SOIL AS A NATURAL RESOURCE
SOL: 4.8
Objectives: Students will investigate and understand important Virginia Natural Resources. Key concepts include soil and land.
Anticipatory Set with Direct Instruction:Students will be asked "Where does soil come from?"
Then they will conduct the following experiment. Rocks are placed in a clean, clear peanut butter jar. (Plastic is best.) Next, jar is gently shaken. (Loose dirt and bits of rock will appear.) Ask students if this looks like soil? (They will say the dirt does look like soil.) Add a small amount of water to the jar, (this simulates erosion of rocks due to precipitation or lakes and streams) shake gently again. Ask students to observe the changes in the water. (The water will be cloudy.) Explain to the students that soil comes from breaking up of rocks.
Independent Practice: Have students write about what they learned. Ask them to find a "fascinating fact" about soil. They may look in the encyclopedia, on the internet, or in their Science book. (Accept any reasonable facts.)
WEATHERPERSON FORECAST
I always conclude my "Weather" Unit with the students writing a weather forecast for Virginia. They must use weather words that we have learned in the unit, and also be able to forecast weather for Virginia's regions. (example: Tidewater region, and Appalachian Plateau region and others.)
This combines Science and Social Studies SOL's.
After all forecasts have been written, we have a Be A Weatherperson For A Day. Each student comes dressed as a Weatherforecaster, and we video tape each student giving their forecast. (Most students predict snow in all regions.) Later, we play the tape and see who has predicted snow on the right day. :)
