Posted by LeAnn Holcomb on December 25, 2009 at 8:45pm
I am moving topics for my 7th graders from earth science to environmental: and I want to use soil building as the bridge. I could use suggestions for hands-on activities that are cheap or free, and do-able by 7th graders. Just before the holdiay break we made "rocks" from concrete and then broke them down with mechanical "erosion", talking about the process of breakdown and relating it to soil texture. The concept that plants need rocks with "pockets" (pores) to hold the water and air made them think as well as laugh. I want to do composting next but am leary of how to best go about it. 5 piles/recipes compete to see which one turns to black gold first? I want them to compare hot and cold processes, and compare the results for value in terms of texture, ph, nutrient value. I want to teach soil as an ecosystem iteself, not just as part of the food web concept: microbes, levels of decomposers, worms and insects as valued partners. Materials need to be cheap and easy of course, but time and effort are also an issue: it won't hold their attention more than about 3-4 weeks. Any suggestions would be welcome. Just remember, they may be "only" 7th graders but they are not little kids any more and see themselves as too grown-up or too cool for "little kid" projects: sometimes it takes the right approach. ANy ideas are welcome. THanks.. LeAnn Holcomb
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These are good ideas, thank you. And I have been thinking about how I can make it a longer term activity. I shouldn't have said that it won't hold their attention, it's more that they have to move on to other stuff in the curriculum map and they won't be able to give it much attention in class. We are somewhat calendar-bound by the list of things we have to "cover" in certain agreed on time periods, I just have to get creativve about how to circle back to what I want to keep going with. Also the kids in this neighborhood rarely stay after school for anything but sports or clubs that have a late bus arrangement: there is no ride home if they miss their bus, and it's not safe to walk home. So they really can't drop by for 10 ten minutes to check on their projects. I will figure something out though. Oh, and I may have to scrounge more leaves: I had saved 4 garbage bags full, but someone helpfully threw them out when cleaning for a christmas party. Sigh. And most of the kids live in apartments or places with no trees: but I bet I can find some more this week if I follow Snappy Lawn Service for a day or 2. What I really would like to scrounge are some 1-2 gallon size plastic jugs with a wide mouth and a screw top lid, so that I can give each small group a mini-compost tumbler of their own to work with. I need about 30-50 of them to do it. Any ideas about where to find them?
LeAnn, my first suggestion to you is to start collecting a lot of leaves and other material, so you will have lots of browns for your experiment. Now is the time. You can have the kids collect their "greens" from the cafeteria, and have them educate others at school on which food materials are good for composting, and have them sort the materials to the appropriate bins as they clean up after their meals. You can use five different sizes of compost heaps and find out which one decomposes the most rapidly. Start a worm bin. Don't ever believe that a project like this will only hold their attention for three or four weeks. All you can do is pique their interest in that short amount of time. Use the time to instill a sense of curiosity and commitment, and check back on the continued progress of the compost every now and then between the lesson and the end of the school year. Start a garden club, and use the compost to plant vegetables ... best wishes!
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