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DIG IT! The Secrets of Soil Educators Guide
© NACD/FAO 2015
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Stewardship program educator’s guide online version You can download this PDF educators guide from FAO.org at the following address:
www.fao.org/soils-2015
Special thanks for the original NACD version to:
T.D. Southerland, text writer Willow Marketing , design team
Project Manager S.M .Schultz Smithsonian Dig It! The Secrets of Soil exhibition team
Soil Science Society of America (SSSA )K–12 Committee NACD S&E Committee
And the many reviewers
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Table of Contents DIG IT! Soil Education Materials Project Partners .............................................................................................................................. 4
DIG IT! The Secrets of Soil - Beginner ................................................................................................................................................... 5
DIG IT! The Secrets of Soil - Intermediate ............................................................................................................................................. 8
DIG IT! The Secrets of Soil - Advanced ............................................................................................................................................... 11
TXT MSG FRM UNDR UR FT ................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Student Worksheet .................................................................................................................................................................................. 18
SOILS—The Dig IT! Exhibit and making soils fun! ............................................................................................................................ 21
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DIG IT! Soil Education Materials Project Partners DIG IT! soil education materials were developed by NACD based on an exhibition developed by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and sponsored by the Soil Science Society of America and the Nutrients for Life Foundation. This version was prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under a license agreement with NACD.
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian
Soil Science Society of America
SSSA
Online version of the Dig It! The Secrets of Soil Exhibition, education materials, exhibit videos and images, soil explorer’s gallery, and more information about soils! http://www.forces.si.edu/soils Online Exhibit Content
Exhibit Fact Sheet
Exhibit Floor plan and Guide
Exhibit Activity Sheets for Schools and Families
Videos
Chef’s Challenge
Soil: The Secret Ingredient
Get Soil Savvy
Matters of Life and Death Find Out
What is soil?
How does soil form?
What lives in soil?
How do we build and live on soil? Meet Soil Explorers
Soil Science Society of America members have been gathering information, lesson plans and a variety of activities on soils. https://www.soils.org/lessons/resources/ For lessons on
General Soils
Soil Biology
Soil and Plant Growth
Soil Chemistry
Soils and Land Development
Soil Forensics Soil Glossary https://www.soils.org/lessons/definitions/ FAO Visit: www.fao.org/soils-2015/
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DIG IT! The Secrets of Soil - Beginner
Designed for ages 5-7
Booklet Objectives
Students will comprehend that: o Soils are made of many components, both living and non-living. o One of the properties of soils is color.
Students will determine that organisms live in soil and that they have survival needs.
Students will identify the ways they depend on soils.
Students will distinguish between the direct and indirect dependence of all animals on plants.
Students will determine the ingredients of soils.
Students will differentiate between: o Objects that occur in nature and objects that have been designed. o The natural and constructed components of the environment.
Students will group items on the basis of being natural or manmade.
Students will realize that solid rocks and soils are earth materials.
Students will relate nutrition to health.
Science Standards
Physical Science
Properties of objects and materials o Objects are made of one or more materials.
Life Science
The characteristics of organisms o Organisms have needs (air, water, food, nutrients, light) to survive.
Organisms and environment o All animals depend on plants, directly or indirectly, for food. o Humans depend on natural and constructed environments.
Earth and Space Science
Properties of earth material o Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water and gases. o Soils have properties of color, texture and water holding capacity.
Science and Technology
Distinguish between natural and man-made objects o Some objects occur in nature, others have been designed. o Objects can be grouped in natural and designed.
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Personal and Social Perspective
Personal health o Nutrition is essential to health.
Types of resources o Things we get from our living and nonliving environment.
Activity
Peeking at Life in the Soil Create a diorama illustrating life in and on soils.
Objectives
Students will draw and color various organisms, both plant and animal, that depend on soils for survival.
Students will determine the needs of the organisms and the proper location for them within the diorama.
Materials
For each group of 2-4 Students: Illustrations of various plants, animals (including Invertebrates, Arthropods, Insects, Arachnids and Mammals) and fungi for students to study and copy.
Pipe Cleaners or craft wire
Construction Paper
Hole Punch
Crayons
Scissors
Paste or Tape
Shoe Box
Discussion
What kinds of plants live in the soil? (at home, at school, on a farm, in a forest, a dessert, etc.) Do you eat plants? (gardens, crops) Do animals eat plants? (grasses, leaves, nuts, etc.) Have you ever ate fungi? (mushrooms) What animals live in the soil? (worms, centipedes, moles, beetles, grubs, etc.)
