Soil – a focus for primary science week
Primary Science Week 2016 has a focus on soil. Don’t confuse dirt with soil – did you know there are more living things in a teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people alive on the Earth? Dig in to find out more!
Fabulous having everything talked through!
In this online PD session recorded on 5 May 2016, Andrea Soanes is joined by soil scientist Louis Schipper and primary teacher Angela Schipper. They’ve been involved in soils education for more than 25 years. Together, they unpack the activities created for Primary Science Week 2016.
Soil – a focus for primary science week
Professor Louis Schipper and educator Angela Schipper explain the science and the pedagogy involved with Primary Science Week’s investigations about soil moisture – and the best way to dig a hole.
Lots of information, practical activities and ideas.
Louis explains the science behind soil moisture and what you might find if you dig a hole. Angela takes us through each activity and shares classroom hints on how to help students become soil scientists. They also introduce soil resources on the Science Learning Hub and from other New Zealand websites.
See the link to view the video of this professional development session (we recommend downloading the video) and also links below to download the:
PowerPoint presentation
index for the PowerPoint and video.
Brilliant session, perfect mix of science and teaching ideas.
You might also be interested in this recorded PD session, Soil activities and science capabilities
Nature of science
Building the skills of scientific investigation and curiosity within a context that is local, relevant and practical is critical to supporting scientific literacy among our students. Gathering data in a scientific way and supporting students to process that data, make sense of it and draw conclusions from what it may show us is important.
Related content
See the range of content we have on soil, we suggest starting with the article Planet Earth and Beyond – Soil – full of resources for primary teachers.
Activity ideas
Join in with the Primary Science Week 2016 national investigation – Investigating soil moisture content. Students can record their data and share it nationwide.
Take your students outside to Dig a hole. It’s a great way to practise the skills of observation – and you might just find something spectacular.
Useful links
Visit the Hub’s Pinterest board: We dig soil.
The New Zealand Association of Primary Science Educators website has links to numerous soils resources and regional programmes from Primary Science Week 2016.
