In many states and provinces, third grade students learn about soil. It is an opportunity to discover together what healthy soil looks and feels like, to compare fertile soil and poor soil, and to learn why healthy soil= healthy people.
On this blog, I encourage schools that have a grassy schoolyard to add a low-cost, low-maintenance naturalized area to create a healthy habitat for your neighborhood's living things, including schoolchildren. They can play in it at recess, but they can also spend meaninful classtime in it. See the following posts for background information and suggestions for cheap and easy schoolyard adaptations: Buy In and Begin, Plant for Pedagogy, Sixth Grade Science Field Trips at School (sixth grade is encouraged to select the best location), and Seventh Grade Science Field Trips at School (seventh grade is encouraged to plant the first shrubs and trees). It's an opportunity for a multi-class effort, but the following soil activities are not dependent on that at all.
As part of this effort, your third graders can team up with the
fourth graders to prepare the soil in the selected area this spring.
Curriculum expectations are always based on the Ontario Ministry of
Expectations. Many of the activities will reinforce, rather than teach,
those expectations. As such, no assessment ideas or rubrics are
included.
Earth and Space Science
Overall Expectations:- assess the impact of soils on society and the environment, and of society and the environment on soils;
- investigate the composition and characteristics of different soils;
- demonstrate an understanding of the composition of soils, the types of soils, and the relationship between soils and other living things.
If your third graders made a composter during the late fall, you can work together to prepare a brief presentation of it to fourth grade. They, in turn, can work together to respond to your presentation to teach your class a little about the decomposers that got the job done in your composter; it is a curriculum expectation for their age group.
As third and fourth grade teachers, plan on a Science Field Trip at School, asking for parent volunteers as you would for any other field trip. On the Field Trip day, divide the classes into groups. Each group needs:
- a spade
- pieces of plastic or fabric sheeting
- a handout about healthy, fertile soil, like this beauty from the US Department of Agriculture
The adult in each group leads the children to several parts of the schoolyard. They cut slices of soil out of the ground in an out-of-the-way grassy area, a heavy-traffic area, a shady area, and out of a landscaped area. The point is to compare each slice of soil. Lay them on the sheeting. What do you see?
Referring to the handout, learn about healthy soil: it's full of life, it's dark and crumbly,, it holds moisture, it is full of nutrients. Is the school's soil healthy? Why or why not? Which slice is healthier than the others? Brainstorm about it together. The adult leader should not be content with simplistic answers; ask the students 'Why' or 'How' questions repeatedly.
What do farmers and gardeners do to make or keep soil healthy and fertile? This is where fourth graders can contribute insights about the decomposers that they are learning about.
If your school is starting or expanding a naturalized area, third graders can contribute their compost to help inoculate the soil with decomposers that will work on breaking down the wood chips over time.
BONUS: A forest floor is typically a place with healthy soil without any help from people. Click here to find a free booklet about why that is the case.
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