Getting the Dirt on Local
Soil
Studying the benefits of London’s Local Soils
Prepared by:
Danielle Ward
(519)-661-2500 ext. 2844
dward@london.ca
www.london.ca/teacher
Before you Begin:
The City of London has various resources available to you throughout this lesson
including informational videos and webpages. If you have any questions about the
material before or after the lesson please do not hesitate to contact us. If you have an
idea for another lesson, or have connected this lesson to curriculum we have not,
please let us know. We are always looking for feedback, ideas for improvement, and
new lessons.
Resources:
The resources required for this lesson are butternut squash, corn, and bean seeds, as
well as potting soil, clay soil, and sand. Clear plastic cups can be used as a planter, so
the students can see the roots grow. A copy of the Three Sisters legend is also required
to begin the lesson (a copy of the legend is located below).
The Thames Valley District School Board also provides external resources such as the
Outdoor Ed Program “Soils in the Environment”, which is a half day program that
encourages students to study soil samples and identify organisms living in and on the
soil. This program could help enhance the students’ knowledge of the importance of
protecting local soils and how soil organisms contribute to healthier plant life.
Field Trip Resources:
Jaffa Environmental Education Centre
Grade 3:
1. Growth and Changes in Plants: Students take part in hands-on learning to discover
the characteristics and requirements of plants and how and why they are important.
Students learn about some of the plants at Jaffa and how they are affected by human
and environmental changes.
2. Soils in the Environment: Students collect and study soil samples and identify
organisms living in and on the soil. They discover why soils and soil organisms are
important and how they can be impacted by human activity.
Vansittart Woods Environmental Education Centre:
Grade 3:
1. Down to Earth: Explore, classify, and discover the diversity of the soil world through
the use of microscopes and various hands on field study activities.
London Environmental Education Centre:
Grade 3:
1. Plants and Soils: Explore the characteristics of plants and soils and examine their
connection to all living things. Collect and study soil samples, use hands on
activities, and hike to assess various habitats and discuss human impact.
Upper Thames River Conservation Authority
Wildwood Outdoor Education Centre
Grade 3:
1. Plant Power: Find out how plants make their own food. Explore the Arbour Trail to
learn about different type of trees. Check out the leaf ‘slide show’
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2. Plant Power: Be careful not to get washed away in a flood! Discover the role
earthworms play in making soil. Learn about the importance of windbreaks. Explore
the science of soil types.
Fanshawe Outdoor Education Centre
Grade 3:
1. Get the Dirt on Soil: Students will be soil scientists and carry out soil testing in order
to learn about the different properties and types of soil. By getting their hands dirty,
they’ll discover how soil sustains life. We’re sure they’ll worm up to it!
2. Plant Studies: Exploring plantations and meadows, playing games, and using
dichotomous tree keys, students will gain a basic understanding of plants. Watch out
for the “Enemies of the Forest” in a tree survival game.
Feedback:
Finished this lesson?
We would love to hear how it went and any ideas for improvements, activities or
additional lessons! Send us a quick email with your grade and unit that you used this
lesson for with any comments, questions or suggestions.
Thank you for using The Teaching Toolkit and taking the time to help us continue to
develop and improve the resources!
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Curriculum Connections:
Grade 3 Understanding Earth and Space Systems: Soils in the Environment
o Overall Expectations:
 F1. Assess the impact of soils on society and the environment, and
of society and the environment on soils.
 F2. Investigate the composition and characteristics of different
soils.
 F3. Demonstrate an understanding of the composition of soils, the
types of soils, and the relationship between soils and other living
things.
Grade 3 Understanding Life Systems: Growth and Changes in Plants
o Overall Expectations:
 F1. Assess ways in which plants have an impact on society and the
environment, and ways in which human activity has an impact on
plants and plant habitats.
 F2. Investigate similarities and differences in the characteristics of
various plants, and ways in which the characteristics of plants
relate to the environment in which they grow.
 F3. Demonstrate an understanding that plants grow and change
and have distinct characteristics.
Grade 3 Language: Oral Communication
o Overall Expectations:
 F1. Listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a
variety of situations for a variety of purposes.
 F2. Use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to
communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
 F3. Reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and
speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found
most helpful in oral communication situations.
Grade 3 Language: Reading
o Overall Expectations:
 F1. Read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary,
graphic, and informational texts, using a range of strategies to
construct meaning.
 F2. Recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic
elements and demonstrate understanding of how each helps
communicate meaning.
 F3. Use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently.
 F4. Reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for
improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before,
during, and after reading.
Grade 3 Social Studies: Heritage and Identity: Communities in Canada 1780-1850
o Overall Expectations:
 A1. Compare ways of life among some specific groups in Canada
around the beginning of the nineteenth century, and describe some
of the changes between that era and the present day.
