SCIENCE LESSON PLAN

TEACHER: Neerja Yadav- Dulalchan

DATE: 25/02/16

CLASS: Form 5
TIME: 1 hour
PERIODS: 1
UNIT: Living organisms in the Environment
TOPIC: Comparing the water holding capacity of different types of soil.
REFERENCES (exclude class text, include page numbers).

CXC Biology- Linda Atwaroo- Ali

PRE-REQUISITES

Knowledge: - 1. Students should know:

1. How soil is formed.
2. The four main components of soil i.e. mineral matter, organic matter, soil air and soil water.

Skill:- students should know how to:

1. Work and communicate effectively in groups.
2. Measure volumes using a measuring cylinder.
3. Measure time using a stopwatch.

MATERIALS & RESOURCES

For Teacher

For each group

MMP, Laptop, PPP

Textbook, two beakers with balls of
different sizes,

3 funnels, 3 (100ml) measuring cylinders, 3

(50ml) measuring cylinders, 3 (40g) soil samples
A, B and C( sand, clay and loam), 3 (50ml)
beakers, 1 (250ml) beaker filled with water, 3
petri dishes with additional soil A, B and C, 1
1

(50ml) beaker with additional water, 3 filter

papers, stopwatch, activity sheet.

CONCEPT OR PRINCIPLE
The varying mineral content in soil is what determines its water holding capacity. If the mineral particles
are large then then spaces between them are large allowing water to pass freely however if particles are
small then water has a tendency to move into these narrow spaces and be retained. When land is being
used for agriculture, urban landscape, recreation, building sites or landfills it is important to understand
how water moves through and is held by different soils.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

Recognize that knowledge of the water holding
capacity of soil is important to life.

Classification
Cognitive(Remember)
Cognitive ( Apply)

Relate the structure of Sand, Clay and Loam to

their water holding capability.
Use their knowledge of the water holding capacity
of different soils to improve soils that are not
meeting crop requirements in agriculture.

Cognitive ( Apply)

PROCESS SKILLS

During this lesson, students will be engaged in:

Identifying / formulating a problem

Designing and Planning an experimental procedure

Setting-up and executing experimental work

Observing and measuring

Recording of data and observations

Interpreting and evaluating data and observations

Communicating scientific ideas, observations and arguments

Applying scientific ideas and methods to solve qualitative and quantitative problems

Decision-making based on examination of evidence and arguments

Extracting from available information data relevant to a particular situation

ACTIVITIES
Model: Constructivist model and Inquiry model
Strategies: 5 E, inductive learning, concept attainment, group work
Introduction: T= Teacher S= Student/s
Engagement:
T tells S that today they are Soil scientists and their help is needed for a very important project. The
Regional cooperation in Couva has decided to make a football field to encourage the youths of the area
to channel their energy into sports and to develop their natural talents in football. However, the Project
Manager, does not know what kind of soil to use for the field.
T shows a short video clip of a football game and asks S to pay special attention to the field to figure out
what kind of soil is needed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrcHliSEpu8
T asks S what they observed about the field, S reply grass was seen etc.
T asks S what they observed about the players on the field- S reply they run very fast while kicking the
ball.
T therefore ask S what kind of soil would the player need in order to play effectively.
S reply- dry soil so they do not fall, sturdy ground so they do not damage their ankles etc., soil that is
capable of growing grass on it (soil with nutrients).
T gives S three soil samples A, B and C and says that today S will be carrying out different
investigations on the samples. T also says that one sample is a clay soil, one is a sand soil and one is a
loam soil.
T asks students two questions: 1. Which of these samples A, B and C are sand, clay and loam?
2. Which of these soils is the most appropriate soil for the football field?
Exploration :
T asks S to observe the colour of the three samples.
T asks S to feel the texture of the three samples with and without a few drops of water ( when S adds a
few drops of water to the sample, T asks them to try to make a small ball, raise it a little and then drop it
to see if it retains its shape.)
T ask S to make predictions about the types of soil and their water holding capacity.
T shows S how to set up their apparatus to determine the water holding capacity of the soils. (folding of
filter paper, placement in funnel and placement of this in the measuring cylinder) and briefly describes
how to carry out procedure.( Place 40g of each soil into the funnels lined with filter paper, slowly and
simultaneously pour 40ml of water into each of the soil samples A, B and C and time for ten minutes.
Note the volume of water added and collected and calculate the volume retained by the soil)
S record their results in a table and come up with possible explanations for their findings.

