Recommended time

Sessions that are about 90 minutes long generally work well for this age group. The students can handle longer sessions (2 hours or more) if the activities are broken up with snacks and rest periods. Scheduling time for group welcome and closure activities during every session is important. Transition activities, such as community builders; sharing comments as a group; and practicing routines, such as setting up and cleaning up, will help instill a sense of responsibility and order.

Goals for the session

• Create KWHL chart
• Introduce journals

Materials and equipment

• A copy of Filet of Soil, by Barry Rudner
• Copies of daily newsletter templates
• Digital camera(s)
• Newsprint or flip-chart paper
• Colored markers
• Post-it pads
• Composition books (one for each child and facilitator)
• Pens
• Pencils
• Construction paper
• Glue sticks
• Crayons
• Magazines

Part 1: Community Builder

What is it?
"Community builders" are mental and physical exercises that improve group collaboration and help children learn how to focus and follow directions. They are excellent start-of-session and end-of-session activities, and they also work well as transitions between activities.

How to
Check out the article on community-building activities for suggestions. Another resource on community builders is Games for Actors and Non-Actors, by Augusto Boal.

One example of a community-building activity is the circle mirror. The group, including the facilitator, stands in a circle, allowing room between participants for arm movement. The facilitator initially takes the lead and plays the role of the mirror. He or she leads the participants for approximately 30 seconds and then says "freeze"—whereupon all the "reflections" stop moving and hold their position. The mirror selects a person to take his or her place, and the reflections begin to imitate the motions of the new mirror. One child can do the timekeeping. Motions might include moving up and down, moving legs and feet, or whole-body movements.

The circle mirror is an excellent collaborative community-building activity. It can also be used when children need to change their location in a room; the circle forms in the location of the next activity.

Tip
Remain consistent in opening each session with a community builder. These exercises will help build team spirit within the group and will become an important part of daily routines. Children may have ideas for games that could be used as community builders. Talk to the group and find out.

Part 2: Read-Aloud

What is it?
The suggested reading material is Filet of Soil, by Barry Rudner. This book is a rhyming story about the characteristics and virtues of soil. The book includes a glossary of soil-related words. Click here for other recommended books.

How to
The facilitator should read the book before the session to become familiar with the text and pictures and to identify questions for discussion. Check out the article by Robert Price on discussion builders and questioning techniques. During the read-aloud, the facilitator shows the pictures in the book to the group. After reading, the facilitator asks the group to discuss a few questions. Have the children pair up to discuss the questions with a partner, and then have them report back to the whole group.

Sample questions

• Make a list of all the different words the book uses to describe soil. Can you think of other words?
• The book points out that the way we sometimes use the word "dirty" (as in "dirty look") shows that soil has a "bad reputation." Why do you think we associate dirt and dirtiness with bad things? What are the good things about dirt?
• How would you describe soil to someone who does not know what it is?

Tip
Encourage children to bring in books they may have at home that relate to the topic of soil or sand.

Part 3: Create a KWHL Chart

What is it?
A KWHL chart visually displays the information participants already know and want to know about a topic. The letters K-W-H-L represent four columns of information:

• "What do we KNOW?"
• "WHAT do we want to know?"
• "HOW can we find out what we want to learn?"
• "What have we LEARNED?"

The last column is usually filled in after the group has participated in several investigative exercises.

Check out a sample KWHL chart available from Graphic Organizers, by Greg Freeman.

Label the four columns on a sheet of newsprint or flip-chart paper before working with the group. Have the group sit on the floor in front of the chart and brainstorm answers to the questions. The facilitator should lead the brainstorming session and offer one or two examples for each column to get the group moving in the right direction.

Sample responses
K: What do we know?

• Dirt is dark brown.
• My mother won't allow dirt in my house.

W: What do we want to know?

• What is dirt made of?
• What things live in dirt?

H: How can we find out what we want to learn?

• We could look at dirt outside.
• We could find information on the Internet.

L: What have we learned? (This section is usually completed after a series of investigative exercises.)

• Not all soil is the same.
• Organisms live in soil.

