Digging Deep

Lower Key Stage 2

From clay to sand, and lovely garden loam, dig in and get hands on with different types of soil and find out how important it is to the plants we grow in the Gardens. Dive into the dirt and you might be surprised at what you find.

Learning Outcomes

Pupils will be able to:

  • use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
  • use sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences, and imagination
  • develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form, and space

Year 3 Learning outcomes

  • compare and group together different kinds of rocks on the basis of their appearance and simple physical properties
  • describe in simple terms how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock
  • recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter.
Activities

A day’s programme usually contains 4-5 activities, and you can choose from any of the activities below. Any of these can be adapted to suit individual needs and requirements.

Activities Description and learning objectives
Decay Game Work as a team and learn about the decomposition of plants and the recycling of nutrients.
Minibeast Hunt Discover and identify a variety of minibeasts under logs and find out about their role in recycling and decomposition.
Plant Fossils Examine a variety of real fossils and learn about how fossils are formed.
Rock ’n’ Roll! Learn about the 3 different types of rock and then work as a team to create a way of remembering them through drama!
Soil Profiles Create a soil profile in a plastic bottle and observe the different components of soil.
Soil Quiz Investigate different types of soils and explore the similarities and differences between them.

Prefer a day with some cross-curricular activities? Take a look at our other Lower Key Stage 3 programmes and we’ll plan the day accordingly.

Suggested pre-visit activities
  • Observe a variety of rocks and discuss their characteristics and how to sort them
  • Find out the three main types of rock and how they are formed
  • Examine some commonly found fossils and discuss how they were formed.
Suggested post-visit activities
  • Repeat some of the soil investigations you carried out at Hillier Gardens in your own school grounds. How do they differ?
  • Sort a variety of materials into compostable and non-compostable items and set up a compost bin at school/and or home
  • Look at photographs of different geographical landscapes
  • Research the palaeontologist Mary Anning.
Make a booking