Land – HoS

This collection supports the House of Science resource kit Landforms.

(https://houseofscience.nz/)

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Learning about landforms is part of the science strand Planet Earth and Beyond

Earth systems:

• Explore and describe natural features and resources. (Levels 1-2)
• Appreciate and develop an understanding that water, air, rocks and soil, and life forms make up our planet and recognise that these are also Earth's resources. (Levels 3-4)

Interacting systems

• Describe how natural features are changed and resources affected by natural events and human actions. (Levels 1-2)
• Investigate the water cycle and its effect on climate, landforms and life. (Levels 3-4)

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Landforms

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HoS Learning objectives (Levels 1-4)

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Students will understand:

• most of the surface of the Earth is covered with water
• land has many different shapes known as landforms
• only a small percentage of the Earth’s surface is arable land.

How is soil formed? What is it made of?

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Learning Objectives (levels 2-4)

Students will understand

• the factors that influence soil formation
• soil is a finite resource.

Soil Structure

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Learning Objectives (levels 3 & 4)

Students will understand

• the role of soil structure in the storage of water and water-borne nutrient in soil.

Soil Texture

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Learning Objectives (levels 3 & 4)

Students will understand

• the role of soil texture in the storage of water and water-borne nutrient in soil.

Soil and Water

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Learning Objectives (levels 2 - 4)

Students will understand

• the importance of water supply through soils.

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Landforms can include hills, mountains, volcanoes, plateaus, valleys and plains.

Aotearoa New Zealand is an unusual place. A single day's drive can take in all of the landforms mentioned above!

Regardless of where students live in Aotearoa, interesting landforms will be a feature of the local environment. Keeping the focus local can provide rich, contextual learning opportunities.

A deeper focus on one or two nearby landforms is a good place to start with younger learners. These learning experiences can establish a foundation for older students to build upon and expand with future topics.

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Key science ideas from the NZ Ministry of Education's Building Science Concepts Book 52 The Land Changes.

Our activities can impact on planet Earth's systems in ways we don't often anticipate or are not aware of until other changes become evident.

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Naturally occurring processes contribute to changes in planet Earth's systems.

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The living and non-living things that make up planet Earth are closely interlinked and delicately balanced. Changes to one thing results in changes to another.

One thing all landforms have in common is soil, but there is nothing common about the soil overlaying the landform! The first few centimetres of soils may look the same, but things certainly change as one digs more deeply.

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Educators may wish to begin to build their background knowledge with the article Soils are all different – the article featured to the right of this note.

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Professor Nick Roskruge writes about the whakapapa of soil in this Stuff article. The article Māori soil science expands on whakapapa.

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The article Alternative conceptions about soil highlights some incorrect ideas students have about soil and how educators might help them move to a more scientific understanding.

Following are articles that provide useful background information.

The video The Apple as Planet Earth (YouTube) uses an apple to show how scarce soil is and why we should look after it.

The following activities enable students to get hands-on with soils in their local area.

Aotearoa New Zealand has volcanoes stretching from the Bay of Islands down to Otago. Volcanic activity has shaped a good deal of the motu.

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The following resources provide background information and activities.

The water cycle

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The water cycle plays a key role in creating landforms.

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The following resources explore the natural links between soil and water, and the human-induced links between soil, water and land use.