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What animals live on the soil? (cows, horses, rabbits, etc.) Instructions
1. Divide the class into groups of 2 to 4 students and distribute materials. 2. Using paste and construction paper have the students cover the lid of their shoe box with
green paper (to represent vegetation) and the bottom of the box with brown paper (to represent soil).
3. Allow each group of students to choose the organisms they wish to place in their diorama. 4. Have the students draw, color and cut out their choices on construction paper. 5. Punch several holes in the lid of the box and insert pipe cleaners twisted to look like roots so
that they will hang down inside the box. 6. Cut two small holes on each side of the box to be used as "peep holes" into the finished
diorama. 7. Have the students glue their organisms in the proper place, down in the "soil" inside the box
or "above ground" on top of their lid.
Extension
Allow each group to present their diorama to the class and tell at least one fact about each of the organism included.
Discuss with the students how the particular organisms within their diorama interact with each other (food webs).
Create an exhibit in a school display area for other students to examine. Write a few short sentences to explain what each diorama represents.
Additional Student Activity/Worksheets are available at: http://www.nacdnet.org/education/resources/soils.
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DIG IT! The Secrets of Soil - Intermediate
Designed for ages 7-9
Booklet Objectives
Evaluate the affect their actions have on soils, the environment and their community
Propose strategies for healthy soils
Understand the process of erosion
Recognize the role of soils in their everyday lives and health
Deduce the steps between soils and objects derived from soils
Realize that soils are a limited natural resource
Science Standards
Science as Inquiry
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
Ask a question about objects, organisms and events in the environment.
Physical Science
Properties of objects and materials
Objects have many observable properties.
Objects are made of one or more materials.
Life Science
Organisms and environment
All animals depend on plants, directly or indirectly, for food.
All organisms cause change to the environment.
Humans depend on natural and constructed environments.
The characteristics of organisms
Organisms have needs (air, water, food, nutrients, light) to survive.
Earth and Space Science
Properties of earth material
Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water and gases.
Changes in earth and sky
Surface of the earth changes: erosion, landslides, volcanic activity, earthquakes.
Science and Technology
Abilities of technological design o Identify a simple problem. o Propose a solution.
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Personal and Social Perspective
Personal health
Nutrition is essential to health.
Types of resources
Things we get from our living and nonliving environment.
Supply of resources is limited.
Changes in environment
Environments affect survival and quality of life.
Changes in environment may be natural or human induced.
Science and technology in local challenges
New ideas and inventions may affect other people.
Activity
Where Did The Soil Go? Students will construct erosion models and observe the effect of water erosion on soils.
Objectives Student will construct two erosion models; a sod model and a bare soil model.
Students will observe the effect of water flowing through soils.
Students will use measurements to gather and record data.
Materials
Container of grass grown in phase one Reused food container (does not have to be clear or have a lid but should be the same size as container of grass)
Water
Coffee Filters
Measuring Cups
Plastic Bowls
Scissors
Rubber Bands
Small Watering Cans
Student Worksheet (Pg 14)
Discussion
What is soil erosion? (Water or wind carries soil from one location to another.)
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Why is soil erosion a problem? (Each year 6.4 billion tons of soils are eroded from land in the U.S. alone. Soils are a necessary to support life.)
Activity 1. Instruct students to fill their empty food container half full of packed down soil, this becomes
their bare soil model while their container of grass becomes their sod model. 2. Have students cut a V-shaped notch on one side of each container. The V should be about
one inch wide and extend from the top edge of the container down to the top of the soil. 3. Demonstrate to the students how to place their models on an incline. Place both containers
at the edge of a table or their desk. Use a book to elevate the container so that it tilts towards the edge of the table.
4. Students should measure one cup of water and place in the watering can. 5. Instruct one student to hold a plastic bowl under the notch of the sod model while another
student slowly pours the water over the model so that it drains into the bowl. 6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 with the bare soil model. 7. Have students pour the water & soil mixture from the sod model through a coffee filter into
a measuring cup. Repeat this process with the bare soil model. 8. Students should measure both the collected water and soil from each model and record the
results on their worksheet. Visit: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/soil/less_pln/exp_se/exp_se.htm for example of making erosion model.
