in grades 4-6 harmonyharmony level: grades 4-6 subjects: social studies (geography), science skills:...

297 ©2003 Project Food, Land & People

InHarmony

©2003 Project Food, Land & People

✔ LEVEL: Grades 4-6

SUBJECTS: Social Studies (Geography), Science

SKILLS: Analyzing, applying, comparing

similarities and differences, critical thinking, evaluating,

interpreting, map reading, observing, reading data, solving

problems, understanding cause and effect

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONStudents developmapmaking, mapreading, and graphreading skills as theylearn the capabilitiesand limitations of ourland resources by usinga soil survey. In theprocess students beginto develop theknowledge needed tobuild a foundation forunderstanding thecomplex issuesinvolved in makingland use decisions inharmony with theland’s capability.

OBJECTIVESThe students will:- explain that land

resources differ dueto soil type, geology,topography, theclimate, or history;

- identify how humandecisions about landuse are influenced byboth the naturalresource base andeconomics; and

- make their own land-use decisions.

ESTIMATEDTEACHING TIMEFour sessions: 45minutes each.

Perc Through the PoresTill We or Won’t We?Soil Is Not Trivial

SUPPORTING INFORMATIONLand is used for many differentpurposes. It is used for growing fruit,grazing cattle, developing a shoppingmall, a park, or a garden, building areservoir, or mining for minerals.Determining the highest and best useof land is important. Human decisionsto build homes and businesses on thefloodplain of a river or on a steephillside susceptible to mudslides maynot be based on careful considerationor understanding of soil characteristics

MATERIALSTransparency of your county's soilsurvey map or the attached Land UseMap, overhead projector and screen,copies of the attached Soil TypeDescriptions, Land Use Map, MapKey, and county soil survey.

VOCABULARYadequate, drainage, frost heave, landcapability, land classification, land use,soil survey, vibration, water table

RELATED LESSONSAmazing GrazingCows or Condos?


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and its limitations, topography, climate, and history. Asoil’s capability needs to be carefully considered whenmaking land-use decisions. That capability is identifiedby a soil capability and classification system found insoil surveys.

For most counties across the United States, soil surveymaps have been developed by the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture (USDA), Natural ResourcesConservation Service (NRCS). These maps are a seriesof aerial photographs, superimposed with outlines ofsoil groupings and topographical characteristics. Thesemaps have resulted from more than a hundred years ofresearch. Each book of maps is keyed to a series ofcharts describing the class ofsoil (classifications) and itscapability to be used for avariety of purposes. Soil classesinclude agricultural use (includinglandscaping), engineeringpurposes (all forms of buildingand construction), and (town,local government and county)planning.

This information can provideinsight as to the soil's suitabilityfor growing crops, buildingroads and highways,constructing homesites, etc.Work on these soil surveysbegan in the early 1960s andcontinues today with new digitized computer processes.Soil surveys can be found at the local office of theNatural Resources Conservation Service (listed under“United States Government - Agriculture, Dept. of” inthe phone book) and in some public libraries. (Thereare several areas in the country that have not beenmapped. Urban areas that were built before the soilsurveys were conducted for a given state were notphotographed and are not included in the survey. Soilsin these urban areas have been greatly disturbed byconstruction or are covered by pavement and buildings.A few states do not have all of the counties surveyedbecause they have large public land holdings, which arefederally managed. In those areas, a resource inventoryis used in place of the soil survey.)

Along with soil types and capabilities (landclassification), there are other factors that need to beconsidered when making land-use decisions. These aretopography (particularly the slope and the flood proneterrain), climate, weather patterns, growing seasons,and rainfall. Whether planning a garden, landscaping a

home or business, building a golf course, or growingfood crops, it is critical to make a careful assessment ofthe natural resources and environmental concerns.Equally important is heeding the land’s limitations.

On a broader scale, students and adults need tounderstand the limitations of the land to meet the foodneeds of our rapidly growing population. Awareness ofthe importance of geography to food production isrelatively low among U.S. consumers due to ourcountry’s excellent infrastructure, transportation, andmarketing system. Yet, it is important incomprehending the global food situation to understandthese land capabilities from a geographic perspective.

Understanding that land-usepotentials vary by region, andeven within regions, isimportant to create anappreciation for capability orlack of capability to produce

food or otherwise create thewealth to purchase food.

Not all land is suitablefor growing, grazing,building or some otheruses it may currentlysupport.

