Snowed In? A Closer Look at Soil Activity in the Wintertime
Scientists believe that Earth’s climate is getting warmer. If the climate continues to get warmer, then there could be more cycles of freezing and thawing. The scientists wondered what would happen to the microbes in the soil if there were more cycles of freezing and thawing.
-
In this FACTivity, students will investigate the soil in their school yard and some soil from home. Materials: At least 5 empty plastic bins 5 small hand trowels Magnifying lens...FACTivity – Snowed In?
In this FACTivity, students will investigate the soil in their school yard and some soil from home. Materials: At least 5 empty plastic bins 5 small hand trowels Magnifying lens...
Glossary
View All Glossary-
John Campbell
My favorite science experience was seeing the aurora borealis (northern lights) while hiking back from a long day of fieldwork in Adirondack Mountains in New York.View Profile -
Myron Mitchell
I am most interested in understanding how climate change is affecting watersheds. A watershed is an area of land from which all of the water drains into one stream or...View Profile -
Peter Groffman
My favorite science experience was when we looked at the chemical results from our field experiments. We saw that our experiment had worked and that our hypotheses about the effects...View Profile -
Lynn Christenson
It is difficult to pick just one experience; science can be really fun (most of the time!). So if I have to choose just one, it would be tracking moose...View Profile
About Investi-gator
The Investi-gator is another member of the Natural Inquirer family. The Natural Inquirer, for middle school students, and the Investi-gator, for upper elementary students, present science the way scientists most often share their research with each other. That process is the written scientific paper. Each Investi-gator article presents research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. All the research in the Investi-gator is concerned with nature or with society’s relationship to nature.
-
Meet the Scientist
An introduction to the scientist or scientists who conducted the research.
-
Thinking About Science
A short introduction to something about the scientific process that is related to the research being presented.
-
Thinking About the Environment
A short introduction to something about the natural environment that is related to the research being presented.
-
Introduction
The part of the written scientific paper that introduces the scientific problem or question the scientists wants to solve or answer.
-
Method
The part of the written scientific paper that describes how the scientists collected and analyzed their data or information.
-
Findings
The part of the written scientific paper that describes what the scientists discovered.
-
Discussion
The part of the written scientific paper that summarizes the research and offers any new insights.
-
Reflection Section
These are questions placed after the Introduction, Methods, Findings, and Discussion sections. The purpose of the questions is to help students think about what they have read.
-
Glossary
Possible new terms you will find in the article. Glossary words are printed in bold in the article.
-
FACTivity
This is an activity that you can do in your classroom.
Lessons
-
Introduce the scientific process, as expressed in scientific writing, to your students. This lesson plan will walk you through how to do a guided reading of an Investi-gator article (or...Lesson Plan – Main Ideas
Introduce the scientific process, as expressed in scientific writing, to your students. This lesson plan will walk you through how to do a guided reading of an Investi-gator article (or...
Education Files
Project Learning Tree
If you are a trained Project Learning Tree educator, you may use PLT Activity #24 “Nature’s Recyclers” as an additional resource.