In this unit, I would like my young students to learn some basic aspects of how our Earth works. To introduce any new topic, a book or story provides a launching point for discussion and awareness. The Street Beneath My Feet by Charlotte Guillian and Yoval Zommer starts this unit off. This double-sided foldout book shows a journey down through the layers of the Earth, all the way to the planet’s core and out the other side. One side of the foldout shows the ground beneath the city, while the reverse side shows the ground beneath the countryside. We follow a boy walking down a noisy city street, his red sneakers pounding the pavement, and he wonders, "What's going on deep in the ground?" Level by level, he describes what can be found beneath his feet - cables and pipes, earthworms and insects, then moving on to subway systems and the artifacts of lost civilizations, the boy travels deeper and deeper, highlighting the unique characteristics of each layer of the earth's crust, mantle, and core. This overview of basic earth science provides an interesting and clear visual for us to begin our questions and conversations about what it is like to be a geologist. Throughout this curriculum unit students build a model showing the surface of the Earth and what might be in the layers beneath. The Next Generation Science Standards for Kindergarteners state that students will make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth’s surface and recognize temperature differences, essentially warmer or cooler. Examples of Earth’s surface include sand, soil, rocks, and water. (K-PS3-1). This unit will extend this learning to have the students “go” beneath the surface to experience the time-traveling idea, using The Street Beneath My Feet to help them “see” what is happening or has happened over time under the ground. This text will be the basis for introducing this content to curious Kindergarten geologists.
As a Kindergarten teacher in a self-contained classroom at Edgewood Magnet School in New Haven, I find the neighborhood/ magnet setting a rewarding environment, with students coming to school each day from a variety of home circumstances and with differences in academic levels. As a result of these variables, the children arrive with differing levels of background knowledge and life experiences. The classroom is a mixture of varied ethnicities, economic strata, and social and emotional strengths and weaknesses. Edgewood is a STEAM school with curricula focused on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. This planned unit aligns with the philosophy of the school. The use of scientific inquiry allows all students at all levels to learn in an inherently differentiated environment, learning new concepts and experiencing science in the classroom and outside, not only on the school property but across the street at Edgewood Park This unit will support the place-based learning that Edgewood Magnet school encourages. Trips to Edgewood Park to visit the ponds and river for hands-on investigation and experimentation will be modeled on experiences from the seminar.