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
A2. Use the social studies inquiry process to investigate some of
the major challenges that different groups and communities faced
in Canada around 1780-1850, and key measures taken to address
these challenges.
 A3. Identify some of the communities in Canada around the
beginning of the nineteenth century, and describe their
relationships to the land and to each other.
Grade 3 Social Studies: People and Environments: Living and Working in Ontario
o Overall Expectations:
 B1. Demonstrate an understanding of some key aspects of the
interrelationship between the natural environment, land use,
employment opportunities, and the development of municipal
regions in Ontario.
 B2. Use the social studies inquiry process to investigate some of
the environmental effects of different types of land and/or resource
use in two or more Ontario Municipal Regions, as well as some of
the measures taken to reduce the negative impact of that use.
 B3. Describe major landform regions and types of land use in
Ontario. Identifysome of the ways in which land use in various
Ontario Municipalities addresses human needs and wants,
including the need for jobs.
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Lesson Resource:
Three Sisters Legend:
A long time ago there were three sisters who lived together in a field. These sisters
were quite different from one another in their size as well as their look. The youngest
sister was so young that she could only crawl at first, and was always dressed in green.
The middle sister was adventurous and liked to run off by herself, she also favored the
color yellow and loved to wear it whenever she could. The oldest sister was very tall and
always stood over her younger sisters to protect them. She always wore her long yellow
hair straight and dressed in a pale green.
There was only one way in which all the sisters were alike. They loved one another very
dearly, were not sure if they would ever be able to live apart. After a while a Native
American boy came into the field where the three sisters lived. He was as straight as an
arrow and as fearless as the eagle that circled that sky above this head. He knew the
way to talk to the birds, the shrews, the chipmunks, and the foxes. The three sisters,
never having seen the boy before were very interested in him. They watched him as he
fit his arrow to his bow, and carved a bowl with his stone knife.
Late in the summer of the first coming of the Indian boy to their field, the youngest of the
sisters disappeared. The older sisters feared for her as she was scarcely able to stand
alone in the field unless she had a stick to cling to. Her sisters searched for her until the
fall however she did not return.
Once more the boy came to the field of the three sisters to gather reeds at the edge of
the stream to make his arrow shafts. The two sisters who were left watched him and
gazed with wonder at the pattern at which he left behind him pressed into the dirt. That
night the middle sisters disappeared. She left no trail for her sister to follow. The oldest
sister was now alone in the field, the days grew shorter and the nights began to get
colder. The older sisters light green clothes began to fade and her long yellow hair
began to tangle in the wind. Day and night she waited for her sisters to return, but they
never did.
One day, during harvest season, the little boy heard the crying of the oldest sister who
had been left alone in the field. Feeling sorry for her, he took her in his arms and carried
her to the lodge of his mother and father. Upon arrival the oldest sister was quite
surprised. Her two sisters were in the lodge of the little boy, safe and glad to see her.
They had been curious about the Indian boy, and they had gone home with him to see
how and where he lived. They had liked his warm lodge and had decided that since
winter was coming that they would stay with him. When they decided to stay they began
to determine how they could be useful. The youngest sister, now grown up, was helping
to keep the dinner pot full, while the middle sister still wearing yellow sat on the shelf
drying to fill the dinner pot later. The third sister decided to stay and provided grind meal
for the boy’s family.
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Everyone today knows these sisters in their current forms, and need them just as much
as the young boy did a long time ago.
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Additional Resources
Attached are worksheets and additional extension activities that can be tied to the math
and language art curriculum requirements.
The extension activity provided encourages the students to monitor the growth of their
plant in their chosen soil. This information can be collected using the monitoring sheet
provided and a ruler. They can measure the plants growth each week/day depending on
scheduling and transfer the information onto a bar graph. The students can then
compare bar graphs amongst the different soil and plant types. It may be ideal to group
all of students who grew the same plant together and have them make a 3 bar
comparison bar chart (with markers and chart paper) to see if there was a difference.
The students can than present their findings to the rest of the class with each group
presenting 3-5 reasons why they think certain plants do better in certain soils.
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The Three Sisters
1. After reading the story what do you think each of the sisters represents?
2. Why do you think the sisters could not live apart?
3. Why do you think the sisters disappeared in the order that they did?
4. Why do you think the three sisters are just as important today as they were in the
past?
5. Why do you think they are grown in the London Area?
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The Three Sisters- Extension Activity
After planting your seed, think about how you have to care for it. Should you water it?
How often should your plant be watered? Do you think it is important to care for a plant
in order for it to grow?
At the ends of each week write down the date and the height of your plant in cm. This
chart will help you understand how long it takes plants to grow.
Date
Height in cm
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My Plant's Growth
6
5
Height in cm
4
3
2
1
0
Date
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Lesson Notes:
Slide 1:
Read the story, or have the students read the story independently, and give them a
worksheet (provided in resources) to fill out for comprehension.
