Kenan Fellows
Sustainability: Learning for a Lifetime – Soil
Do great gardeners really have green thumbs—or just really great soil? Environmental scholars discover what makes Earth's soil and soil quality so important through research and experimentation. Learners also develop an understanding of...
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How Does Your Soil Stack Up?
Students examine the soil in their local area and create a soil profile. They record observations in the field and the classroom. They create their own display of the soil profile as well.
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Soil Type and Management
Students study the basics of soil science. They research and gather data through readings, videos, and performance of laboratory investigations. As a team they generate oral and written recommendations for the amendment of soil.
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Rooting Into the Soil: Examining the Relationship Between Plants, Soil, And Water
Students, in groups, conduct an experiment to compare how water moves through different soils. They discuss how different soils could have an impact on different plants.
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What is the Composition of Soil?
Students examine the different components that make up soil. Using data, they identify the components of soil in their local area and discover how scientists use the soil to see how it was formed. They also describe the soil forming...
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What's Happening Below The Surface?
High schoolers determine the soil composition of soil layers in their area. They collect soil samples, calculate the percentage soil water content, analyze data, and evaluate each site for future tree growth.
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Water Retention and Soil Variation in Local Ecosystems
Students identify the differences in local soil types and the relationship between soil size and water retention. They are introduced to microenvironmental conditions in ecosystem sustainability.
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Drought
Students gain knowledge about the impact of drought in agriculture. They investigate soil types, water flow, and various erosion conditions which occur during a drought and see how farming practices changed after the 1930's.
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Optional Laboratory: Soil Particle Size and Texture
Students work together to perform experiments on different types of soil. They record the soil's pH level, color and texture. They develop hypothesis' on what they believe they will discover before beginning the experiment.
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Water-Holding Capacity
Students design and conduct an experiment to compare the water-holding capacity of sand, soil, and moss. They measure the change in weight for each material after adding the same amount of water to each material.
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Sampling the Ocean Floor
Students sample goodies from an unseen ocean floor and try to accurately describe their composition. This simulation helps students explain the limitations of sampling and the problem of obtaining representative samples of sea floor...
NOAA
Mud is Mud...or is it?
We know that the type of soil varies by location, but does the seafloor sediment also vary, or is it all the same? Scholars compare photos of the seafloor from two different locations: the Savannah Scarp and the Charleston Bump. Through...
California Academy of Science
Discovering Rainforest Locations
How many rainforests are there, where are they, and do global factors effect their locations? These are great questions that have great answers. Children in grades four through eight use several different maps to determine why...
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Abiotic Factors
Learners identify a local plant community and make a variety of measurements. They measure abiotic factors such as taking soil samples and making measurements of weather conditions on the day of the study.
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"Tri-County" Project--Ground Water
Learners explore data on some of the landforms in Nebraska to distinguish between porous and nonpremeable soils. The state's groundwater is investigated.
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"Tri-County" Project--Ogallala Aquifer
Learners explore the Ogallala Aquifer in the state of Nebraska. The signs of pollution found are examined and the data classified.
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HABITAT for the other 90%
Learners examine the connection between the habitat needs of endemic species to the habitat needs of humans. In this habitat lesson students research the habitat requirements of a given family then develop an idea to improve the habitat...
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Nature's Recycling Program
Students identify what materials make up compost. In this science of recycling lesson, students explain the benefits of composting determine how compost is a good plant fertilizer.
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Where Do Birds Live? Cavity Nesters of the Watsonville Wetlands
Students compare and contrast primary and secondary cavity nesters. In this life science lesson, students explore the different types of nests that birds make. They play a team game to apply what they learned.
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Seeds of Wetland Life
Learners participate in several activities on seed exploration. For this biology lesson, students classify seeds according to their dispersal method. They explain the different adaptations plant have to disperse their seeds.
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Discovering the Wetlands!
Students name wetland plant and animal life. In this ecosystem instructional activity students go birdwatching and interpret native plants through art.
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Factors Affecting Plant Growth
High schoolers determine the physical and chemical factors that affect plant growth. In this biology lesson plan, students explain the role of hormones in plants. They investigate how competition with other plants affect their growth.
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Sounds of the Wetlands
Students identify the sounds of different bird calls. In this biology instructional activity, students create a sound map. They explain how this method is important in tracking wildlife.
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A Model Aquifer
Students build a model that depicts how water is stored in an aquifer. They examine ways in which groundwater can become contaminated.