The soil – plants’ natural habitat

LEARNING PATHWAY BASED ON SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS


The soil – plants’ natural habitat

Overall aims:

  • Exploring the role of soil for plants and human life;
  • Recognizing different types of soil in nature;
  • Exploring the layered structure of soil;
  • Investigating the features of soil;
  • Using soil for arts and crafts;

Intended learning outcomes:

The child will be able to:

  • Explain the role of soil for growing plants;
  • Name selected types of soil;
  • Investigate the qualities of soils such as: weight, moisture, texture, pH;
  • Observe the process of growing plants depending on soils type and quality – conduct longterm observation and make conclusions;
  • Construct simple water filter with elements of soil;
  • Design and build mini garden/ forest in glass jar;
  • Understand the process of soil degradation and possibilities to reverse it;

Evaluation:

Initial – Creating the mind-map: What do you know about the soil? What else would you like to know?

Ongoing – described in each resource

Final – 7R observation method

Pathway structure

Stage I – ecological pillar

Comparing different types of soil. Investigating the properties of soil, e.g. weight, smell, color, texture, moisture. Learning how to use the qualities of soil to purify the water – constructing the natural water filter. Learning about usefulness of soil in animal and human kingdom.

Stage II – ecological, economical and social pillars

Exploring the layered structure of the soil. Perceiving soil as a part of the Earth’s crust. Learning about soil structure: components and layers. Recognizing the possibilities to use soil layers in home environment – creating mini garden/ or forest in glass jars. Introducing the concept of soil fertility as a set of properties that provide the plants with the right conditions for vegetation.

Stage III – socio-cultural and ecological pillars

Learning about the process of soil degradation. Raising awareness of people’s cultural and linguistic diversity – the use of the earthworm theme in narrative and play activities with the use of modern technologies

Skip to content