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DIG IT! The Secrets of Soil - Advanced
Designed for ages 9-11
Booklet Objectives
Recognize that life is dependent upon soils
Appreciate the connection between nutrients in the food they consume and soils
Comprehend the factors and materials involved in soil formation
Determine the correlation between soils and man-made items used on a daily basis
Investigate the function of soil as a filter for wastewater
Suggest ways to protect and/or improve the soils in their neighborhood
Science Standards
Science as Inquiry
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry o Ask a question about objects, organisms and events in the environment o Communicate investigations and explanations
Physical Science
Properties of objects and materials o Objects have many observable properties o Objects are made of one or more materials
Properties and changes of properties in matter o Substances react chemically in characteristic ways to form new compounds
Position and motion of objects o Position of an object can be described o Position and motion of objects can be changed
Life Science
The characteristics of organisms o Organisms have needs (air, water, food, nutrients, light) to survive
Organisms and environment o All animals depend on plants, directly or indirectly, for food o All organisms cause change to the environment o Humans depend on natural and constructed environments
Earth and Space Science
Structure of the earth system o Soil consists of weathered rocks and decomposed organic matter
Properties of earth material o Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water and gases
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Science and Technology
Abilities of technological design o Identify a simple problem o Propose a solution
Understanding about science and technology o Science answers questions and explains the natural world
Distinguish between natural and man-made objects o Some objects occur in nature, others have been designed
Personal and Social Perspective
Personal health o Nutrition is essential to health
Characteristics and changes in populations o Factors affecting size of human populations
Types of resources o Things we get from our living and nonliving environment o Supply of resources is limited
Changes in environment o Environments affect survival and quality of life o Changes in environment may be natural or human induced
Science and technology in local challenges o New ideas and inventions may affect other people
Unifying Concepts and Processes
Systems, order and organization o Natural and designed world is complex—think in terms of systems
Evidence, models and explanations o Evidence consists of observations and data for explanations
Activity
Worms on the Job: Recycling Spoils into Soils!
Intent
Students will utilize red worms to compost waste products from their own homes and generate a rich nutrient filled humus. Students will then compare plant growth in soil with and without their compost additive.
Objectives
After completing this activity students will be able to:
Assess the benefits of reducing waste by composting.
Investigate the life cycles of red worms.
Compare the growth of plants in soil vs. compost enriched soil.
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Materials
For each group of 3 students Composter:
two 2-Liter bottles
large paper sack
15-20 red worms
handful of soil
scissors
marker
masking tape
vegetable and/or fruit scraps, fresh grass clippings
2-3 newspaper pages and/or dead leaves
Planter: 2 used containers (butter bowls, coffee containers, etc.) For each instructor:
1 large nail
1 large paper clip
candle or other heat source
bucket of water
Dialogue-Exchange
Discuss the following questions with students: What are some of the items you throw away each week and where does it go? (Organic/Non-Organic materials, Shrinking Landfill Space) What is composting? (Recycling organic waste materials/natural resource conservation) What role does soil play in our daily lives? (Human Health/Environmental Health, Renewable/Non-Renewable Resources, etc.) What affects can composting have on soil? (Returns nutrients to soil, improves soil texture, controls erosion, aids moisture retention/drainage)
“Putting the Worms to Work”
Divide students into groups of 3 and distribute materials and student worksheets.
After the students have composters assembled make air and drainage holes.
Air Holes: Straighten large paper clip. Heat one end in the flame of a candle or other heat source and make air holes throughout the composter by poking the hot end of the clip through the plastic. Make 20-25 holes in each composter.
Drainage Holes: Heat the pointed end of a large nail and poke 4-6 holes in the bottom area of the composter.
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Once compost has formed (2-3 weeks) have students place a thin layer of pebbles in each of their containers and plant seeds in plain soil collected locally and soil + compost.
Have students monitor and compare the growth of their plants in each soil.
Focus & Engage
1. Have each group of students share present their “Mini-Garden” to the class and share their observations.
2. Have students discuss: a. the environmental benefits of composting; b. ideas for composting on a larger scale at home and/or the school; c. strategies for increasing red worm production.
3. Contact your local Soil & Water Conservation District and/or Solid Waste Authority to speak to the class about composting and the need for keeping our soils healthy.
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TXT MSG FRM UNDR UR FT
Designed for ages 11 and up
Booklet Objectives
Acknowledge the dependence of humans on soils for survival
Comprehend that soil is made of several components
Recognize that extracting these components from soil for human use can be harmful to humans, animals and ecosystems
Understand the interaction between the Rock Cycle, Soil Formation and the Life Cycles of Plants and Animals
Examine the life cycles of the organisms that inhabit soils.
Perform an analysis of local soil
Value soil as a necessary and limited resource.
