Soil Microhabitats
Students develop a plan for studying a microhabitat. They inventory the plants and animals found within their study area and develop an understanding of the interrelationships between plants, animals and soil.
Grade Level: 5-8
Time Needed: 2.5 - 3 hours
Soil Microhabitats Module/Unit (large PDF File - 11 MB)
Downloadable PowerPoint Presentations
To download, open the link and then use the "File/Save" pulldown menu from the toolbar on your browser.
Identification of Soil Invertebrates - PPt file
Identification of Common Plants of Lawns and Fields - PPt file
Soil Dwelling Invertebrates and Plant Types - Text/Script (PDF file)
Helpful Links for Teachers:
University of Florida. On- Line Publications by University of Florida Entomology and Nematology Personnel
http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/publicat.htm
Choate, P.M. Introduction to the Identification of the Insects and Related Arthropods.
http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/choate/insecpdf.htm
American Museum of Natural History. Biodiversity Counts.
http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/biocounts/index.php
Meyer, J.R. The Ground Crew.
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent591k/soil.html
Helpful Links for Students:
University of Illinois Extension. Four Major Components of Soil.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case2/c2facts1.html
Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology. The Microbe Zoo.
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dlc-me/zoo/index.html
Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology. Microbes in the News.
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dlc-me/news/news.html
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Soil Science Education Homepage.
http://soil.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html
Kernsville Elementary School, Parkland School District, PA |