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 Fifth-graders are literally digging science in Spring-Ford Intermediate School teacher Cortland Bigelow’s class. The students brought dirt samples into school to study as part of a unit on the four layers of soil.
Students were broken into groups of four and each group was charged with the task of digging up soil from a field or locations in their own backyard, such as under mulch, logs or rocks. The soil samples were then studied in the classroom, with students analyzing them to determine the soil’s color, contents and texture.
The exercise demonstrated that soil can look and feel different depending upon where it is located, and tied in with Bigelow’s lessons on the four layers of soil – topsoil, subsoil, parent material and bedrock.
“Hands-on activities like this one engage students and allow them to apply what they have learned by studying the world around them,” said Dr. Dennis Booher, assistant principal. “It’s exciting to see students making connections between what they learn in the classroom and the environment in which they live.”
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