Overview: This unit of practice is intended for seventh graders. It is a five-day lesson plan that will teach students about the uses, types, identification, and importance of soil. Seventh graders will meet the following California standards:
Science--Investigation and Experimentation
7a Learn how to select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, computers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.
7b Use a variety of print and electronic resources (including World Wide Web) to collect information and evidence as part of a research project.
7c Communicate the logical connection among hypotheses, science concepts, tests conducted, data collected, and conclusions drawn from the scientific evidence.
7e Communicate the steps and results from an investigation in written reports and oral presentations.
Math--Number Sense
1.1 Read, write, and compare rational numbers in scientific notation (positive and negative powers of 10) with approximate numbers using scientific notation.
Summary of daily activities:
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Day 1: Introduce soil to students. Talk about why soil is important and its uses. Have students go to day one on the web-site and read the text. Have students print out the page and have them fill in chart/answer questions based on small soil sample given to them.
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Day 2: Introduce erosion, soil color differentiation, soil texture, soil horizons, and pH. Have students go to web-site and correlate pictures with information displayed. |
Day 3: Field Trip to the Creek. Have students take appropriate materials to the creek and gather soil samples. Gather soil samples from various locations. Students will fill out field trip sheet and a chart with their results. Students will then write a conclusion in which they will describe their soil sample and make basic assessments about it. |
Day 4: Microscope section. Students will follow instructions on how to operate microscope and will look at soil particles and/or onion and potato cells or creek water. After students are done with the microscope section have them finish part II of the field trip sheet. They may need to answer conclusion at home. |
Day 5: Group project: Have students break up into groups of four. If there are 28 students, then there will be seven groups. Each group can pick a topic to present on something they learned about soil over the week. |
Click on the following links to open day-by-day instructions.
[Day One] [Day Two] [Day Three] [Day Four] [Day Five]
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