"Soils" Ivestigations at the Cove River 

Lesson Plans created by  -Amy Martin -  for EVE 546 Spring 2009

 
Overview: Soils, the thin layer called the pedosphere on top of most of the Earth’s land surfaces is one of our most important natural resources. Every part of the ecosystem depends critically on soils. Through soil, water is filtered and impurities are removed. The food we eat, the clothes we wear and many building materials all grow from the soil and depend on its conditions. Soil affects the entire ecosystem. The following unit serves as a tool for students in grades 6-8 to explore soil and the factors affecting it. The unit can be completed in and around school grounds, or classes can visit a field site. We have chosen the Cove River Property located in West Haven, CT for students to complete the field work portion of this unit.

Objectives: Students will...

• Explore soil and soil properties

• Develop an understanding of how water flows through soils and how the water changes as it travels.

• Understand that variations in the landscape can affect soil properties.

• Develop an understanding of changes in soil temperature above and below ground level.

• Observe the settling process.

• Record Stratification of different soils in water.

• Identify types of soils or give a description of each.

Key Concepts: Sampling soil, Classifying soil, Water flows through soil, Soil holds water, Soil properties affect flow rate, Water holding capacity , Earth is a good insulator, Understanding the settling process, Making local connections
Subjects:Ecology, Earth Science, Math
Duration: 1-2 weeks with return visits to site
Setting: Any Classroom or Science Lab
Season:Any Season
Interdisciplinary Connections Frameworks: See Standards Matrix

 

Individual Lesson Titles:

	1. "Soil Out My Backdoor
	2. Seeping Through Soils
	3. Digging Around
	4. What's the Temp?
	5. Totally Tubular Soil Stratification
	6. Getting Wormy
	- Resources

Click here for a PDF version of this unit plan  - 

Click here for a PDF version of the Standards Matrix -

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Matrix of Lesson Standards

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Other EE lessons that would engage learners in a variety of inquiry activities including the following: 

• Cove River Historical Site - Creating a Historical Timeline
• Navigating the Landscape - Geocaching
• People and Cultures - Natie American Site Introduction - Approaching the land with reverence - smudging.
• Soils
• Native Flora - plants of the region and habitats of coastal CT
• Native Fauna - animals of the region - birds
• Invasite and non-Native sepcies - invasive plants
• All about Insects
• Native and Colonial Agriculture
• Water and its uses - water quality

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Environmental Science Education @ Cove River

Other Environmental Science  activities conducted at the Cove River Site include SCSU Graduate and Undergraduate as well as local West Haven High School Environmental Science students using the GLOBE Program field observation strategies to gather information and data. These field investigations follow an Earth Systems Science approach. For each of 4 earth "spheres" - Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere and Atmosphere - field data are collected for analysis and sharing with the broader GLOBE Program community, which includes students from over 110 different countries.

SCSU Science Educaton & Environmental Studies - Cove River Historical Site GLOBE Investigations... coming soon!

• Geoshere investigations
• Hydrosphere investigations
• Biosphere investigations
• Atmosphere investigations
• other investigations

Mr. Kevin Dickson's Environmental Science and Ecology Classes - West Haven High School... coming soon!

Student Investigations: Zizi Yu's Hydrology Investigations..... coming soon!

 

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The Archaeological education activities occuring at the Cove River Site have been directed by local experts in partnership with researchers from the Yale Peabody Museum. A separate section ofthis website is devoted to educational material, lessons and activities connected to the history of human habitation and the story of native american life ways at the site.

• Cove River Site Archaeology
• Local Native American life ways in coastal Connecticut

No Child Left Inside!

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