For example, in recentyears, authors andanimal-rights activistshave suggested that

land used to graze domesticated animals (cattle, sheep,goats, and horses) would be used “more productively”to grow grains, fruits, and vegetables for direct humanconsumption. This concept is not feasible due tonumerous factors. Many lands currently used to grazelivestock are not suitable to raise crops for manyreasons: little rainfall; a rocky terrain; a shallow layer oftopsoil; a growing season too short for any crop tomature; a steep slope; erodible soils; too wet in certainseasons; etc. Rangelands constitute nearly half theworld’s land surface and provide more than three-fourths of the feed for its livestock. If livestock do notgraze these lands, a significant amount of proteinwould not be available to meet human needs.

Students need an understanding of the land availableand suitable for agriculture. They also need tounderstand that these issues are complex and needcareful consideration rather than broad “one-size-fits-all” solutions. In short, we need to make land-usedecisions of people’s desires “in harmony” with theland’s capability.


GETTING STARTEDWhile not essential, it is recommended that this lessonshould be taught following the lessons “Perc Throughthe Pores,” “Till We or Won’t We?,” and “Soil Is NotTrivial,” to provide a context for making land-usedecisions. Make copies of the attached Soil TypeDescriptions, Land Use Map, Map Key, andmake a transparency of the Land Use Map. Obtain acopy of your county’s soils survey from the local officeof the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)office listed under United States Government in thephone book. Invite a speaker from the local historicalsociety to speak about the changes in land use in yourcommunity for Session Two.

PROCEDURE

SESSION ONE1. Ask the students:

A. Where are oranges grown commercially in theUnited States? (Florida, Southern California,Arizona, Texas) Identify these states on a map.

- What do these states have in common? (Allof these areas are relatively warm in thewinter. All seldom experience hard freezes.All can be considered either warmtemperate or subtropical.)

- Why is this important to grow oranges? (Thecitrus tree and fruit cannot withstandprolonged freezing temperatures. The fruitfreezes in 30 minutes with temperatures at26 F to 28 F. Leaves and stems are killedby a few minutes at 20 F to 28 F.)

- Can we grow oranges in our state? Why orwhy not? If so, where?

B. Where are apples primarily grown? (Michigan,New York, Washington, Pennsylvania, Ohio,and all of the New England states) Identifythese states on a map.

- What do these states have in common? (Allare Northern states. All have plenty ofwater. All experience cold winters. Allexperience hard freezes in the winter.)

- Why is this important to growing apples?(The apple tree needs freezingtemperatures to blossom and initiate fruitset.)

- Can we grow apples in our state? Why or

why not? If so, where? (Some Southernareas can grow apples, if the elevation ishigh enough and the area experiencesfreezing temperatures for significantdurations. Mexico, for example, growsapples in cooler mountain areas, but thereare great challenges involved in producingthis crop in Southern climates and themajor producers are all Northern states.)

C. Why are some foods commercially grown onlyin the North and others only grown in theSouth? (Climate plays a large role.)

D. Begin to create a list of where foods and fibersare grown and the students’ educated guessesabout why this is the case. (cotton, lemons,limes, grapefruit - South and cranberries,maple syrup, blueberries, cherries - North)

2. Ask the students to volunteer whatever informationthey have about where crops are grown, what theyraise in their garden; what flowers or trees growwhere they live; and what problems they or theirparents have had trying to grow plants. Did plantsdie because of over watering or during prolongedrainy period? Did a houseplant freeze? Didsomeone forget to water it?

3. Address the knowledge students may have aboutclimate and relate it to a broad-basedunderstanding of climate. Brainstorm factors thatmay promote or hinder growing crops in certainregions. (Climate, elevation, topography, and soon.)

- If students cannot get beyond the climate, askthem to think of the impact of elevation on themicro-climates of a tall mountain. (The climateat the top of a mountain is far different thanthe climate at the bottom of a mountain; thisaffects vegetation and soils and is reflected inthe plants that can be found at differentelevations.)

- What else do they know about mountains, theirland and topography? (Rocky, unpredictableweather, steep slopes, etc.) These all affectcrops.

- Lead into a discussion of land. (Some land hassteep slopes or rocky soil. Some land is marshyor low lying and floods at certain times of theyear. Some land has shallow soils, other landhas deep soils. Land may be in the form of


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rolling hills or deep valleys. Land may bordera river or the ocean. Some land is mined forvaluable minerals or precious metals. Someland is a desert.)

- What do students observe about land in theirarea? (Repeat this question at the end of thislesson.)

SESSION TWO1. Ask the

students:

- When citieswere first built,why were thecities builtwhere theywere? Why didpeople want to livethere? (Intersection of rivers,good soil, deep-sea ports, watersources, mining, lake transportation, etc.)

- Why did people settle in our community? (Localanswers will vary.)

Indicate that this is a lesson on land and land use.Without realizing it, they may already know manyfactors that affect how land is used today, and whydecisions were made in the past.

2. Show students a copy or copies of the soil surveyof your county. Show how much information isavailable in this book: the maps, charts, text, etc.

3. Brainstorm with the class and make a classroomlist of the ways local land is used. (Apartmentbuildings, factories, fruit production, forestry,rangelands, farms, parks, gardens, roads,schools, etc.)

Have a speaker from a local historical societypresent ways the use of land has changed overtime. Ask:

- What influenced how this land was originallyused and how it is used today? (Answers willvary.)

SESSION THREE1. Distribute copies of the current Land Use Map,

Map Key, and Soil Types Descriptions chartenclosed. Project the transparency copy of themap.

A. Select one section of the map, ask students touse the map key and identify the soil type thatis in that area.

B. Using the Soil Type Descriptions chart,ask the students to read the soil characteristics.

- What does the soil type chart indicate aboutthe soil’s ability to support farming? (Seechart for a given soil type.)

- What does the soil typechart indicate about thesoil’s ability to supportgrowing grasses? (See chartfor a given soil type.)

- What does the soil typechart indicate about thesoil’s ability to supportforestry? (See chart for agiven soil type.)

- What does the soil typechart indicate about the soil’s ability tosupport building a pond on this site? (Seechart for a given soil type.)

- What does the soil type chart indicate aboutthe soil’s ability to support building ahighway on this site? (See chart for a givensoil type.)

- What does the soil type chart indicate aboutthe soil’s ability to support a home site? (Seechart for a given soil type.)

- Will the soil need to be drained to make itsuitable for those uses? (See chart for agiven soil type.)

2. Share with the students that this Land Use Map,Map Key, and Soil Types Descriptions chartrepresent a small amount of the information in thesoil survey book for your county. They may use thisresource to buy land, build a house, plan a school,site a garden, etc.

A. Ask the students:

- When you want to build a house, what wouldhappen if you bought land in the middle ofsummer and found out next spring that yourland was under water? Would you be happy?(This soil survey can predict that floodingmay occur. )


- Tell the students that the soil survey can tellthem a great deal more than simply whetherthe area is seasonally wet.

B. Ask the students:

- How many of you have seen areas that haveexperienced disasters? What kind of disasterswere they? (Answers will vary.)

- Could any of these events have beenpredicted? (Yes, building on a 50-yearfloodplain means that over time records offlooding can predict that every 50 years aflood of a certain magnitude will occur.The exact date is not known. In areaswhere those records are not available,experts predict the likelihood of 50 yearfloods. If students are interested inunderstanding the natural resource basewhere they live, there are many avenues tolearn about it.Some sites aremore exposedto storms, e.g.seashores orhills prone tomudslides.The soil surveycan providesignificantinformation.)

3. Ask the students ifthey notice the waythe soil types arelocated all over themap. (Some studentsmay notice that the road crosses several differentsoil types.)

If the students do not notice that the road is builton several soil types, point it out, and begin to lookat the Halsey soil in the middle of the page in theSoil Type Descriptions chart. Mention that theroad between the housing development and pondneeds to be repaired every spring. It gets largepotholes and cracks. Ask:

- Why does this happen? (Answers will vary.)

- What does the chart say about this soil? (Seechart.)

- Besides the soil type, what does the map showabout this area? (Wet spots.)

- Is this a good place for a pond? (Yes - a highwater table.)

- What is a water table? (The water table is theunderground water level. The pond could benatural or manmade.)

- Is this a good place for a road? (No - high watertable, and subject to flooding.)

- Why is the road there? (Probably history, it is agood example of inappropriate land use.)

- How could this flooding be solved? (The roadcould be raised by bringing in fill ordeveloping sub-surface drainage.)

- Does this really happen? (Yes, that is exactlyhow we deal with some of these problems.)

4. For homework, as they go home and return toschool the next day, askstudents to look for placesin the road susceptible topotholes, cracking, sinking,etc. Ask:

- Where is the road raisedabove the surroundingland?

- Where are there bridges?Or culverts?

- Where are therepotholes or cracks in theroad?

SESSION FOUR1. Ask the students if they noticed the areas you

asked them to look for on their trip from and toschool? What did they observe?

2. Continue discussion from Session Three using theLand Use Map, Map Key, and Soil TypeDescriptions chart. Ask:

- Are there any other problem areas you observeon the map?