Explanation
T asks S about their predictions based colour and texture.
S should say that the sample that felt most gritty, didnt form a ball was sand and will not retain much
water. The clay and loam should from balls but the clay should form a tighter ball.
T explains that colour and texture can tell someone a lot about a soil.
T asks S what they think colour can represent in soil? T explains that this means soil contains chemical
compounds for e.g. Red soil colour may mean that soil contains iron oxide. Sand may tend to lose its
colour as nutrients can be easily washed away (leaching). Loam is dark brown because of the humus
Dead organic matter)
T asks S what they think texture can tell someone about a soil?
T explains that texture can tell someone how sandy or clayey the soil is. A sandy soil would not form the
ball because spaces between particles are too big so moisture is not retained.(think about walking on
sand at the beach)
T ask students to look at the results from water holding capacity experiment and compare to their
predictions. Were they right?
T asks student the reasons why they think the different samples might be sand, clay or loam.
T asks S why would the least amount of water was retained by sand. What does this say about the
particle size and air spaces?
T explains using beaker with ping pong balls to represent the particles of sand.
T asks S why the most water was retained by clay and uses a beaker with small beads to represent clay
particles.
T explains capillarity and says that clay particles have a slight electrical charge and so mineral ions like
potassium and calcium tend to be attracted to the clay particles which prevents them from being washed
away or leached away.
T ask S what loam is.
S say that it is a mixture of different soils, like sand and clay.
T explains that these have about 50% sand, 30% clay, 12% humus and 8% lime and so has good water
retention and good nutrient holding from clay, good drainage and aeration for soil organisms from sand,
key nutrients from humus. Lime is calcium hydroxide which causes particles to clump together thus
improving aeration and drainage in soil.
T asks S what soil they would choose for the football field.
S say loam because it has sand and lime for good drainage, it is firm, can hold on to moisture for grass
growth and clay allows nutrients to be held in for grass to grow.
T asks S why not sand- S say this soil would be dry but would not provide sturdy footing for players
T asks S why not clay- S say this soil would become easily waterlogged when it rains, also when clay
becomes dry after being wet, it becomes hard and can crack.( teacher shows students dry clay)
Elaboration
T puts up a picture and poses a problem to students:
Farmer Paul can no longer afford to buy rice, (Oryza sativa), to feed his family and so has decided to
plant his own. He knows that rice usually grows in flooded fields and so he floods his field with water
and plants the rice. On returning to his field two days later, he is surprised to see that the water in his
field has dried up. What advice would you give to farmer Paul so that his rice can grow in the same
area?
S can suggest that clay be added to the soil in his field to improve the water holding capacity.

Consolidation:
Evaluation
Students fill out their activity sheet.
Student self-assessment
- Students are asked in their groups to come up with two questions based on the lesson for the other
groups to answer.
T recaps the main points of the lesson.

TEACHERS REFLECTION
This was in my opinion, my best lesson so far. I was finally able to carry out a successful 5E lesson. The
students were engaged from the beginning and enjoyed the video and soil activities. They were excited
to figure out which soil type was which. Perhaps in hindsight, I could have made the lesson more
challenging and also allow them make their own soil mixture. Never the less, I felt accomplished after
the lesson because I knew that the students had indeed learned in class by constructing their own
knowledge.
TUTORS COMMENTS
Neerja Yadav- Dulalchan
25/2/206
Soil retention
This lesson was well organized and had a smooth flow from beginning to end. A good attempt to contextualize
the problem by asking the girls to take on the role of soil scientists in an authentic problem of finding the best
types of soil for a football field.
A good attempt to deepen students observation and connections between soil type and football field
requirements. You thought about your girls interest and provided a video (Football) and scenario which clearly
interested them. The students had a good prior sense of the outcome of the experiment. They may have read it
before, or met it in extra classes and this activity is actually done at primary school. To create more challenge
and less predictable outcomes students could have been given soil mixes, and also could be asked to come up
with their own method for experimentation. While the class varies in ability, overall they are quite capable
students and it seems to me they would welcome the challenge. This was observed in the questions they
developed for testing each other. Students did not just develop recall questions, but actually developed
questions which asked for application of knowledge.
A very good job of helping students to observe the soil characteristics and scaffold their knowledge of soil
characteristics and retention. A rich use of applied examples, and the activity was well organized and managed.

ACTIVITY SHEET
SOIL
1. Observe the three soil samples and complete the table below.
Soil Sample

Colour

Texture

Predictions about the type of soil and

experiment

A
B
C

2. Complete the table below comparing the water holding capacities of three types of soil.
Soil Sample

Volume of water
Added/ ml

Volume of water
collected/ ml

Volume of water
retained/ ml

A is
__________

B is
__________

C is
___________

3. Fill in the blanks using the results obtained in the experiment

(i)

Which soil is most suitable for a football field: __________________

Reason: ______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

(ii)

___________ retains the most water because it is made up of very____________

particles which are _____________ ______________ leaving very __________
spaces between them. Water tends to move into these __________ spaces by an
action called ________________.

(iii)

_____________ retains the least water because it is made up of very ___________

particles which are not ____________ _____________ leaving very ___________
spaces between them. Therefore water tends to drain through these _____________

(iv)

spaces.
___________ retains more water than ____________ but less water than ________. It
is referred to as an ________ _________ and is a mixture of 50% _________, 30%
____________, 12% ___________ and 8% ___________.

4. Farmer Paul can no longer afford to buy rice, (Oryza sativa), to feed his family and so has
decided to plant his own. He knows that rice usually grows in flooded fields and so he
floods his field with water and plants the rice. On returning to his field two days later, he
is surprised to see that the water in his field has dried up. What advice would you give to
Farmer Paul so that his rice can grow in the same area?
(a) Advice: _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
(b) Explain, giving two reasons, to Farmer Paul why this soil is the right soil for the
cultivation of rice:
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________