Curated OER
What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Soil
Students conduct an experiment to evaluate whether plants need soil to survive and grow. They plant two seeds, one with soil and one without, make predictions, and record and analyze the seed germination results on a worksheet.
Curated OER
Soil Properties
Students explore the porosity of soil. In this soil lesson, students conduct an experiment which shows the porosity of different types of soil. They use sand, silt, and clay to see how soil particles are more or less aerated and thus...
Curated OER
Investigating Soil
Students investigate soil contents. In this soil lesson plan, students gather samples of soil and record their findings on a graphic organizer. After analyzing the material in the soil, students illustrate the layers they found.
Curated OER
Water in the Geosphere
Through a PowerPoint presentation and the embedded animation and video, earth science enthusiasts find out about the moisture in the soil beneath our feet. In the animation, follow a water molecule on its path through the water cycle. As...
Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning
Forensic Sciences: A Crime Scene Investigation Unit
Mr. Bergman has been murdered and we need you to solve the crime! The cross-curricular unit covers 11 different types of forensic science and includes 17 activities. Scholars perform blood type analysis, blood spatter analysis,...
NASA
Erosion and Landslides
A professional-quality PowerPoint, which includes links to footage of actual landslides in action, opens this moving instructional activity. Viewers learn what conditions lead to erosion and land giving way. They simulate landslides with...
Curated OER
Fieldwork: Horizons Under Ground: Digging Through Wetland Soil
Students study the different soil types and describe the different soils in various environments. In this soil lesson students walk to a reserve and discuss what they saw.
Curated OER
Global Warming Experiment
Learners examine the changes in Earth's temperature. For this global warming lesson, students perform an experiment testing temperatures of soil. Learners record their findings and discuss what made the differences in the soil temperature.
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Marvelous Martian Mineralogy
Believe it or not ... martian soil does have nutrients needed for plants to survive! An out-of-this-world tutorial moves scholars through an analysis of martian soil to determine its chemical make-up. Pupils analyze reflectivity of...
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.
Curated OER
Specific Heat of Air and Soil
Students are introduced to the concept of specific heat. In groups, they are given a set of data showing the temperatures of air and soil samples in which they calculate the ranges of the data. They identify whether the air or soil...
Curated OER
The Composition of Soil
In this composition of soil worksheet, students study the make-up of soil by identifying the amount of air in the soil, the amount of water in the soil, the size of the mineral grains in the soil and the proportion of humus in the soil....
Curated OER
Investigating Planetary Soils
Students study soil characteristics and identify properties of soils from different parts of the solar system. In this soil lesson students divide into groups, read soil descriptions, test and record soil samples.
Curated OER
Testing for Chemicals in Soils
Students use sight, touch and chemical test kits to evaluate and classify soil types. They determine the organic content, soil pH, conduct visual analysis and nutrient tests of a variety of soil samples from various sources.
Curated OER
soil, Water, and Plants
Students examine the relationship between water retention and plant growth by conducting two experiments. They first compare the water retention qualities of clay, sand and loam soil types. Then they use the data from the first...
Curated OER
Sunlight & Soil
In this soil condition worksheet, students record the soil and air temperature as well as the day length and cloud cover in a small outside area for two weeks. They complete 5 short answer questions and draw graphs of the data.
Curated OER
Soil Analysis Lesson Plan
Students practice calculating density and examine examples of the physical characteristics of soil. They solve a "crime" based on the evidence and laboratory investigations.
Curated OER
Soil Porosity, Moisture Content, pH, and Density
This lab activity does not have to be done with AP environmental scientists. It can also be done with middle to high school earth scientists. The procedures aren't complex. Learners determine the density of dry and wet sand in order to...
Curated OER
Oyster Gardens - No Soil Required!
Explore the practice of oyster gardening. Because oysters play a vital role in marine ecosystems and their populations have declined, biologists are transplanting oyster seed to repopulate reefs. After learning about this practice,...
Curated OER
Who Done It?
Pick and choose which activities to include in this crime scene investigation. Junior detectives can examine fingerprints, DNA, blood samples, or bone structure. The plan suggests you have teams solve a mystery, but it does not...
Curated OER
Red Worms Rock!
Second graders measure red worms. In this lesson, 2nd graders observe and collect data on red worms. Students measure the red worms and create a graph with the data they collect.
Curated OER
Graphing and Analyzing Biome Data
Students explore biome data. In this world geography and weather data analysis lesson, students record data about weather conditions in North Carolina, Las Vegas, and Brazil. Students convert Fahrenheit degrees to Celsius degrees and use...
National Wildlife Federation
Wherefore Art Thou, Albedo?
In the sixth lesson in a series of 21, scholars use NASA data to graph and interpret albedo seasonally and over the course of multiple years. This allows learners to compare albedo trends to changes in sea ice with connections to the...
Curated OER
"Soil Hide and Seek"
Learners comprehend the basics of soil testing. They relate the use of grids and plotting to soil samples. Students comprehend how contaminants flow through soil. They discuss factors such as: slope of the pan, time, and the amount of...