Ohio Resource Center
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Lessons
Underground Adventure
Discipline
Science
Grades
3, 4
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Professional Commentary

The activities in Underground Adventure guide students through an outdoor field study of soil life and some of the variables that affect soil biodiversity. Through these activities, students will gain experience in scientific skills such as hypothesis, observation, and inference. When done together as a unit of study, the activities are designed to help students answer this research question: What is the relationship between the soil's physical properties, environmental and human factors, and soil biodiversity? However, each activity is written as a stand-alone lesson so that you can focus your study of soil biodiversity on one or more variables as best fits your time and your students' needs. Simply tailor the research question to reflect the activities you will do or choose activities that will help answer research questions posed by students. In addition, this set of activities can serve as a model after which students can design their own inquiry to study a research question that interests them.(author/ts)


Next Generation Science Standards (2012)
Scientific and Engineering Practices
 
Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
 
Planning and carrying out investigations
 
Analyzing and interpreting data
 
Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
 
Engaging in argument from evidence
 
Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Ohio Science Academic Content Standards (2010)
Science Inquiry and Application
Grade 3
Earth and Space Science
Earth’s Resources
1. 
Earth’s nonliving resources have specific properties.
Grade 4
Life Science
Earth’s Living History
1. 
Changes in an organism’s environment are sometimes beneficial to its survival and sometimes harmful.
Ohio Science Academic Content Standards (2002)
Earth and Space Sciences
Benchmarks (3–5)
C.
Describe Earth's resources including rocks, soil, water, air, animals and plants and the ways in which they can be conserved.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 3)
4.
Observe and describe the composition of soil (e.g., small pieces of rock and decomposed pieces of plants and animals, and products of plants and animals).
5.
Investigate the properties of soil (e.g., color, texture, capacity to retain water, ability to support plant growth).
6.
Investigate that soils are often found in layers and can be different from place to place.
Scientific Inquiry
Benchmarks (3–5)
B.
Organize and evaluate observations, measurements and other data to formulate inferences and conclusions.
C.
Develop, design and safely conduct scientific investigations and communicate the results.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 3)
5.
Record and organize observations (e.g., journals, charts, tables).
6.
Communicate scientific findings to others through a variety of methods (e.g., pictures, written, oral and recorded observations).
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 5)
3.
Use evidence and observations to explain and communicate the results of investigations.
National Science Education Standards
Science as Inquiry
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry (Grades Kindergarten - 4)
Earth and Space Science
Properties of earth materials (Grades Kindergarten - 4)