Slide 2:
These questions are for comprehension, read them out loud to the students. Tell the
students to think about the questions as they go through the slide show.
Slide 3:
Ask the students what type of plant they thought the youngest sister could be. Go over
the color she loved to wear (dark green), the type of flowers she had, how she crawled
on the ground (vine). Go over the characteristics of a bean plant with the students
showing them the pictures (bean plant grew in high similar to the youngest sister) and
explaining the leaf shape (ovate- in an oval shape), and root structure (tap root goes
straight down into soil).
Slide 4:
Ask the students what type of plant they thought the middle sister could be. Go over her
splash of yellow and green (big yellow flowers on squash), and how she liked to run off
(squash is a vine that likes to grow along the ground). Go over the characteristics of a
squash plant with the students, showing them the pictures (large yellow flowers on a
squash plant, point out the spikes on the squash plant, explain the leaf structure
(palmate as it resembles the palm of the hand and usually has five points, similar to five
fingers), explain that squash is similar to bean, has the same root structure, and is also
a vine similar to bean.
Slide 5:
Ask the students what type of plant they thought the oldest sister could be. Go over her
pale green clothes and long golden hair (tall green stalk with golden silk). Go over how
she was the tallest and provided protection and support for her sisters (bean can cling
to the corn stalk). Go over the characteristics of a corn plant with the students, showing
them the pictures (long stalk with an ear of corn and silky tassel), talk about the leaf
shape (linear, as it is straight and has no curves- think of other linear leaves ask if they
have ever seen any (grass) ), talk about its unique root structure, ask why it may be
fibrous instead of the tap root that the other plants have (to increase stability and
nutrient/water uptake), also mention the plant structure is a tall standalone plant,
dissimilar from the squash and bean plant.
Slide 6:
Ask the students why they think the plants couldn’t be separated, and why they need
each other to grow well. Go over the three main points as to why they should be grown
together (structure, increase in sun, and prevention of predators) discuss how each
plant serves a function to the other. Make sure to point out the pictures to show them
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how the plants would be planted and how they would look as older plants rather than
seedlings.
Slide 7:
Ask the students to refer back to the story and recall what order the sisters disappeared.
Ask the students if they have any ideas as to why the sisters disappeared in this
particular order. Discuss how specific plants only have specific growing times and rates.
For example, corn is planted first but takes the longest to mature and is harvested last,
whereas beans are planted and May and harvested first. Talk about plant size and
compare the size of the vegetable we harvest. You can refer to the amount of energy,
time, and nutrients it would take each plant to create their unique vegetable. The larger
the fruit/vegetable the longer it takes to grow.
** Fun fact, many Native American planters knew it was time to plant their
vegetables when the leaves on the trees were the same size as the ears of
squirrels.
Slide 8:
Ask the students if the 3 sisters are still grown today, and why they think we continue to
grow them like they were grown many years ago. Ask them about what we do with the
plants now and what they think the plants provide to us as food. Explain that corn is a
carbohydrate which in simplistic terms gives us energy to play outside and do our
homework. Explain that beans contain a lot of protein which helps build muscles and
bones to help keep us strong. Explain that squash has a variety of different vitamins
which help us grow and keep us healthy. Mention that each of the three sisters bring us
the same benefits that they provided to us many years ago.
Slide 9:
Ask the students why they think the 3 sisters were planted in London originally and how
they survived. There is a map of London soil provided that you may want to blow up for
the class to look at/examine. Explain the importance of having the appropriate soil for
the type plant. Explain the importance/benefits of all of the soils and how they contribute
to plant health. Ask the students to look at the map, ask where they think the three
sisters would be planted (rural areas), and ask them if they are planted outside the city
what type of soil there is (clay).
Slide 11:
Discuss clay with the students and how it is also the most popular soil in the London
Area. Discuss the benefits of clay and how it holds water, provides roots with anchorage
(keeps them from blowing in the wind), and can hold more nutrients than any other
soils. Explain that clay particles are tightly packed together and that is why it provides
essential structure, soil nutrients, and retains water.
Slide 12:
Experiment with the students, assign or take volunteers to pick a plant and a soil type,
make sure there is a variety between the plants and type of soil. Give each student a
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clear plastic cup with 1-3 (depending on the type of soil) cups of soil inside of it. Give
them the seed they chose to plant and ask them to monitor its growth in classroom over
the next few weeks.
Slide 13:
What did you think?
Provide the students a minute to talk about what they thought about the lesson and its
resources. Ask them what they would have done and how they would have done it, or if
they found one part of the lesson to be more interesting than other parts. Through
asking students what they think about the lesson the City of London can continue to
make more appropriate and intriguing lessons for school groups.
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