Unit Title: Soil and Rocks
ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SCIENCE UNIT GUIDE
GRADE: Kindergarten
Time Frame: ongoing
Domain
Earth Science
Earth System Science: The Earth operates as a set of complex and
dynamic interconnected systems, and is a part of the all encompassing
system of the Universe. 5.4
Properties of Earth Materials: Earth’s composition is unique, is related to
the origin of our solar system, and provides us with the raw resources
needed to sustain life. (5.4) C.
Energy in Earth Systems: Internal and external sources of energy drive
Earth Systems. (5.4) E.
21st Century Theme
Financial, Economic, Business, and Entrepreneurial Literacy
Enduring Understandings:
The soil is made from rocks. Different soil is made from different kinds of
rock.
Essential Questions/Hook Questions:
What can soil and rock tell us about where we live?
How does sunlight help us live?
Why are soil, sunlight, and water so important to our lives?
Cluster and Standard:
Earth Science
Explore and describe characteristics of an concepts about soil, rocks, water, and air.
Explore the effects of sunlight on living and nonliving things.
Unit Learning Targets:
The student will be able to….
Investigate different kinds of soil, noting color, size of particles.
compare
Depending on the particles, how will the soil change? Investigate how
evaporate
different soils look when they are dry and wet
predict
Investigate the effect of “fanning” a thin film of water on a table; on a
rocks
layer of dry soil; on a layer of sand. Discuss “where did the water go?”
Predict and explain: why does one surface absorb the water and another
does not? How does sand differ from soil when growing plants? When
digging?
Predict the effect of sunlight (or a sun lamp) on a potted plant
Explain why soil looks different in different places
Vocabulary:
sand
soil
water
Suggested Activities:
Including Differentiated Strategies (DI)
Take a walk outside the school to observe the soil around the school.
Does it look the same every where you go? (Practice observation
skills)Provide a checklist of what they might identify through their
observations
Compare and contrast the soil found outside the school to sand.
Pour a small amount of water on a walkway outside the school. Draw a
chalk circle around the puddle. (A windy day would be great for this!)
After your walk, observe the size of the puddle. ( Ask: Where did the water
go?)
Differentiated Activities:
Draw pictures of different places that they have gone (i.e grandma's
house, the shore, the park. How does the soil make this place "different"
from home?
Take a class walk to discuss different parts of the school grounds. Where
would it be best to grow plants? Why?
Optional Activities:
Ask the children to bring in a baggie with a handful of soil from home.
Combine all their soil to grow a plant from seed in the classroom. Then,
give the plant as a gift to Mom or Dad for Mother’s / Father’s Day.
Centers:
How is it Different? (materials: different samples of soil i.e. sand, potting
soil, top soil, clay in jars, paper and pencils) Have students work in pairs
and write what is different about each sample of soil. Have them predict
where did it come from? Why do they think this?
Will it Grow? (materials: different samples of soil, different types of seeds,
planting pots,) Using different types of soil, plant seeds.Have students
graph the growth of seeds each day. Why did one seed grow and the other
did not? Make predictions
Which Rock is Which? (materials: rock display, pencil and paper, various
objects) Have students work in pairs. Using the different rocks to complete
a worksheet to answer which rocks will scratch the objects, which rocks are
the hardest and which rock is a certain color?
Resource Materials
Discovery Education – www.discoveryeducation.com
Interactive websites
Science Songs and Sounds CD
National Science Digital Library, Science Digital Literacy Maps
The Physical Setting: Changes in the Earth's Surface
Assessments
Formative Assessments:
1. Entrance Slip Ask students to share: How do soil and sunlight help us?
2. List Have students list the way soil helps us
3. Exit Slip Draw something that grows in soil
4. Plant one seed in soils and one seed in sand. Ask the students to predict
which plant will grow taller. Discuss reasons for their predictions. Mark the
height of each plant on a chart to ‘test’ their predictions
5. Identify two ways that soil and rocks are different
6. Think-Pair-Share Name three things needed for healthy plants to grow?
http://strandmaps.nsdl.org/?id=SMS-MAP-0048
National Science Digital Library, Science Refreshers
http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=404192
Scholastic Weekly Reader Lets Find Out
http://letsfindout.scholastic.com/
Technology Integration
http://strandmaps.nsdl.org/?id=SMS-MAP-0048
http://www.globe.gov/tctg/backyard.pdf?sectionId=104
http://www.globe.gov/do-globe/for-students/games
http://nsdl.org/refreshers/science/
Related Literature
Science and Children’s Literature:
https://www.msu.edu/~stanawa8/Science%20and%20Children's%20Literature.htm