My Science Box

Assessment

1. Soil Analysis homework (downloadable below). In this assignment, students review the soil analysis test, the major ingredients in soil, and think about why soil is important to an ecosystem.
2. Describe one thing that humans do that changes the health of the soil - either making it worse or better. How would it affect each of the 4 tests we conducted during class?

Going Further

1. Conduct soil analysis on the planter part of the terraqua column. See Terraqua Column lesson.
2. Conduct soil analysis at the creek restoration site before and after restoration. A structured way of conducting this lesson is available as part of the Habitat Survey lesson later in this unit.
3. Conduct an independent investigation using terraqua columns that monitors soil quality. See Terraqua Column Experiment project.
4. Continue the study of sediments, first through studying erosion patterns in a classroom model (see the Erosion Patterns lesson) and then through the study of sediments collected from different sites along a local creek (see Sediment Study Project).