Students develop a plan for studying a microhabitat.  They inventory the plants and animals found within their study area and develop an understanding of the interrelationships between plants, animals and soil.

Grade Level: 5-8
Time Needed: 2.5 - 3 hours

Soil Microhabitats Module/Unit (large PDF File - 11 MB)

Downloadable PowerPoint Presentations
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Identification of Soil Invertebrates - PPt file

Identification of Common Plants of Lawns and Fields - PPt file

Soil Dwelling Invertebrates and Plant Types - Text/Script (PDF file)
 

Helpful Links for Teachers:

University of Florida.  On- Line Publications by University of Florida Entomology and Nematology Personnel
http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/publicat.htm

Choate, P.M. Introduction to the Identification of the Insects and Related Arthropods.
http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/choate/insecpdf.htm

American Museum of Natural History.  Biodiversity Counts.
http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/biocounts/index.php

Meyer, J.R. The Ground Crew.
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent591k/soil.html

Helpful Links for Students:

University of Illinois Extension.  Four Major Components of Soil.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case2/c2facts1.html

Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology.  The Microbe Zoo.
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dlc-me/zoo/index.html

Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology.  Microbes in the News.
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dlc-me/news/news.html

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Soil Science Education Homepage.
http://soil.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html