Introduction to Soil Quality; What it is and Why it's Important
Subject: Biology/Ecology
Grade Level: 9th/10th grade
Lesson Duration: 55 min.
Long Term Unit Goal - Students will be able to locate instances of environmental injustice, specifically in the soil, and will find ways that they can facilitate change in these areas.
Lesson Objective - Students will understand soil quality and its importance in the world through classroom learning and discussion.
Pertinent Standard - NGSS - HS-LS2-7: Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of human activities can include urbanization, building dams, and dissemination of invasive species.]
Materials - Pens/Pencils, paper/notebook, Smart-board/Internet/Computer
Assessment - Informal based on visual and auditory assessment through out the class period, students will get participation points based on the presence of pertinent and relevant notes in their notebooks and through actively participating in small group discussion(s) after the video.
Procedure:
1- Introduce the video WTTWs SOS; Save Our Soil (linked below, feel free to change the video by using any of the linked videos I put here, some are shorter to create more discussion time after the kids watch, however I really like the SOS as it is much more in depth). List pertinent new vocabulary words for students whose IEPs require this.
2- Play the video (26:46)
3- Use the last 20 minutes of class to discuss what was learned either as a large class or in small groups (if you have lab tables or lab groups, this would be a great time to get them together to begin brainstorming soil as a group...they will be "knee deep" in soil for the next 3 weeks or so!
Grade Level: 9th/10th grade
Lesson Duration: 55 min.
Long Term Unit Goal - Students will be able to locate instances of environmental injustice, specifically in the soil, and will find ways that they can facilitate change in these areas.
Lesson Objective - Students will understand soil quality and its importance in the world through classroom learning and discussion.
Pertinent Standard - NGSS - HS-LS2-7: Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of human activities can include urbanization, building dams, and dissemination of invasive species.]
Materials - Pens/Pencils, paper/notebook, Smart-board/Internet/Computer
Assessment - Informal based on visual and auditory assessment through out the class period, students will get participation points based on the presence of pertinent and relevant notes in their notebooks and through actively participating in small group discussion(s) after the video.
Procedure:
1- Introduce the video WTTWs SOS; Save Our Soil (linked below, feel free to change the video by using any of the linked videos I put here, some are shorter to create more discussion time after the kids watch, however I really like the SOS as it is much more in depth). List pertinent new vocabulary words for students whose IEPs require this.
2- Play the video (26:46)
3- Use the last 20 minutes of class to discuss what was learned either as a large class or in small groups (if you have lab tables or lab groups, this would be a great time to get them together to begin brainstorming soil as a group...they will be "knee deep" in soil for the next 3 weeks or so!
Class Video Choices: I love starting off with videos on my unit topics to activate students' background knowledge! Here are a few to use with this unit.
From WTTW - SOS: Save Our Soil - The top six inches of soil are the most precious, yet least understood ecosystem on earth—yet we continue to treat soil like dirt. Get down and dirty with large-scale Midwestern composters, California carbon farmers reversing climate change and a West Virginia poultry farmer creating ‘biochar’ from chicken poop. Explore new frontiers beneath our feet that just might save our soil.
From WTTW - Good Soil - In 1983 the German energy giant RWE started digging for coal in the Garzweiler II pit. Since then 16 villages around the mine have been resettled. Against all odds, brothers Helmut and Joachim Meier run the nursery they built 30 years ago until the very end. Life is grey and lonesome, but there's one hidden place where the world still seems to be all right.
This BBC 3 part series The Wonder of Creation: Soil brings to light how soil is so common that we can easily forget how precious it is. And it is so rare in the universe that we can easily miss its significance to our planet: Soil is the foundation for all living things, including humanity. The series asks viewers to consider what is this vital material out of which all life arises and to which all life eventually returns?
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Recommended Readings:
#1 - The Natural Resources Conservation Service has put out this 2 page text on Soil Quality. It is a great resource in addition to anything your classroom text would contain on soil and soil quality.
#2 - The Environmental Protection Agency has a 12 page PDF on soil quality and how urban gardens are affected. This document really ties into every one of the Essential Questions for this unit. I HIGHLY suggest printing up the PDF and using it for classroom readings/homework. Not only is it relevant to the unit, it provides the information that the students will need as they prepare for their final presentation and hypothesize about where they will pull samples from. There is some really great vocabulary in this reading as well as tips and places to find help, great for further research.
The second button is the EPAs webpage on Soil Contamination. It covers causes, effects, and possible solutions.
The second button is the EPAs webpage on Soil Contamination. It covers causes, effects, and possible solutions.
Really Great Web Information:
This is the EPAs web page to Superfunds (Superfund is the name given to the environmental program established to address abandoned hazardous waste sites (EPA.gov, 2015). It has links to everything Superfund; basic information, local Superfund sites, contaminated media and how it pertains to human health and the environment, clean up processes, laws/policy, community involvement, etc. See the following direct links for all this and more!