The Soil Story Curricular Guide is designed to educate middle school students about the cycling of matter and the flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. Each of the five lessons supports students with understanding how carbon, as a form of matter, moves to and from various reservoirs on Earth. Building on what the Next Generation Science Standards (Achieve, 2013) suggest students know by the end of fifth grade, this unit engages middle school learners in using a visual model to explain interactions that occur when matter cycles between the geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. View Resource »