Green Kids Lesson on Soil, Plants, Animals and the Desert Discussion:

This week and next, we are going to be looking at some of the different objects and creatures which we find on our beautiful green, planet. Can you think of any things which we can identify if we walk around outside? What about these... Soil, plants, and animals! There is so much to learn about each of these, why dont we start off with a few simple facts as we begin our journey on learning about planet Earth. SOIL there are three main types of soil that we can find on planet earth: sand, silt and clay. Most soils are made up of a combination of sand, silt and clay. The texture of the soil, how it feels and looks, changes with the amount of each one in that specific soil. The types of soil always change from place to place around the earth and can even be different in different parts of our gardens at home. Can anyone think of one really special type of place on earth where we find lots and lots of soil?! A desert! There are dusty, stormy and sandy deserts. Some are even cold. Many deserts have water deep under the ground. Farmers who farm in the desert make use of boreholes in the ground in order to water their crops. This water comes from underground rivers. Once all this water has been used up, it could take months or even years for the water to form again. When the wind blows in the desert, it shifts sand. Sometimes the wind can uncover pyramids or tombs and other special things. But this doesn't happen every day. Sandstorms are strong winds that swirl around in circles at astonishing speeds, injuring or even killing people. A sandstorm can shift entire sand dunes. They can grow to one and a half kilometres high, destroying houses, buildings and farmland. This doesnt sound like a very nice place to live in does it? What do you think are two things that especially wouldnt like to live in a desert...Animals and plants! ANIMALS - Im sure everybody knows that we have many different types of animals on our earth too! Why dont we try naming them...Thats right! We get mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish and insects! Lets talk a bit about each different type... MAMMALS share a number of important characteristics that make them different from other
creatures. They spend much more time raising and training their young than other animals do. Almost all mammals give birth to live young, rather than laying eggs, as birds do. Female mammals are the only creatures on earth that make milk for their young. The milk is rich in vitamins, minerals, and all the other nutrients a young animal needs. This species is warm-blooded.

REPTILES are cold-blooded, which is why they warm themselves in the sun, and

have bodies covered in dry, horny scales. Some reptiles lay eggs; others give birth to live young. Today there are 6,800 reptile species on earth; the major groups are alligators and crocodiles, turtles, lizards, and snakes.

AMPHIBIANS, like birds, reptiles, mammals, and fishes, are vertebrates. That is, creatures with a backbone and an internal skeleton. Amphibians live part of their life in water and part on land. Even those species that lay eggs on land start life in a fluid-filled egg, breathing through gills. BIRDS are warm-blooded creatures, like mammals, but they lay eggs, like most reptiles. All birds have feathers and wings, and most birds are able to fly. Birds are amazingly varied in their shapes, sizes, colours, and behaviour patterns. There are more than 9,000 different species of birds in the world. FISH come in an amazing variety of shapes and colours too, but they all have three important things in common: All fish live in water, have fins, and use gills to get oxygen from the water. We have also included a few sea creatures - some jellyfish and octopods - in this category. INSECTS and their relatives, including spiders and scorpions, belong to a huge group of animals called the arthropods. The main thing that all arthropods have in common is their hard outer coat, which is called an exoskeleton and protects their soft insides. The bodies of arthropods are divided into sections. Can anyone guess what types of animal category a human being falls into? Think carefully now! What about plants? We dont have much time, but lets take a quick look anyway... PLANTS are just like humans and animals! We know this because all living things do certain things. They: They grow and die They need energy, nutrients, air, and water They produce young They are made up of cells They react to what's around them

Plants are also very important to earth because they: Make food Make oxygen Provide habitats for animals Help make and preserve soil Provide useful products for people Beautify

Activity:
Take children outside and allow them to collect different types of soil and empty them into a litter box or something similar which can be used for a live demonstration later. Also allow children to choose various objects (trees, plants, animals etc) and insert them into the box to make a wildlife/nature scene.

Circle Time:
Use the nature box created during activity time and encourage children to feel, smell, pick up and play with each object in the soil, including the soil itself.

