

The students are expected to be able to compare and contrast soil components, and discuss why they may be different depending on where the soil samples were taken from.

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Sometimes students have trouble identifying exactly how many seeds are growing, so each group takes their results at the same time and each group member helps each other count and compare results.

The overall assessment for the lesson comes at the end of the unit, when all 10 days of radish seed growth data has been taken. The groups share their mixture findings with the class and then each student create a bar graph with the data. Finally, they answer a few questions about which soil mixture is best for radish seed growth.

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Students will understand:

Soils play an essential role in ecosystems.

Conservation practices can lessen the effects of human activity and natural disasters upon the environment.

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At the beginning of the soil unit my students kept asking why we needed to learn about "dirt," however, by the end of the unit they were making connections to their parents gardens at home, and how checking to see what was in the soil on the back of the bags it comes in could help their parents pick soil that is better for their plants. I was surprised by how engaged my students become with this unit and I now realize it was because so much of the learning was put into their hands, and I didn't just talk at them the whole time.

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My students made connections to the real world not only through talking about their families gardens, but by talking about conserving water when not as much was needed for certain soils and plant growth. They also made connections to an earlier science unit about the water cycle. They used their prior knowledge of the water cycle to determine how it could help the soil aid the growth of plants.

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Lesson 1 about halfway through the unit, meaning that the students already have acquired quite a bit of knowledge about soil when asked to plant their seeds in their assigned mixture. In this way the learners have developed their schema of knowledge on soil. Their understanding continues to build so that by the time they fill out the growth graph and answer the questions about the Soil & Seeds Results, they have the knowledge needed to back up their answers. The learners make their thinking visible through the answering of the questions. Throughout the lessons in the unit many questions are posed by the teacher, giving the students a specific arrow of sorts, pointing them to the correct answers. The scaffolds gently fade as the lessons grow to give the students their chance to lead themselves to the answers that show their greatest understanding.

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I believe both of these lessons are somewhat place-based as the students are in the environment when preparing for the lessons, like gathering soil from their homes and completing their mixtures. Having a field-trip to a science-center focused on soil and the water cycle would be great for students to learn about both in a scientific environment, while applying knowledge across units. There are moments of more teacher-directed instruction, and some classmates helped me see where I could switch that around. Giving students the option to create their own soil mixture to start with and then possibly change after a few days if it is not working would put the soil mixture completely in their hands. I could still have the given mixtures set up for the students to observe how the turnip seeds grow in each, and they could then compare them to their own made up mixtures.

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Students will be able to:

use evidence to construct or support an explanation.

generate and/or compare multiple solutions to a problem.

explain the importance of soil in an ecosystem.

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Students use a thinking routine to explore the different ways animals, including humans, use soil.

The students:

use evidence to construct or support an explanation.

generate and/or compare multiple solutions to a problem. explain the importance of soil in an ecosystem.

The students understand:

soil is important to animals because it provides support, nutrients, and a habitat. 

natural occurrences (e.g., floods and erosion) can harm the organisms in an environment.

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For each student

Student science notebook

Think About It! Soil Conservation (Lesson 2)

For each group

1 set, Animals Using Soil Cards

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Lesson 3 Steps: Engage, Explore, Explain

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Lesson 3 Steps: Engage, Explore, Explain

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Engage:

Ask, "What impact might this water erosion have on our schoolyard habitat and the animals that live there?"

Explore:

Either distribute one set of Animals Using Soil Cards to each small group or display slides 4-6 of Soils PowerPoint.

As students observe the images, have them use a thinking routine such as See-Think-Wonder:

1. Students first make observations of the animals using soil. Encourage students to describe only what they see happening in the images.

2. Students then make inferences of what they think might be going on. Encourage students to back up their inferences with evidence from the images and prior knowledge they have about animals and soil.

3. Finally, students describe what the images make them wonder about in regards to how animals use soil.

Explain:

Have students share their observations, inferences, and wonderings about the images of animals using soil.

Show a video clip about the importance of soil for animals

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Students will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices.

Investigate and understand that soil is important in ecosystems.

Investigate and understand that natural events and humans influence ecosystems.