DIRT

By Ashlee Sikes&

Brandy Cooper

What are the differences between dirt and

soil?

Dirt is what you find under your fingernails. Soil is what you find under your feet.

Think of soil as a thin living skin that covers the land. It goes down into the ground just a short way. Even the most fertile topsoil is only a foot or so deep. Soil is more than rock particles. It includes all the living things and the materials they make or change.

Engage

Ground Level: Topsoil: Subsoil: Weathered Parent Material: Bedrock:

Explore

Core Sampling is a cylindrical section of a

naturally occurring substance. Most core samples are obtained by drilling with special drills into the substance, (for example sediment or rock), with a hollow steel tube called a core drill.

Explore

Explain

Topsoil Subsoil

Parent Material

Bedrock

Draw a line from the soil to the correct container.

There are 12 different types of soil. Soil orders reflect the environment which the

soil is in.

Elaborate

Use your knowledge of soil to match the

vocabulary terms to the right definition.

Evaluate

Drag materials to the beaker in order.

Evaluate

clay

Organic matter

silt

water

sand

Today we talked about soil and materials with

in the soil, who can tell us the types of soil? We must all do our part to help conserve soil.

Here are some ways to help conserve the soil.

End

Refrences

o Bass, J., Contant, T., & Carin, A., (2009). Teaching Science as Inquiry (11th ed.).

Upper Saddle River: Merrill Prentice Hall. ohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vho8o_ObrQohttp://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/soil/soil_safari.htmlohttp://www.history.org/kids/games/dirtDetective.cfmohttp://forces.si.edu/soils/swf/soilorders.htmlohttp://www.quia.com/cc/349418.htmlohttp://urbanext.illinois.edu/soil/index.htmlo ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/MT/www/about/SoilAlive508.pdfo www.dirtexperimentsinfo.com

Content Objective- The student will:o o Identify different types of materials in soil. o o Investigate the found particles in the soil sample.o o Record their observations during the investigation.

Process Objectives- Observing, Measuring, Sorting and Classifying, Communicating.

o o Predict what soil is made up of and how to found out what is in the soil (Predicting). o o Observe the various types of soil particles (Observe). o o Record their observations and share with the class (Communicate).

Background knowledge needed- Students need knowledge of soil. o o The students should be familiar with the different soil particles. They

should have a knowledge of dispersion and osmoses; the flow of material when placed in water.

NCTM standardso o D. Earth and Space Science - Earth and space science focuses on science

facts, concepts, principles, theories, and models that are important for all students to know, understand, and use. M.D.1 Structure of the earth system: e. Soil consists of weathered rocks and decomposed organic material from dead plants, animals, and bacteria. Soils are often found in layers, with each having a different chemical composition and texture.

Teacher Page

Inquiry Lesson Plan for: Technology Project

Name: Ashlee Sikes & Brandy Cooper Date presented: 12-6-12 Teacher’s signature: _____________________ Date signed: __________________ Topic/Concept: Dirt Grade Level/Age: 5th Grade____ Focus of lesson: What Is in Soil? Time Frame: 50 minutes Objectives:

Student content learning objectives, The student will: o Identify different types of materials in soil. o Investigate the found particles in the soil sample. o Record their observations during the investigation.

Student process learning objectives, The student will: o Predict what soil is made up of and how to found out what is in the soil

(Predicting). o Observe the various types of soil particles (Observe). o Record their observations and share with the class (Communicate).

Standards:

Grade Level Expectations: o Strand 5: Processes and Interactions of the Earth’s Systems. 2. Earth’s systems

(geosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere) interact with one another as they undergo change by common processes. A. The Earth’s materials and surface features are changed through a variety of external processes. a. Observe and describe the breakdown of plant and animal material into soil through decomposition processes.

Corresponding National science standards: o D. Earth and Space Science - Earth and space science focuses on science facts,

concepts, principles, theories, and models that are important for all students to know, understand, and use. M.D.1 Structure of the earth system: e. Soil consists of weathered rocks and decomposed organic material from dead plants, animals, and bacteria. Soils are often found in layers, with each having a different chemical composition and texture.

Topic preparation:

Background knowledge needed: o The students should be familiar with the different soil particles. They should

have a knowledge of dispersion and osmoses; the flow of material when placed in water.

Content knowledge summarized: o Soil is composed of many different types of elements such as; sand, silt, clay, and

organic matter. When soil is submerged in water these elements combined together. By placing the chemical alum in the mixture, these elements disperse depending on each elements density. The elements most dense will settle to the bottom and the elements lease dense will be found on the top.

Modifications Planned: o Place: The students will be placed in groups to increase the space used within

the classroom for their observations. o Rate: The teacher will increase or decrease the pace of the lesson depending on

the students’ actions throughout the activities. o Utensils: The students will be introduces to several visual aids and hands-on

manipulatives.

Resources used for planning:

o Bass, J., Contant, T., & Carin, A., (2009). Teaching Science as Inquiry (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Materials:

Soil (from backyard) Alum Clear plastic vial with lid

Inquiry-based lesson plan:

1. Engage Ask the students: What is in soil? How can we find out? (Wait for responses). (Predicting)

2. Explore Allow the students to observe different kinds of materials in backyard soil. First, add about one inch of soil to a clear plastic vial with a lid (approximately 1 inch in diameter and 3 inches high). Second, add a pinch of alum to the soil. Tell the students that alum is a chemical used in making pickles. It is safe, but caution the students not to taste it. Third, fill the vial to the top with water, cover it, and shake it vigorously. Fourth, place the vial on the table and leave it there for the duration of the investigation. Last, after several minutes, observe and record observations. The alum acts as a dispersing agent, helping the soil particles to break into smaller parts and settle out into layers. Students should observe sand at the bottom of the vial, silt above the sand, clay above the silt, water, and organic matter floating on the water. (Observe) [Goal 5.1: Alternative teaching strategies]

3. Explain Ask the students: From the results of your investigation, what do you conclude is in soil? Which particles do you think are larger: sand, clay, or silt? Why do you think so?

1. Elaborate Ask the students: How could you find out how much of each kind of material there is in soil? Lead students to suggest measuring the layers that were formed during the Explore section of the lesson. Then provide rulers so they can measure the layers in their vial. Suggest that they display their finding using either a bar or pie graph. Then allow each group to share their findings with the class. (Communicate)

2. Evaluate Challenge each student to produce a visual representation of soil and its contents. Before they start, have them suggest criteria and expectations for this product, leading to a rubric that will guide them in their work and that you will use for assessing their products. [Goal 5.2: Actively engage the learner]

3. End Ask the students again: What is in soil? How did we found out? (Wait for responses). Have the students to explain why the sand went to the bottom of the vial and why the organic matter went to the top of the vial.

o Soil is composed of many different types

of elements such as; sand, silt, clay, and organic matter. When soil is submerged in water these elements combined together. By placing the chemical alum in the mixture, these elements disperse depending on each elements density. The elements most dense will settle to the bottom and the elements lease dense will be found on the top.

Summary of Content Knowledge