This week, we began our unit on soil. To introduce students to the topic, I created four learning centers for them to rotate through. An exploration center, where students collect soil from the garden, explore the soil using a magnifying glass, and record their findings in their journals. A writing center, where students write their thoughts on the difference in meaning between the words “soil” and “dirt” (as prompted by a provided quote). A reading center, where students choose a non-fiction book on the topic of soil and create a main idea and details graphic organizer showing what they learn. A math center, where students work with the teacher to create a pie graph showing the different components of soil and to proportions of each. You can download the full lesson plan here:
Tending Our Common Ground 
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