Enrichment Activity:
Allow more advanced learners to sift through the toy figures and group together all the different types of animals, plants etc based on the knowledge acquired in discussion time. Test learners to see whether they are able to name each animal etc correctly.

Lesson Duration:
Approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Exact Resources and Materials Needed:

Small animal, tree, plant figurines (plastic toy models) These can be bought in packets at any toy shop (Crazy Store is the cheapest!) Be sure that they are big enough to not be a choking hazard for smaller children!

An environment which offers a variety of soils or outside (If this is not possible, try to obtain different types of soils beforehand and bring them along for the children to play with) A litter box or something similar to create a hands-on play area for children to receive exposure to a life-like nature exposition/environment Mild hygienic hand soap and water for children to wash hands after activity and circle time

Anticipatory Set:
Sand, silt, and clay are the basic types of soil. Most soils are made up of a combination of the three. The texture of the soil, how it looks and feels, depends upon the amount of each one in that particular soil. The type of soil varies from place to place on our planet and can even vary from one place to another in your own backyard. Deserts can be dusty, stormy and/or sandy. Some are even cold. One desert in New Zealand, the Rangipo Desert, isn't really a desert. The terrain is barren like a desert. This is where New Zealand's only wild horses live. There is a road called the Desert Road.

Many deserts have water deep under the ground. Farmers, who farm in the desert, bore holes through the ground in order to water their crops. This water comes from underground rivers. Desert cities such as Las Vegas, use millions of litres of this water every day. Once they use up all the water, it could take months or even years for the water to form again. When the wind blows in the desert, it shifts sand. Sometimes the wind can uncover pyramids or tombs and other special things. But this doesn't happen every day. Sandstorms are strong winds that swirl around in circles at astonishing speeds, injuring or even killing people. A sandstorm can shift entire sand dunes. They can grow to one and a half kilometres high, destroying houses, buildings and farmland. All mammals, from bats to whales, share a number of important traits that make them different from other creatures. For one thing, mammals spend much more time raising and training their young, than other animals do. Almost all mammals give birth to live young, rather than laying eggs as birds do. Female mammals are on the only creatures on earth that make milk for their young. The milk is rich in vitamins and minerals and all the other nutrients a young animals needs. Like birds, reptiles, mammals, and fish, amphibians are vertebrates - that is, creatures with a backbone and an internal skeleton. Amphibians live part of their life in water and part on land. Even those species that lay eggs on land start life in a fluid-filled egg, breathing through gills. Fish come in an amazing variety of shapes and colours, but they all have three important things in common: All fish live in water, have fins, and use gills to get oxygen from the water. We have also included a few sea creatures - some jellyfish and octopods - in this category. Insects and their relatives, including spiders and scorpions, belong to a huge group of animals called the arthropods. The main thing that all arthropods have in common is their hard outer coat, which is called an exoskeleton and protects their soft insides. The bodies of arthropods are divided into sections. Today there are 6,800 reptile species on earth; the major groups are alligators and crocodiles, turtles, lizards, and snakes. All reptiles are coldblooded, which is why they warm themselves in the sun, and have bodies covered in dry, horny scales. Some reptiles lay eggs; others give birth to live young. Birds are warm-blooded creatures, like mammals, but they lay eggs, like most reptiles. All birds have feathers and wings, and most birds are able to fly. Birds are amazingly varied in their shapes, sizes, colours, and behaviour patterns. There are more than 9,000 different species of birds in the world. Plants are alive, just like people and animals. How do we know this? Living things all do certain things: o They grow and die o They need energy, nutrients, air, and water o They produce young o They are made up of cells o They react to what's around them Plants help the environment in many different ways: o Plants make food

