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Pre-k, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd Grades  Project 2 weeks

Fields on the Move

McClain M
Updated
K-ESS3-3
ESS.3.C
ESS.3.A
LS.2.C
ESS.2.C
+ 5 more
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The Challenge

When soil erodes, you lose fertile land that grows food, while sediment can wash into streams and harm water quality, habitats, and nearby communities. This challenge is significant because rain, wind, bare ground, and land use patterns can speed erosion, making it harder to protect farmland and other natural resources over time.

Challenge Question

How might we address soil erosion on farmland in our rural Indiana community so that local farmers and families can better protect crops, soil, and water?

Standards

  • [Next Generation Science Standards] K-ESS3-3 - Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] ESS.3.C - Human Impacts on Earth Systems
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] ESS.3.A - Natural Resources
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] LS.2.C - Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] ESS.2.C - The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes

Competencies

  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
  • Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
  • Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
  • Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
  • Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.

Learning Partners and Clients

Local 4-H Extension staff can serve as learning partners by helping students notice how water moves soil and by giving feedback on simple erosion solutions. Local farmers can act as clients by sharing age-appropriate examples of how rain and wind affect fields in the community. These partners make the challenge real by connecting students’ land-model testing to farmland care in rural Indiana.

Phase Overview

Phase Key Experiences
Discover
I can explore a mini farm tray after a rain simulation, notice where soil washes away, and talk with a local farmer or 4H Extension visitor about what might cause erosion in our community.
Examine
I can observe pictures, videos, and a schoolyard spot to notice how water, wind, soil, and plants change land over time. I can compare bare soil, grass, and mulch to explain which land surfaces help hold soil in place. I can ask questions and listen to a local farmer or 4H Extension partner to learn how erosion affects crops, animals, and people in our rural community. I can sort what people do that helps or harms land and water so I can think about solutions that reduce human impact on the environment.
Engineer
I can develop a small farmland model with soil, water paths, and plant cover or other natural materials that could help protect the land from erosion for farmers in our community.
Do
I can pour the same amount of water on different land surfaces, collect and compare how much soil moves, and record which solution protects farmland best.
Share
I can share my land model results, my ideas for caring for farmland, and what I learned about being a careful observer, problem solver, and teammate with families, classmates, school staff, and a local 4H Extension visitor through an interactive farm-saving showcase.