Have Humans Changed the Soil?

Summary

Students will research a question concerning the use of soil during the time of George Washington Carver or the Dust Bowl.

Materials

• computers
• posterboard
• student sheet (attached)
• rubric (attached)

Background for Teachers

These are specific examples of how humans have changed the capacity of an environment to support specific life forms (Utah State Core 0203 Indicator a.)

Instructional Procedures

1. Do a "Brain Drain" with students concerning the Dust Bowl and/or George W. Carver. Ask them to work in groups and write down everything they know about the topic. Summarize their answers on the board.
2. Ask the students to choose which topic is more interesting to them and give them a copy of the student sheet (attached) to begin.
3. Provide two days for students to do their research/project development. They can work in pairs if you wish.
4. One the third day, ask students to share their work in a group of 4-6 students. They should select from this group one or two projects to share with the class. Provide rubrics (attached) for the students to evaluate their own projects.

Assessment Plan

Students will use the 6 Traits rubric attached.

Bibliography

Lesson Design by Jordan School District Teachers and Staff.