Science Standards
Science as Inquiry
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry o Use tools and techniques to gather, analyze and interpret data. o Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
Use mathematics as integral part of scientific inquiry.
Understanding about scientific inquiry o Scientific explanations emphasize evidence
Physical Science
Properties and changes of properties in matter o Substances have characteristics; density, size, solubility, etc.
Life Science
Structure and function in living systems o Living systems demonstrate structure and function at all levels—cells, organs, tissues,
organisms and ecosystems.
Regulation and behavior o Organisms must obtain and use resources.
Population and ecosystems o Populations in a given place and time and their interactions compose an ecosystem. o Organisms can be categorized by their function in the ecosystem—producers, consumers,
decomposers. o Carrying capacity ecosystem depends on resources available.
Earth and Space Science
Structure of the earth system o Changes in solid earth can be described as the “rock cycle”.
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o Soil consists of weathered rocks and decomposed organic matter. o Living organisms affect the atmosphere, rocks and weathering of rocks.
Personal and Social Perspective
Personal Health o Environmental health involves monitoring soil, water and air quality.
Populations, resources and environments o Causes of environmental degradation vary by region.
Natural hazards o Human activity causes accelerated natural changes.
Science and technology in society o Technology influences society through its products and processes.
Unifying Concepts and Processes
Evidence, models and explanations o Evidence consists of observations and data for explanations.
Activity
A Matter of Life and Death in the Soil
Intent
Students will use a microscope to investigate the world of “who eats who and who eats what” living in the soil beneath their feet. The ecosystem within a small soil sample will be investigated in terms of producers, consumers and decomposers.
Objectives
After completing this activity students will be able to:
Draw a food web.
Understand the role of producers, consumers and decomposers
Identify organisms living in a soil sample
Understand the effect of chemical additives on soil inhabitants
Materials
1 teaspoon of soil
small plastic container
water
dropper
microscope
microscope slide & cover slip
Dialogue-Exchange
Discuss the following questions with students:
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How many organisms do you think could live in a teaspoon of soil? (one teaspoon of soil contains more microbes than all the known kinds of plants on earth) What types of organisms live in the soil? (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, worms, insects, spiders, centipedes, mites, nematodes, plants, fungi, bacteria, microbes) Do soils breathe? (soils shelter and support millions of organisms that respire , most take in oxygen to do their “work”-eating, defecation and decomposition- and give off carbon dioxide, just as humans do) What do the microbes living in the soil eat? (Each other! Decomposers feed on the remains or waste products of other organisms, Consumers eat other organisms and Producers make their own food)
Investigation: Who’s Eating Who?
Divide students into groups of 3-5.
Distribute student worksheets and lab materials.
If possible, obtain soil samples from several locations such as; garden, worm bed or compost heap, yard, sports field, landfill, etc.
Focus & Engage
1. Have each group of students share their results and food webs with the class. 2. Have students discuss:
which organisms in their food webs are producers, consumers and decomposers.
how their food web would change if pesticides were overused. Herbicides?
how would their food web change if a new organism were introduced?
what would happen to their food web if there were no decomposers? Producers? Consumers?
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Student Worksheet Pg 9 activity
Where did the soil go? Sod Model Bare Soil Model
Amount of water collected.
Amount of soil collected.
Answer the following questions:
1. Which model had the most water run-off?
2. Which model had the most soil erosion?
3. Why did one model have more soil erosion than the other?
4. Why is soil erosion a problem?
5. Why do we need soils?
6. What are some ways you use soils every day? Extension: Invite students to bring in objects from home and relate the steps between soil and the object. Example: Leather shoes, boots or coat
1. Leather comes from cows 2. Cows eat grass in pastures 3. Grass depends on soil
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Worms on the Job: Recycling Spoils into Soils part 2 of activity pg 11
Build a Mini-Vermi-Composter
1. Remove the labels from the 2-Liter bottles. Rinse the bottles out if they are not clean. 2. Draw a line around Bottle # 1 four inches from the top with a marker. 3. Cut the top off of the bottle along the line (Adult supervision and instruction) 4. Draw a line around Bottle # 2 three inches from the bottom with a marker 5. Cut the bottom piece as a line for Bottle # 1. This is now your composter 6. Ask your instructor to make air holes and drainage holes in your composter 7. Cut a piece of the paper bag into a 16 inch by 12 inch square. Tape the edges together so
that it forms a cylinder that you can easily slide up and down over your composter 8. Tear sheets of the newspaper into very thin strips and or crumble your dry leaves into small
pieces. This is now your bedding. 9. Place the bedding into a bucket of water for a few seconds. Remove the bedding from the
water and fluff it so that all of the pieces are loose instead of clumped together. 10. Place the bedding into your computer so that it is 2/3 full and mix in a handful of soil. Make
sure it stays loose so that air can get into it. Gently place the red worms on top of the bedding. (Do not handle the worms only to place in composter as it will dry out their skin)
11. After worms have burrowed down into the bedding sprinkle very small pieces of food scraps and/or plant material on top of the bedding and place the lid on top of your composter.
