Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

5-10 minutes

Tune In: What’s in the soil?

25 minutes

Find Out: Different types of soil organisms

25 minutes

Take Action: Make a poster about soil organisms

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: What’s in the soil?

Step 1

Begin this lesson by setting the scene for students:

Now we are putting on our regenerative grower's hats and gloves to explore why soil is so important and how we can look after it. An essential part of being a regenerative grower is looking after the soil. Why? Well, the plants that we eat grow in the soil, and the animals we also get food from through meat or dairy also eat plants. We need to look after our soil because we need it for so many things!

Step 2

Explain to students that soil comprises small rocks (minerals), water, air and organic materials (living things and things that were once living but are now being broken down in the soil).

In this lesson, students will be focusing on living things (for more information on living things and non-living things, see this lesson).

Share the following image with students (also available here as a PDF):

Extend:

This video includes further information about soil biology and may be of interest to students.

Discuss this image:

what do you see in this image?
what do you think about this image?
what does this image make you wonder? What questions do you have?

Students will likely have questions about the different organisms in the soil. Consider the following:

bacteria in soil are tiny organisms that get their energy (food) from the soil. You would need a microscope to see most of these organisms
‘fungi’ is a scientific term for a group of organisms that includes mushrooms and toadstools. Fungal hyphae are tiny little threads that fungi put out through the soil to absorb nutrients.
‘taxa’ are different species. Some of these will be microorganisms that are too tiny to see, but others will be creatures like earthworms, nematodes, ants, springtails and mites.

Note: You could reiterate the amount of biodiversity in a gram of soil by actually measuring out a gram of soil and placing it in a small dish. Students can then think about the number of living things that can exist in such a small amount of soil. If you were to increase the number of grams of soil and multiply the potential species accordingly, this could also satisfy some of the numeracy requirements for this lesson. You could think about how many organisms there are in a cup or bucket of soil.

Find Out: Different types of soil organisms

Step 1

Now share the following video:

Once complete, invite students to share what they saw in this video:

what were some of the different types of animals that you saw? Suggested answer: worms, insects (ants) and microbes.
what were some interesting facts you heard about soil and farming from this video? For example, there are more microbes in one handful of soil than there are humans on earth, and earthworms are nature's ploughs, helping to aerate the soil, which helps plants push their roots through the soil and the water to move through the soil.

Explain to students they will now have the chance to explore some of these organisms in more detail, focusing specifically on the smaller animals. However, you could ask students to consider the larger animals in the video (gophers, moles, turtles) and explain that although we don’t have some of these animals in Australia, we do have other animals that like to dig and help to get air into the soil. These include animals like bandicoots and wombats. Can students think of any other examples of burrowing Australian animals?

Step 2

Now share the following image (also available here as a PDF). Remind students that there are actually thousands of different species of animals, fungi and bacteria in soil, and these 15 species only represent a minuscule sample of all the life that lives in the soil.

Take a moment to invite students to work through the species and identify them. Invite students to share their thoughts about the creatures they see in this image. Some of them are quite incredible looking!

Step 3

Now explain to students that all the organisms in the soil not only live there and get their shelter and nutrition from the soil, but many of these organisms also help to create the soil and make it the perfect place for plants to grow.

Most of these animals are decomposers. Decomposers break down dead organic matter (like dead leaves and grass, dead animals, or the poo of other animals) into new, simpler substances.

Now engage students in a guided discussion around the following video. Watch the video and pause at the timings below, engaging students in a discussion around the questions provided.

Differentiation: You could include or exclude different points depending on your cohort.

Watch this video:

Stop at the following timings:

0:19 - Without decomposers, dead leaves, dead insects and dead animals would pile up everywhere.
Suggested discussion: Imagine what the world would look like without decomposers! Imagine every leaf, every blade of grass, every dead animal, every piece of food waste, never ever breaking down and going away. Our world would be covered in waste so quickly!
0:26 - Decomposers make important nutrients for the organisms in the ecosystem that need them.
Suggested discussion: Can you think of any organisms needing these nutrients? Students will likely not have the answers, but you can prompt them by asking them to think about why soil is important to us and what we get from the soil (e.g. plants!).
0:42 - Decomposers break apart complex organic materials into simpler substances.
Suggested discussion: Most of the things that make up waste in nature used to be living things and, as such, are complex in that they are made up of many different parts (in an animal, this could be things like blood and bones and tissues and muscles and fat and hair etc.). Decomposers break these complex things down into simple parts that can be absorbed by other living things, including plants.
1:05 (end here!): Detritivores eat dead organisms and waste instead of breaking it down.
Suggested discussion: Many decomposers release enzymes that break down the dead organisms and waste outside of their bodies; detritivores eat the dead organisms and waste in their stomachs.

Take Action: Make a poster about soil organisms

Step 1

Students will now have the opportunity to focus on one type of soil organism that can be identified with the naked eye and to create a poster to help other growers understand the creatures they come across when they are growing.

Differentiation: Depending on your cohort, students could work in pairs or individually.

Assign students with one of the following soil organisms (*suitable for supported students):

earthworm*
ant*
bandicoot
slaters
tardigrade
fungi
nematode

Explain they will be conducting some research into this organism and creating an A4-sized poster that:

includes a drawing
includes labels for body features
includes one or more interesting facts about this organism
explains why this organism is important to the soil.

Differentiation: Students requiring extension could create a scientific drawing of their organism. You can adjust the number of interesting facts or the complexity based on time and ability. Students can use the Scientific Drawing Guidelines

to help them with their drawings.

Students can use this rubric to help them create their posters.

Some online sources to get students started could include:

earthworms - https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/earthworm
ants - https://www.natgeokids.com/au/discover/animals/insects/ant-facts/
bandicoot - https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/bandicoots
slaters - https://backyardbuddies.org.au/backyard-buddies/slaters/
tardigrade - Tardigrade Fact Sheet
fungi - https://kidsgardening.org/resources/digging-deeper-soil-fungi/
nematode - Nematode Fact Sheet

Step 2

Once students have completed their posters, display them on the wall and invite students to share their posters with another student/pair who worked on a different organism.

Reflection

Discuss the following with students:

what were the most interesting or important things you found out about the organisms that live in our soil?
how can these organisms help us be better regenerative growers?
how do the organisms living in the soil impact you?
how has your thinking around soil changed throughout this lesson?

Differentiated learning

We trust that teachers are the best equipped to know how to cater to the diversity in their classes. At Cool, we incorporate a variety of differentiation strategies into each lesson. Firstly, each lesson in this unit appeals to an array of different learning preferences. Learning activities can be completed in a number of different ways - if a student feels more comfortable speaking rather than writing, there are opportunities to accommodate this.

In lessons that feature group work or learning stations, we trust that teachers will use their discretion in knowing how to best organise their students in accordance with positive working relationships and ability. Graphic organisers and scaffolds are often included so students can ‘visually think’ and keep a record of their work. While our lessons are designed to be 55 - 60 minutes in length, we trust that teachers will manipulate lesson and segment times according to the needs of their students.

Looking Closely at Soil Organisms

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Summary

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