(Plants are the only organisms that can convert light energy from the sun into food. And plants produce ALL of the food that animals,

including people, eat. The animals that give us meat, such as chickens and cows, eat grass, oats, corn, or other plants).
Plants make oxygen (One of the materials that plants produce as they make food is oxygen gas. This oxygen gas, which is an important part of the air, is the gas that plants and animals must have in order to stay alive. When people breathe, it is the oxygen that we take out of the air to keep our cells and bodies alive. All of the oxygen available for living organisms comes from plants.) Plants provide habitats for animals (Plants are the primary habitat for thousands of other organisms. Animals live in, on, or under plants. Plants provide shelter and safety for animals. Plants also provide a place for animals to find other food. As a habitat, plants alter the climate. On a small scale, plants provide shade, help moderate the temperature, and protect animals from the wind. On a larger scale, such as in tropical rainforests, plants actually change the rainfall patterns over large areas of the earth's surface). Plants help make and preserve soil (In the forest and the prairie, the roots of plants help hold the soil together. This reduces erosion and helps conserve the soil. Plants also help make soil. Soil is made up of lots of particles of rocks which are broken down into very small pieces. When plants die, their decomposed remains are added to the soil. This helps to make the soil rich with nutrients). Plants provide useful products for people (Many plants are important sources of products that people use, including food, fibres (for cloth), and medicines. Plants also help provide some of our energy needs. In some parts of the world, wood is the primary fuel used by people to cook their meals and heat their homes. Many of the other types of fuel we use today, such as coal, natural gas, and gasoline, were made from plants that lived millions of years ago). Plants beautify (Plants, because of their beauty, are important elements of the human world. When we build houses and other buildings, we never think the job is done until we have planted trees, shrubs, and flowers to make what we have built much nicer).

Lesson Outcomes:
Learners will: Be able to identify three different types of soil and comment of why soil feels and looks a certain way in different areas. Will be able to identify and explain the basic features of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish and insects. Be able to talk about the common elements of living organisms. Be able to discuss why plants are so important. Have a basic understanding of what a desert is and describe certain desert phenomena.

Critical and Developmental Outcomes:

(According to the RNCS Learning Outcomes for Life Skills in the Foundation Phase)

Apply critical and creative thinking skills and organise and manage oneself and ones activities responsibly. Use science and technology effectively and critically while showing responsibility for the environment and the health of others.

Become culturally and aesthetically sensitive across a range of social contexts. Be aware of ones rights and responsibilities, and the causes and impacts of problems that may affect ones health and safety.

Develop an understanding of the world as a set of related systems.

Develop ones fine and gross motor skills to fill ones potential so that one is able to organise and manage oneself and ones activities responsibly.

Assessment Method:
According to the Revised National Curriculum Statement (2005), criterion-based assessment ensures that the assessment of learners is fair and open to everyone. All learners are aware of what is expected of them prior to attempting tasks because they are presented with set criteria for each task or activity. To support learner development, teachers should have a good sense of what can reasonably be expected of learners at different ages and levels. Assessment standards can be considered as a useful tool in guiding teachers in this regard. Assessment Tools to be employed for Assessment according to Learning Outcomes: Observation Teachers should constantly observe learners informally to assess their understanding and progress

Watch closely as learners participate in individual, pair and group activities and listen to learners conversations and discussions

Questioning (one aspect of interviewing learners for assessment purposes) Teachers should gauge the learners ability to listen, interpret and communicate ideas and knowledge during an interview or conversation Teachers should make notes on learners responses for validity and reliability purposes

GREEN KIDS ASSESSMENT FORM

LESSON TOPIC: Soil, Rocks and Stones DATE: LEARNERS NAME:
Please tick appropriate box for each Learning Outcome

TEACHER:

Learning Outcome Is able to identify three Has no idea or different types of soil and conceptualisatio comment of why soil feels n. and looks a certain way in different areas. Is able to identify and Has no idea or explain the basic features conceptualisatio of mammals, reptiles, n. amphibians, birds, fish and insects.

Rating Has some idea or conceptualisatio n. Has some idea or conceptualisatio n Has a good idea or conceptualisatio n. Has a good idea or conceptualisatio n. Has a good idea or conceptualisatio n.

Is able to talk about the Has no idea or Has some idea common elements of conceptualisatio or living organisms. n. conceptualisatio n

Is able to discuss why Has no idea or Has some idea Has a good idea plants are so important. conceptualisatio or or

n. Has a basic Has no idea or understanding of what a conceptualisatio desert is and describe n. certain desert phenomena.

conceptualisatio n Has some idea or conceptualisatio n

conceptualisatio n. Has a good idea or conceptualisatio n.