Curated OER
What Makes Up Your Profile?
Second graders understand what a profile is and relate to the profile of soil. In this soil profile activity students use cereal to simulate soil profile. Students draw and label their profiles using accurate soil vocabulary.
Curated OER
Soil Testing and Measurement
Young scholars prepare their garden plot. In this gardening lesson, students use the Internet or book on plants to make sure the plants they have selected will be able to grow in their garden. The young scholars assess and mark out the...
Chymist
Earth Science
Explore the consistency of the earth's layers and soil through modeling. By conducting an engaging experiment, learners develop a model for the earth's layers and a soil profile using edible materials. Each material is chosen based on...
Curated OER
Is Soil Alive?
Third graders observe soil samples. They then form hypotheses as to whether or not soil is alive. Students read and discuss information about soil and components of soil. They state wheter or not they believe soil is alive and list...
Curated OER
Water Retention and Soil Variation in Local Ecosystems
Students identify the differences in local soil types and the relationship between soil size and water retention. They are introduced to microenvironmental conditions in ecosystem sustainability.
Curated OER
Necessary Nitrogen
Students view a video that presents the biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen. They compare types of soils and consider how different fertilizers affect soil composition.
Curated OER
Drought
Students gain knowledge about the impact of drought in agriculture. They investigate soil types, water flow, and various erosion conditions which occur during a drought and see how farming practices changed after the 1930's.
Curated OER
What's in Wetland Soil?
Young scholars examine the organic and inorganic components of soil. In this environmental science instructional activity, students identify the factors that influence soil formation. They collect soil samples, conduct tests, and analyze...
Curated OER
Determine Soil Particle Size
Students examine various soil samples in groups. Using the samples, they identify the characteristics of them and calculate percolation and infiltration rates. They use this information to discover why some species can survive in one...
Curated OER
Optional Laboratory: Soil Particle Size and Texture
Learners work together to perform experiments on different types of soil. They record the soil's pH level, color and texture. They develop hypothesis' on what they believe they will discover before beginning the experiment.
Curated OER
Perkin' Through the Pores
Fourth graders explore different levels of soil. In this soil instructional activity, 4th graders investigate the amount water that can be absorbed by topsoil, subsoil, and bedrock.
Curated OER
Chemistry In Plant Nutrition And Growth
Students investigate different factors that affect plant growth. They research the effects of water supply, radiant energy, air temperature, and soil temperature. Students also gather facts that influence plant nutrition that include the...
Curated OER
COMPARE SOILS BY GROWING PLANTS
The student will identify the difference in the rate of plant growth in three soils that vary in organic matter.1. Obtain three to four flowerpots, different types of soil, a record chart, three to five beans for each pot, and water....
Curated OER
Water-Holding Capacity
Students design and conduct an experiment to compare the water-holding capacity of sand, soil, and moss. They measure the change in weight for each material after adding the same amount of water to each material.
Curated OER
Traditional Soil Remediation in the Garden
Learners use testing kits to analyze garden soil. They research the nutritional needs of various crops as well as the nutritional properties of fish. Students participate in fish harvesting for garden fertilizing.
Curated OER
Under Our Feet
Students investigate the forest ecosystem to learn of the living and non-living elements of the soil. In this ecosystem lesson, students examine soil for twigs, moss, fungi, leaves, roots and other matter. Students complete a...
Captain Planet Foundation
Worm Your Way Out of This
How can you provide healthy soil for your garden? Study worms, bacteria, and other microorganisms in a lesson about decomposition and organic compost. After discussing what you know about worms and watching a video, watch what worms do...
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...
Curated OER
The Properties of Clay
Sixth graders determine the physical properties of clay by examining ceramic works of art. They evaluate local soil samples for suitability for sculpting and compare clay taken from soil to manufactured clay.
Curated OER
Build an Indoor Compost Bin
Students write an essay to describe the contents of a compost bin. In this composting lesson, students create a compost bin. Students examine soil for its contents and explains in an essay the impact of the soil on the environment.
Curated OER
Sampling the Ocean Floor
Learners sample goodies from an unseen ocean floor and try to accurately describe their composition. This simulation helps students explain the limitations of sampling and the problem of obtaining representative samples of sea floor...
NOAA
Mud is Mud...or is it?
We know that the type of soil varies by location, but does the seafloor sediment also vary, or is it all the same? Scholars compare photos of the seafloor from two different locations: the Savannah Scarp and the Charleston Bump. Through...
California Academy of Science
Discovering Rainforest Locations
How many rainforests are there, where are they, and do global factors effect their locations? These are great questions that have great answers. Children in grades four through eight use several different maps to determine why...
Curated OER
Worms! Nature's Recyclers
Third graders explore the process of composting. In this composting lesson, 3rd graders read the book Wonderful Worms, and create composters.