Dirt Camp Second Edition

Grades: 1-3
Number of Students: Up to 30
Number of Lessons: 12
Contact Hours: 12+
Additional Resources: Curriculum Sample

Highlights:

Make Like a Mole and Dig into Dirt Camp!

Roll up your sleeves and dig into the fascinating world beneath our feet. Uncover the origins of dirt and distinguish between dirt and soil. Explore the roles of a soil engineer by digging like a mole and building like a beaver. Investigate global practices of using dirt and soil for dyeing clothes and constructing homes. Plant your very own mini cat grass farm and witness the interconnectedness of trees through an underground network of fungi. In a multi-subject integration approach, learners collaborate, engineer and reflect, gaining a holistic understanding of the importance of soil.

Recommended Settings:

Summer Camps
Classrooms
Before & After-School Programs

Curriculum or Lesson Topics:

Subject Targets:

Earth Science
Life Science
Physical Science
Engineering Design
Math
English Language Arts

Curriculum Topics:

Characteristics of Dirt
Where Does Dirt Come From?
Dirt vs. Soil
Weathering
Animal Soil Engineers Above and Below Ground
Bug Hunt: Tunnelers, Decomposers and Hunters
The Wood Wide Web and Fungi
Dying with Mud
Building with Dirt
Plant a Mini Cat Grass Farm

Standards Alignment:

Habits of Mind:

16 thinking habits developed by Art Costa and Bena Kallick to empower students to succeed in a 21st-century learning environment.

Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations
Creating, Imagining, and Innovating
Finding Humor
Gathering Data Through All Senses
Listening with Understanding and Empathy
Managing Impulsivity
Persisting
Remaining Open to Continuous Learning
Responding with Wonderment and Awe
Striving for Accuracy
Taking Responsible Risks
Thinking & Communicating with Clarity and Precision
Thinking About Thinking
Thinking Flexibly
Thinking Interdependently

21st Century Skills:

A set of widely-applicable abilities essential for success in the information age.

Communication and Collaboration
Creativity and Innovation
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Flexibility and Adaptability
Initiative and Self-Direction
Information, Media, and Technology Literacy
Leadership and Responsibility
Productivity and Accountability
Social and Cross-Cultural Skills

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.G.A.2: Compose two-dimensional shapes (rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, half-circles, and quarter-circles) or three-dimensional shapes (cubes, right rectangular prisms, right circular cones, and right circular cylinders) to create a composite shape, and compose new shapes from the composite shape.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.G.A.1: Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given number of equal faces. Identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.

Next Generation Science Standards:*

K-2-ETS1-1: Engineering Design
K-2-ETS1-2: Engineering Design
K-2-ETS1-3: Engineering Design
3-5-ETS1-1: Engineering Design
K-ESS2-2: Humans & Their Environment
K-LS1-1: Energy Flow in Organisms
1-LS1-1: Structure and Function
1-LS1-2: Growth and Development
2-LS4-1: Biodiversity
2-PS1-1: Investigating Properties of Matter
2-PS1-2: Analyzing Properties of Matter
3-PS2-2: Forces and Motion
LS1.A: Structure and Function
LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships
3-LS2-1: Ecosystem Interactions
3-LS4-3: Adaptation
3-LS4-4: Ecosystem Dynamics
NGSS Core Idea ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth
NGSS Core Idea ESS2.A: Earth’s Materials and Systems
NGSS Core Idea ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
NGSS Core Idea LS1.A: Structure and Function
NGSS Core Idea LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics
NGSS Core Idea LS4.C: Adaptation
NGSS Core Idea PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter
NGSS Core Idea PS1.B: Chemical Reactions

* Next Generation Science Standards and NGSS is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.

What's Included:

Each Activity Includes: