Captain Planet Foundation
Sorting Out Soils
Sift through soil and learn about why it's important for organic processes. After discussing what makes up soil, such as the living organisms and what types of soil have more nutrients, kids sample layers of mulch and deeper soil to...
University of Wisconsin
Infiltration Test: Exploring the Flow of Water Through Soils
Soil scientists gain experience with an infiltrometer can to determine the infiltration rates at different locations on campus. If you are using the entire unit, the class has already analyzed water flow and soil types, so they should...
Columbus City Schools
Thinking Like A Soil Scientist
Ready to roll up those sleeves and get your hands dirty? Dirty with soil science content, that is! Overcome those "But it's just dirt" objections with a trip outside to collect soil samples for some in-class analysis. Use the variety of...
University of Wisconsin
Identifying Your Soil for Rain Gardens
Teach your class the descriptive characteristics of soil. Provide information about particle size and a flow chart for assessing texture. Soil scientists then analyze samples and hypothesize which would be the best type for a rain...
Curated OER
Sensational Soil
Fourth and fifth graders explore soil by taking a simulated field trip under the earth. They go to an Internet site that runs a simulation which charges them with finding a source of pollution that could destroy all of Earth's soil, and...
Kenan Fellows
Sustainability: Learning for a Lifetime – Soil
Do great gardeners really have green thumbs—or just really great soil? Environmental scholars discover what makes Earth's soil and soil quality so important through research and experimentation. Learners also develop an understanding of...
K20 LEARN
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Seventy thousand different types of soil exist in the United States alone. Young scientists learn about the importance of soil to the food supply. They test soil for a variety of factors and determine the best place to set up a community...
Virginia Department of Education
Permeability and Porosity
Covering both permeability and porosity, scholars perform a hands-on experiment testing various soil types. The material includes a pre-lesson worksheet to help focus pupils on the task at hand.
Safe Drinking Water Foundation
Types of Water Pollution
In groups, young environmentalists investigate water samples that are contaminated with different types of pollutants. Each group presents their findings to the class and fills out the "Types of Pollutants Chart." This lesson is meant...
Education Outside
Rooftop Garden: Soils Experiment
Young scientists conduct a series of experiments to determine what type of soils produce the best results in roof-top gardens.
Curated OER
Keying Rocks
Young geologists learn how to use an identification key in order to classify rocks. The key is designed to help them classify rocks into three types: ignesous, metamorphic, and sediimentary. After an initial teacher-led demonstration,...
Curated OER
How Much is Dirt Worth?
Dirt is worthless, isn't it? Find out the true value of dirt, and by dirt I mean soil. The class explores what makes soil, the types of soil, and what happens when soil becomes void of its nutrients. There are several great activities,...
Teach Engineering
A Good Foundation
It takes a strong foundation to build a house and a stronger one for a bridge. This resource presents the effects of geology and soil on bridge foundations. Working in groups, the class investigates the interaction of shallow and deep...
NASA
Erosion and Landslides
A professional-quality PowerPoint, which includes links to footage of actual landslides in action, opens this moving lesson. Viewers learn what conditions lead to erosion and land giving way. They simulate landslides with a variety of...
Curated OER
Curricular Correlations
An interesting lesson on different types of soils is here for you. In it, learners discuss what soil is, and consider three piles of soil - clay, sand, and loam. During the rest of the lesson, third graders discover all sorts of...
Curated OER
WATER HERE AND THERE
Introduce the topic of water conservation with a little drama. Dressed as snowflakes, hail stones, or rain drops class members dramatize the events in a narration of the water cycle. The series of lessons that follow focus on...
Columbus City Schools
Rocking the Cycle!
Time to rock out! Discover the "life" cycle of the average rock using an illustrative stations lab and stimulating pairs game. Roll the dice to determine your fate: will it be melting in magma or chilling out to form igneous rock? The...
Curated OER
Moh's Hardness Test
Young geologists utilize Moh's hardness scale to help them correctly sort and classify different types of rocks. This lesson has everything you need, including an excellent example of the Mohs' Hardness Test, to successfully implement...
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section Two: Why is Biodiversity Important?
Explore soil, genetic traits, natural resources, and pollution in a series of lessons that focus on biodiversity. Kids complete experiments to learn more about the importance of varied genes and organisms in an ecosystem.
Columbus City Schools
It's the Heat and the Pressure?
Ready for a change? Give a comprehensive collection of metamorphic materials a try! With the assortment of printables and lab activities, you won't be under pressure to keep things lively. The unit culminates by having pupils complete an...
Curated OER
Rock On! Featuring the Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Trio!
Get your classroom rocking with this four-lesson earth science unit. Through a series of shared reading activities and hands-on investigations, young geologists learn about the three types of rocks and the unique properties of each.
Columbus City Schools
Biome Basics with a Disastrous Twist
Bored with your current biome bag of tricks? This bundle is a bountiful bag of biome fun! Travel the globe with seventh graders and explore the biotic and abiotic factors that define our world's biomes. Then, introduce a little chaos to...
Curated OER
The Marvels of Mud
Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine the role that...
Safe Drinking Water Foundation
Demonstration of Water Pollution
In this teacher-led demonstration, your young environmentalists will observe and record how different types of water pollutants look when they are combined. From here, individuals will develop a hypothesis on how the water can be...