12. Add food every 3 to four days as needed and sprinkle in water if the bedding becomes too dry.
Bottle #1
Cut top of bottle off 4 inches from the top.
Make air holes all over the bottle.
Make drainage holes around the base of the bottle. Bottle #2
Cut bottom of bottle off 3 inches from the bottom. Plant It! When most of the bedding has been consumed by the worms and your composter contains a rich, nutrient filled compost it is time to do some planting!
1. Place a thin layer of pebbles in the bottom of each of your containers. 2. Fill one container ¾ full of plain soil. Fill the second container with a mixture of soil and your
compost. 3. Plant seeds and watch what happens!
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Student Worksheet Page 13 Activity
Matters of Life & Death in the Soil
Place 1 teaspoon of soil in a small plastic cup.
Add 6 droppers full of water to the soil in the cup and mix well.
Use the dropper to place a single drop of the soil/water mixture on a slide.
Gently place a cover slip over the mixture.
Place the slide onto the microscope.
Begin with the lowest power of the microscope and draw a sketch of what you see. Slowly move the slide around and look carefully for any organisms. Some of the organisms may appear colorless, such as nematodes, and can be very tiny so examine the mixture slowly and carefully.
Increase the power and examine the slide once again. Sketch what you see.
Count the number of organisms on your slide. Each member of the group should count. Compare the numbers of each group member and determine an average.
Draw a food web for the ecosystem in your soil sample.
SKETCH OF WHAT YOU SEE: NUMBER OF ORGANISMS ON YOUR SLIDE: List each group members totals. Determine the average of the group. DRAW A FOOD WEB FOR THE ECOSYSTEM IN YOUR SOIL SAMPLE:
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SOILS—The Dig IT! Exhibit and making soils fun!
Article from NACD News & Views Summer 2008 Written by: Pat Megonigal is a Senior Scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), and the Principal Investigator of the SERC Biogeochemistry Laboratory. Members of the National Association of Conservation Districts know better than most people that our society does not place soils on the same lofty pedestal as air and water. There is no Federal law analogous to the Clean Water Act or the Clean Air Act that recognizes soils as a critical natural resource. There is clearly a gap between what soil scientists and the public understand about this largely hidden, but critical, resource. Dig It! The Secrets of Soils is the boldest attempt yet to introduce the general public to the amazing world under our feet. This new exhibition opened July 19th, 2008 at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. The National Museum alone attracts 7 million visitors a year. Those who visit the exhibition are certain to walk away with a vastly better appreciation of what soils are and why they are important. After closing at the Museum in January 2010, Dig It! will begin a 3-year national tour. The Smithsonian Institution (SI), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), and National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) invested significant resources to make the exhibition a reality. No group was more committed than SSSA, who worked with SI to secure donations, including a million dollar gift from The Fertilizer Institute’s Nutrients for Life Foundation. As a Smithsonian soil scientist and a member of SSSA, I am the Lead Scientist on an exhibition team composed mostly of professional exhibit developers, designers, and educators. Breaking through the antipathy that people normally associate with ‘dirt’ required the Museum’s exhibition team to develop novel approaches to teaching this ancient subject. For example, soil food webs are the topic of a CSI-style murder mystery, and the central role of soils in Earth’s element cycles is represented by an original piece of sculpture. Aside from making soils fun, our goal was to inform the public about our connections to soils at many different scales. We devoted space to the role of soils in global cycles such as carbon and water. Soils are a critical feature to consider in land use planning, which visitors can visualize in a scale model of an urban-rural landscape. People have their most intimate connection to soils in their backyard and the everyday objects they use, which we explore with a scale model of a typical house lot.
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DIG IT! soil education materials were developed by NACD based on an exhibition developed by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and sponsored by the Soil Science Society of
America and the Nutrients for Life Foundation. This version was prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under a license agreement with NACD.
I4771E/1/06.15
©NACD/FAO 2015
