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Soil Biology (Yikes, It's Alive!)

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Description: There is a lot of life above the earth. But in most systems, there is more life BELOW the soil than above it. Slides and activities
Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
Keywords: soil microorganisms, soil life, Soil Biology
Lesson Area: Soil Biology
Resource Type: Activity, Slides/Photos/Figures, Teacher's Guide

Next Generation Science Standards

Grade	Discipline	Core Idea
PreK-2	ESS2.A: Earth materials and systems	Wind and water change the shape of the land.
3-5	ESS2.A: Earth materials and systems	Four major Earth systems interact. Rainfall helps to shape the land and affects the types of living things found in a region. Water, ice, wind, organisms, and gravity break rocks, soils, and sediments into smaller pieces and move them around.
6-8	ESS2.A: Earth materials and systems	Energy flows and matter cycles within and among Earth's systems, including the sun and Earth's interior as primary energy sources. Plate tectonics is one result of these processes.
9-12	ESS2.A: Earth materials and systems	Feedback effects exist within and among Earth's systems.
PreK-2	ESS2.E: Biogeology	Plants and animals can change their local environment.
3-5	ESS2.E: Biogeology	Living things can affect the physical characteristics of their environment.
6-8	ESS2.E: Biogeology	[Content found in LS4.A and LS4.D]
9-12	ESS2.E: Biogeology	The biosphere and Earth's other systems have many interconnections that cause a continual co-evolution of Earth's surface and life on it.
PreK-2	ESS3.A: Natural resources	Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do.
3-5	ESS3.A: Natural resources	Energy and fuels humans use are derived from natural sources and their use affects the environment. Some resources are renewable over time, others are not.
6-8	ESS3.A: Natural resources	Humans depend on Earth's land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for different resources, many of which are limited or not renewable. Resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes.
9-12	ESS3.A: Natural resources	Resource availability has guided the development of human society and use of natural resources has associated costs, risks, and benefits.
3-5	ESS3.C: Human impacts on Earth systems	Societal activities have had major effects on the land, ocean, atmosphere, and even outer space. Societal activities can also help protect Earth's resources and environments.
6-8	ESS3.C: Human impacts on Earth systems	Human activities have altered the biosphere, sometimes damaging it, although changes to environments can have different impacts for different living things. Activities and technologies can be engineered to reduce people's impacts on Earth.
9-12	ESS3.C: Human impacts on Earth systems	Sustainability of human societies and the biodiversity that supports them requires responsible management of natural resources, including the development of technologies.
PreK-2	LS4.D: Biodiversity and humans	A range of different organisms lives in different places.
3-5	LS4.D: Biodiversity and humans	Populations of organisms live in a variety of habitats. Change in those habitats affects the organisms living there.
6-8	LS4.D: Biodiversity and humans	Changes in biodiversity can influence humans' resources and ecosystem services they rely on.
9-12	LS4.D: Biodiversity and humans	Biodiversity is increased by formation of new species and reduced by extinction. Humans depend on biodiversity but also have adverse impacts on it. Sustaining biodiversity is essential to supporting life on Earth.