A. Notice the first house from the highway in thehousing development. (The house foundationcould crack from both the vibrations of thePalmyra soils, if heavy trucks or equipment usethe road and cause vibrations or from theswelling and shrinking of the clay content inthe Halsey soils.)


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B. The end of the highway near the river issubject to flooding.

2. Where would you like to build a house on thislandscape? By the river? On the hill? Near otherhomes? Near the park? Have each student writehis or her selection and the answers to thesequestions:

- What problems will need to be solved?

- How could they be solved?

Discuss these options for home-site selection,challenges and possible solutions as a class.(Answers will vary. Some will have no resolutionexcept to build in another location or to acceptthe outcome.)

3. Alert the student that there is a blackout section onthe map where there is no soil information. Whereis this? (The factory area.)

Why is this area blacked out? (The factory wasbuilt before the county survey was made orbefore the aerial photographs were taken.)

Have you noticed that many old factories were builtnear water? Why? (Source of water, power forearly mills, water transportation, etc.)

4. Ask the class:

- Why is the other land used as it is? (The bestland is being farmed; vegetables, Christmastrees and farm markets are in close proximityto home; the pond is in the best location, etc.)

- Is it appropriate to have cattle grazing in thepasture near the river, but fenced off from theriver? (Yes, the land near the river isseasonably wet and cannot be farmed. Neitherhouses nor businesses should be built onfloodplains, etc.)

- Historically, who made these decisions?(Answers vary but they were probably made bylandowners based on economics.)

- Who makes these decisions today? (Town zoningboard, planning board, state or federalregulators, local or state conservationagencies, etc. Economics still plays asignificant role.)

5. Explain that when making land-use decisions, thereis information available as well as experts to becalled upon. Decisions should be made based on aland’s capability. In years past, soil and relatednatural resource information may not have beenavailable. This may have resulted in decisions beingmade that may not have reflected the land’s

capability.

EVALUATION OPTIONS1. Assess students’ map and chart

reading skills in this and otheractivities.

2. Evaluate completeness of thestudents’ decisions about land usesin Session Four.

3. Have each student create his orher own list of suitable land-usedecisions and poor land-usedecisions from the map or countysurvey, if available.

©2003 Project Food, Land & People Conceptual Framework Reference: I., I.A.1., I.A.2., I.C.3. I.F.1.,II.A.3., II.B.3., III.B.1.

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EXTENSIONS AND VARIATIONS1. Obtain a copy of the soil survey map from the

NRCS office of the county in which the school liesas described in the Getting Started section. Havethe students:

A. Locate the school district on the county’s soilsurvey map. (Other options may include theirneighborhood, farm, or where friends or familylive.)

B. Identify key indicators with which they arefamiliar such as roads, streams, buildings,lakes, parks, etc.

C. Ask students what date the soil survey waspublished (on front cover as date issued), datethe photos were taken, and data collected(series date). [These can vary from the early1960s to the present.] Discuss changes thatmay have occurred since the publishing datesand/or the photo and data collection.(Highways, school locations, and suburbandevelopment will vary greatly over the 40-yearperiod, depending upon when your county’ssurvey was completed.)

D. If all or part of the entire district is urban, itmay or may not have a soil survey. Thisdepends upon how developed your city waswhen the aerial photos and soil samples weretaken. Ask:

- “Why does the soil survey end at the_______________________________?” (Landis paved, soils have been greatly altered byconstruction, fill may have been brought infrom areas with differing soil types, etc.)

2. Have the students draw their own maps of theirneighborhood or some other limited land area orcreate a classroom-size map of the school districtfor a bulletin board.

A. From these maps, identify the six major soiltypes from a select area. Use these six soiltypes and descriptions to answer the land usequestions.

B. Ask questions similar to those in Session Threeand Session Four from information in the soilsurvey book. This will be a large task becauseeach county book contains an amazing array ofcomplex information.

3. In your community, identify possible problem siteswhere land classification or capability was notadequately considered. Discuss possible problemsand solutions.

- Have there been any problems? (Highwayrepeatedly cracks or heaves in a certain area,potholes always develop in the same area ofthe road, mudslides, flooding, etc.)

- What possible solutions may solve theseproblems? (Answers will vary.)

CREDITSoil Survey of Tompkins County, NY

ADDITIONAL RESOURCESNRCS Office, Town Planning Board, Conservationists

EDUCATOR’S NOTES

304 ©2003 Project Food, Land & People In Harmony

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MAP KEY

in grades 4-6 harmonyharmony level: grades 4-6 subjects: social studies (geography), science skills:...

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