Field Guide

Objective

Students will observe soil and soil creatures and use tools to identify them.

Why Use a Field Guide?

Scientists use field guides to help identify the organisms they find. There are so many plants and animals in the world that it would be impossible for one person to know them all. Field guides allow experts to put their knowledge together in a way that is useful to others for identifying unknown plants, animals, or other objects in nature. There are field guides for types of birds, insects, plants, animals, and even mushrooms! Field guides are often made for a certain place or region, showing just the organisms that can be found there. Field guides usually have pictures or drawings, as well as descriptions and other information to help you identify things in nature. Some field guides are organized by color, others by when or where the organism can be found. Some are written for adults and some for children. But all field guides help you get to know the world around you.
It is important that students understand that scientists also use tools, such as field guides, to help them in their work.

What's in the Underground Adventure Field Guide?

The Underground Adventure Field Guide has information about several critters that you are likely to find in the soil, as well as information about different types of soil. Some of the information you can find about soil critters includes:

  • Size
  • Color
  • Habitat
  • Distinctive characteristics
  • Other interesting information

To make the field guide easier for students to use, only brief information is included for each critter. It is important to note that the kind of information included will vary for each creature. If students are interested in finding more information, see the Resources section for additional resources.

Using the Underground Adventure Field Guide

Use the index below to find critters and soil types in the field guide. You can find the critters by name or by type. Browse through the guide to identify any unknown critters you find.
It will be helpful for students to look through the field guide before doing field work. They may also want to do the Meet the Creepy Critters and Critter Quiz online activities. When students find an unknown critter, challenge them to think about whether it is an insect, an arachnid, another arthropod or another invertebrate. Students can use the overview information for each of these types. Once students have reviewed the soil type information, they can also explore which types of soils might be the best habitat for each critter.

About Invertebrates and Arthropods

  • Insects
  • Arachnids
  • Other Arthropods
  • Other Invertebrates
  • Ants
  • Centipedes
  • Cicadas
  • Crayfish
  • Earthworms
  • Earwigs
  • Ground Beetles
  • Grubs
  • Isopods (sowbugs and pillbugs)
  • Millipedes
  • Mites (oribatid and predatory)
  • Mole Crickets
  • Nematodes
  • Pseudoscorpions
  • Rove Beetles
  • Snails and Slugs
  • Spiders
  • Springtails (springing and nonspringing)

Soil Formation and the Rock Cycle

About Soil Types

  • Clay
  • Silt
  • Sand
  • Loam

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