Learning Corner
Keep watching this space for articles, Teaching Learning Materials (TLMs), lesson plan ideas, and more
Geography can be a challenging subject for many students, but there are a number of things that can be done to make it more engaging and relevant. By using effective teaching methods, emphasising the relevance of geography, and creating a positive learning environment, teachers can help students develop a deeper understanding of the world around them. Let’s try that together.
Physical Geography
Human Geography
Teaching Learning Materials
[will be updated soon]
[will be updated soon]
Session on Soils
Here is the story of Manyata, a teacher teaching geography in a school. Here is a brief description of her class.
Storytelling
With the following story, Manyata started her class on soil. She asked her students to sit in groups and ask questions about the facts mentioned in the story.
Vinu and Savita are good friends. They belong to different districts of the same state, but the villages where they stay are far from each other. They study in local government schools in their respective villages. To reach their schools, both have to cross kachcha (unmetalled) roads.
Vinu faces difficulty during rainy season, because the unmetalled road becomes muddy, and the road becomes so sticky that it is very difficult to even walk. But Savita doesn’t face this even during the rainy season. The road sometimes gets flooded for a while, but after a few hours, it becomes normal.
Fact identification
The facts identified by the students were these:
- Vinu faces difficulty while reaching her school in the rainy season, but Savita doesn’t face that.
- The soil is sticky and muddy in Vinu’s village during the rainy season, but that is not the case in Savita’s village.
Making assumptions
Manyata initiated the discussion among students to understand the possible reasons behind such differences. Manyata collated their assumptions on the board and corrected the assumptions that were not relevant with adequate explanation.
Verifying assumptions and explanations
As per the instructions given by Manyata, the students submitted their assumptions and Manyata explained the possible differences. She said that one of the reasons for this was that the soils in these two places were very different in nature.
In the case of some types of soil, when the soil is wet, it becomes sticky as seen in the Vinu’s village. On the other hand, the soil probably doesn’t hold water for a longer time in Savita’s village.
Further discussion: Possible modes
Manyata has different ways to take this discussion further to explain the nature of different kinds of soils.
She can show the nature of the different kinds of soil through a small experiment of adding small drops of water to the soil samples already collected in her geography lab
She can show some pictures of soil samples and the differences in their nature
She can show some video clips on soil samples and the differences in their nature
The Next topic is ‘Soil formation from parent rocks and the factors that play a vital role in it’. For this, Manyata has different options again. She can show some pictures, audio visuals or explain it by making appropriate diagrams on the board.
For the layers of soil, she has prepared a soil profile with the help of reused materials. It is a 3‑D model, so the children can easily learn from that.
Learning outcomes
- The students understand the different types of soil.
- The students are able to explain the factors affecting soil formation.
- The students are able to identify different layers of soil.
[will be updated soon]
[will be updated soon]