3rd Grade Plants Unit Blueprint
Activity 3: Comparing Soil Samples
Home | Plants Home | Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4 | Lesson 5 | Lesson 6 | Lesson 7 | Lesson 8 | Lesson 9 | Lesson 10 | Lesson 11 | Lesson 12 | Activity 1 | Activity 2 | Activity 3 | Activity 4 | Activity 5 | Activity 6 | Lesson 13 (Skip) | Lesson 14 (Skip) | Lesson 15 (Skip) | Lesson 16
Delta Science Module: Soil Science

Pacing Suggestions:

Day 1—Session 1 on pages 29-32 in Teacher's Guide
Day 2—Session 2 on pages 33 & 34 in Teacher's Guide
Essential & Unit Questions 1 Benchmarks 2 Assessments 3 Using Assessments to Monitor Student Learning
What makes up soil? Where do the parts come from? 4C(3-5)#2: Rock is composed of different combinations of minerals. Smaller rocks come from the breakage and weathering of bedrock and larger rocks. Soil is made partly from weathered rock, partly from plant remains—and also contains many living organisms.

12D(3-5)#2: Make sketches to aid in [describing observations and] explaining procedures or ideas.

 Activity Sheet 3, Part A

Activity Sheet 3, Part B (Sketches should illustrate soil is made of many substances, such as weathered rock and plant remains.)

Class discussion of activity (See step 4 Guiding the Activity on page 34 in the Teacher's Guide.)

Click to view a sample picture of soil tubes.

 Activity Sheet 3, Part A
  • Do students' predictions indicate they know soil is made up of many different sized pieces of broken rock and plant remains?=
  • Does the drawing contain labels?
  • Is the drawing clear enough that it can be used later to compare with Part B?
Activity Sheet 3, Part B
  • Does the drawing contain labels?
  • Does the drawing contain most of the details of each layer so that the different layers are clearly represented in the drawing?
Is the drawing clear enough that it would be understandable weeks and/or months later?

Class Discussion:

  • Do students recognize that soils differ based on the size/amount of broken rocks and the types of plant remains?
Home | Plants Home | Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4 | Lesson 5 | Lesson 6 | Lesson 7 | Lesson 8 | Lesson 9 | Lesson 10 | Lesson 11 | Lesson 12 | Activity 1 | Activity 2 | Activity 3 | Activity 4 | Activity 5 | Activity 6 | Lesson 13 (Skip) | Lesson 14 (Skip) | Lesson 15 (Skip) | Lesson 16
1. For conceptual benchmarks.
2. Bolded sections indicate portion of benchmark addressed
3. Unless noted as a Summative Assessment, the assessments are formative and should be used to guide teaching and learning.

Copyright © 2005 by Northbrook School District 27. All rights reserved.