The completed chart should remain posted to a wall in the classroom throughout the eight sessions. Children should feel free to add or delete information from the chart as they participate in further investigations.

Tip
The answers given by the children do not all have to be "correct." The children will draw their own conclusions and correct their own assumptions throughout the investigative process.

Part 4: Introduction to Journals

What is it?
Journals can be used to record notes, creative writing and responses to questions as well as to keep drawings, photos, and newspaper or magazine articles. A routine of using journals and modeling their use will help participants form a habit of writing for their personal reflection and enjoyment. Facilitators can use journals to pose questions that connect to reading materials and project activities.

How to
Check out the article on journals for a description of these books and suggestions for their use.

For the first journal exercise, ask the participants to respond to a question that requires creative problem solving and imagination. (e.g., "In words and pictures, show how we can solve the problem of pollution.") Other exercises:

• How would you stop a cat and dog from fighting?
• Design and equip a rocket ship for traveling to Mars.
• How would you equip a person to fly?

Post the question on a board or piece of paper where everyone can see it. The facilitator should also respond to the question in a journal. At the start, the facilitator should share his or her response in front of the group (show the book, explain the words and pictures used, and then pass it around). Then ask at least one participant to share in front of the whole group. The facilitator can then ask two children to volunteer to share their journal entries with each other in front of the group. The children can then share their entries in pairs. Finally, individual students share their responses with the whole group.

After the participants have recorded and shared their entries, have them decorate their books with construction paper, magazine clippings, markers, etc. Decorating provides an opportunity for the children to take full ownership of their journals as a space for personal expression. Allow at least 20 minutes for decoration.

Decorated journals might have personal poems written inside and magazine pictures pasted outside. Some children may want to take pictures of themselves with a digital camera and paste them inside of their books.

Tips
Adult facilitators should keep their own journals and make entries every time that children are asked to write. This activity presents a model and allows the facilitator to participate in group sharing of entries.

Composition books are better than spiral notebooks for journals because of their durability.

It is preferable to use pens (regular or, even better, colored pens) for journal because they cannot be erased. Erasing wastes time and makes it easy for children who are not happy with their writing or drawing to delete their work.

Children who have not received instruction in drawing will often become easily frustrated by drawing tasks, both on paper and on a computer. To help a group become more confident with drawing, try setting aside at least 10 to 15 minutes in each session to work on drawing exercises from the book Drawing with Children: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners, Too, by Mona Brookes. The exercises are easy to follow, even for facilitators who have had little experience with drawing. Try doing one new exercise per session.

Part 5: Daily Newsletter

What is it?
A daily newsletter is a one-page news sheet of writing and drawing that participants will make at the end of each session to take home to their families. The newsletter helps parents learn about the progress of the project, creates a record of activities and accomplishments, and provides an opportunity for children to practice writing and visual communication skills.

How to
Check out Robert Price's Flash Newsletter templates (One, Two, Three) for sample newsletter templates. Newsletters can have space for the date, weather (space for drawing and words), accomplishments (e.g., "Describe three things you learned today."), favorites (books, photos or Web sites), quotes, riddles and information for parents (e.g., "Our next field trip will be..."). Newsletters can be filled in with pencil, pen, colored pencils or markers. The daily newsletter is also a time for the group to reflect on the day. Questions to be responded to in the newsletter can be posted on a whiteboard or on a piece of paper and shared as a group before being written down.

Tips
Children should read silently for at least 10 minutes each day. (In many instances, this is an end-of-day activity.) Books, newspaper articles and magazine articles can be used for silent reading. Children should be given a choice of reading material sothey can select what they read on their own. Any time that children are reading, the adult facilitators should read as well. Bring in books, newspapers or magazines that you find interesting.

Extension activities
Start a displayable glossary for the project on index cards or large sheets of paper. Post them on a wall. The definitions in Filet of Soil can be used to start. Add new words as they come up in the course of readings and activities.

Collect samples of different kinds of soil to match to the soil terms in Filet of Soil: dirt, mud, dust, soot, etc. If necessary, mix soil with water or leave it out to dry to match the consistency given in the descriptions. Label the samples.