Guided Inquiry Lesson Plan #5: Jack Hanson Mystery Task (Types of Soil)

Length of Lesson: Two-three class periods

Scientific Processes Addressed: Observing, Classifying, Communicating, Inferring

Science Concepts Addressed: Types of Soil

National Standards Addressed: A

Objectives:
  1. Given different soil samples, the students will be able to observe and record their different characteristics and make logical guess of where each soil is taken from. (Either a field, construction site, lake, woods, or a driveway.)
  2. The students will use their observations and information about the soil samples, and the picture of Jack Hanson’s boot to make an inference as to where Joe Frisbee’s body is located.
    3.


Materials Needed:

*Teacher Materials Needed:

Joe Frisbee’s drawn body outline on butcher paper

Joe Frisbee’s estate drawn on butcher paper

Jack Hansons’ boot and worksheet

Overhead projector

Overhead transparencies

*Student Materials Needed:

Detective Notesheets (Notebooks)

5 soil samples for each group

Soil A taken from lake

Soil B taken from driveway

Soil C taken from woods

Soil D taken from field

Soil E taken from construction site

Introductory Activity: This lesson should be introduced after the students have had the opportunity to observe sand, clay, and loam, and have done a soil profile. This lesson is a follow-up lesson from the soil profile lesson in which the students observed and recorded the three different types of soil. The students will use this previous knowledge to make logical guesses about where each soil sample was taken from.

Explain to the children that there is a problem and the students have to be detectives to help solve the problem. Tell them that there has been a murder! Joe Frisbee, a rich millionaire inventor of the frisbee has been killed and it is the students’ job to collect data. Show them the drawing of the estate and explain to them that the police found Jack Hanson's shoe in the estate with several soil samples on it. Somehow the samples have been wiped clean from the shoe. The police took soil samples from around the estate but forgot to label them.

Activities & Typical Discussion Questions: It is the student’s job to actively observe the five different types of soil and decide which soil goes to what part of the estate. The students work together in their groups, discussing possible solutions and stating their evidence for their findings. In this phase, the students will record their findings on the worksheet labeled detective notes.

1. Concept Introduction:

Using the overhead projector, the transparencies and the estate map, the teacher records the students ideas about each soil.

Possible questions the teacher could ask:

1. Who has a guess about where soil A is taken from? Where do you think?

2. What characteristics have you found about soil A that makes you guess

that is where it is taken from?

3. Could the soil have been taken from somewhere else? Does anyone have

any other possible ideas?

4. What do we notice that is similar about Soil C and D? (both are dark soil)

What are different about the two soils? (one has leaves, twigs, acorns

etc. other doesn't) What can this tell us?

  1. Soil E is rather different than any other soil. Who can tell me what type

of soil this is? Hint: We looked at this soil in class.

If the students disagree with an answer the teacher tells them, they have to find information to prove their findings. If a student gives an answer without appropriate evidence, the teacher tells the student that it will be thrown out of court and the idea will not be able to help solve the case.

2. Concept Application Phase:

Once the students have identified the soil types, the teacher poses a new problem for the students to solve. They look at the picture of the boot and decide which soil sample goes with which layer on Jack Hanson's boot. The teacher gives a description of each layer of soil because the drawing is hard to read.

She asks them for example:

1.The first layer on the boot has medium size rocks and parts of plastic in it. What possible soil sample could this be? Why do you think so?

2.The next layer has big chunks of a light brown material so where could this sample be from and why?

The teacher does this for each layer.

Then they look at the footprints the teacher has drawn onto the map and discuss possible solutions to where Joe Frisbee's body is buried. The students can take turns coming up to the enlarged picture of the estate and discussing possible solutions in their groups. After the discussion, each group should agree on one possible solution. This means that there will be a great deal of problem solving and debating skills used.

Expected Conclusions: The class will most likely run out of time but the key to the whole activity is to keep the students thinking and guessing. Do not give them the answer at the end of the class but wait until the next class period. The kids will be talking about the murder in the halls, on the playground, and may even bring the idea home with them.

Assessment: Teacher observations- Are students participating in the discussion? Are they making logical guesses based on information found?

Detective Notes sheet- Are the students’ responses logical and is sufficient evidence given for their findings? Did the students discover the correct soil samples?

Extensions:

Language Arts - The students could record their findings and ideas about the murder in narration form.

Math - The estate could be given accurate measurements in which the students would have to manipulate to solve various math problems.