6th - 12th Grade Agriscience:
Soil Science
GENERAL SOIL SCIENCE
Agricultural Production Regions in the United States: Students will investigate U.S. crop and livestock production and analyze the relevance of land use models in contemporary agricultural production.
Earth's Land and Soil Resources: Students discover that topsoil is a nonrenewable resource and use an apple to represent how Earth’s land resources are used. Through critical thinking, students study agricultural land use and consider the sustainability of current land use practices including the use of land to feed and graze livestock animals.
Land and Soil in the Ecosystem: Students use an apple to represent the Earth and discover how our land resources are used. Through critical thinking, students discover why topsoil is a nonrenewable resource, the importance of soil to our food supply, and factors that impact topsoil distribution in different regions.
Properties of Soils (Grades 6-8): Students examine the components of different soils and recognize how sand, silt and clay particles affect air space and water absorption.
Properties of Soils (Grades 9-12): Students examine different types of soil that have been mixed with water and allowed to settle. Next, they work with a soil model to investigate its components—sand, silt and clay—and learn how the properties of these components affect the passage or retention of water through the soil and the amount of air in the soil.
Soil and Sustainability (Grades 6-8): Students are introduced to the Dust Bowl and determine how to avoid another event like it in the future as they study soil texture, particle sizes, soil nutrients, and pH.
Soil and Sustainability (Grades 9-12): Students observe soil ecosystems to investigate how human impact affects the biodiversity of soils using the Simpson's Index of Diversity. Then, students conduct an investigation using field corn to determine how the introduction of nitrogen fertilizers impact soil microorganisms and biodiversity.
What's Your pH?: In this lesson, students will measure the pH of a soil sample and learn how pH affects the availability of nutrient uptake by plants. Students will determine if and how their soil pH should be modified through the application of soil amendments.
NUTRIENTS & FERTILIZER
Agricultural Land Use: Students explore the impact of fertilizer on algae growth, soil erosion, and agricultural soil and water conservation practices.
Fertilizers and the Environment (Grades 6-8): In this lesson, students will recognize that fertile soil is a limited resource to produce food for a growing population, describe the role fertilizer plays to increase food productivity, distinguish between organic and commercial fertilizers, and recognize how excess nutrients are harmful to the environment.
Fertilizers and the Environment (Grades 9-12): Students will recognize that fertile soil is a limited resource, describe the role fertilizer plays in increasing food productivity, distinguish between organic and commercial fertilizers, describe how excess nutrients are harmful to the environment and identify different sources of nutrient pollution.
Journey 2050 Lesson 2: Soil Nutrients (Grades 6-8): Students will identify nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus as primary soil nutrients necessary in the production of abundant and healthy foods, describe various methods of replenishing soil nutrients that have been depleted by plant growth, discover how overall plant health impacts a plant’s ability to resist disease and pests, and describe what best management practices are in agriculture to improve overall sustainability.
Journey 2050 Lesson 2: Soil Nutrients (Grades 9-12): Students will identify nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus as primary soil nutrients necessary in the production of abundant and healthy foods, describe various methods of replenishing soil nutrients that have been depleted by plant growth, discover how overall plant health impacts a plant’s ability to resist disease and pests, and describe what best management practices are in agriculture to improve overall sustainability.
Know Your Nitrogen: In this lesson, students will test for plant-available soil nitrogen and learn how farmers use this test to precisely match fertilizer application to meet crop needs and reduce the amount of nitrogen left in the soil.
One in a Million: In this lesson, students will learn about solutes and solvents and will use serial dilution while investigating parts per million—a term used to describe the nutrient concentration of a fertilizer solution.