Leadership Team Partner Schools Collaborating Organizations Goal and Objectives
 
Teaching Resources
Web Resources
 
Needs Workshop
Annual Workshop 2006
Annual Workshop 2007
Curriculum Workshop 2007
Annual Workshop 2008
Reports and Presentations
 

 

 

Soil Study

Goals/Outcomes

  1. Describe the Lakota view of the land after observing a clip from the DVD "The Land and the People are One."
  2. Collect soil samples for chemical testing.
  3. Collect soil samples and test for physical properties such as temperature, porosity, permeability, and texture.
  4. Determine the rate of heat absorption of different soil types.
  5. Sort and classify soil organisms.

Teacher Preparation/Equipment Needed

  1. Identify and flag soil study sites
  2. Preview the DVD and prepare discussion questions on the segment viewed
  3. Soil chemical test kit (I use LaMottes prepackaged kits)
  4. Soil sampler (I use 2” PVC pipe cut into 15” lengths and a rubber mallet to pound pipe pieces into the ground to collect cores for study)
  5. Microscope
  6. Soil texture key (you can have students go to the website or print copies for field use)
  7. Soil organisms keys—keys to common invertebrates, insects, arthropods, annelids are good resources

Activities

  1. View the “Past” segment from the DVD “The Land and the People are One.”
    • What is the Lakota philosophy of the land?
    • How does that philosophy help us understand the prairie dog issue?
  2. Complete the Soil Ecology: Field Collection and Observation Activities” NOTE: Soil collection sites included grazed land, cultivated land native prairie, wetland and prairie dog town.
  3. Debrief the lab by comparing findings of each group.
    • What soil characteristics varied among the sites?
    • What soil characteristics seemed to be about the same at all sites?
    • What are some ideas you have that might explain the findings?
    • How could we test those ideas?
  4. Complete the “Soil Moisture Lab”. See link below.
  5. Debrief the lab activity.
    • Compare your finding to what you predicted.
    • How do you explain the temperature differences obtained in the experiment?
    • What pattern did you detect in the temperatures obtained with the infrared “gun”?
  6. If time permits, students can conduct field studies to test one or more of hypotheses proposed during debriefing the “Soil Ecology” lab. The students would complete a formal lab report for this study.

Assessment

The assessments for this activity include:

  • Complete field notes
  • Discussion of field observations to included conclusions supported by the field note
  • Connection of soil study to Lakota philosophy of the land and to the prairie dog issue
  • Formal lab report of the optional field study