July 19: Digging in Your Back Yard

The Mini Page is a syndicated, four-page tabloid written for young children found each Wednesday in the Rocky Mountain News. This issue of The Mini Page is available through the eEdition Archive to registered eEdition subscribers. Click here to learn about subscribing to the eEdition at no cost to you (for Colorado teachers).

Activities:

1. Draw pictures of three different creatures you¹ve seen in soil near where you live. Label your pictures.

2. Make a list of all the living creatures you've seen in the soil near your home. Show your list to family members and friends. What other creatures have they seen? How many on your list are also in today's Mini Page?

3. Which of the arthropods in today's Mini Page (a) eat only plants or roots, (b) eat other living creatures, and (c) use tricks and traps to catch other animals?

4. Look for stories or columns about soil and gardening in your newspaper. Circle all the words that describe soil or refer to preparing soil for planting. Make a list of the ways gardeners improve the ground for gardens, such as special treatments or additives for the soil.

5. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about the soil in your area. Use these questions to guide your research:

• What kind of geologic area do you live in?
• What type of soil do you find in your area?
• What types of minerals are in the soil?
• What types of plants grow well in the soil?
• What are the advantages or disadvantages of that kind of soil?
  
  

This week's standards:

• Students understand the characteristics of organisms: their needs, structures and behaviors. (Science: Life Science)
• Students understand the properties of earth materials. (Science: Physical Science)
• Students understand the characteristics and life cycles of organisms. (Science: Life Science)
  
  

(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)