Lesson Plan
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Sand Castles: Pre-engineering 101

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine how soil holds together and what the effect of particle size and water content is on soil.  In this engineering lesson students complete a lab, record their observations and discuss what they learned. 
Lesson Plan
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Soil Slope

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study how to measure the soil slope of an area.  In this soil lesson high schoolers work in groups and complete an activity that allows them to find the slope of a given area. 
Activity
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Hide the Acorns

For Teachers Pre-K
Students search for acorns. In this art lesson students imagine they are squirrels finding and storing acorns. The students dig through a water table filled with sand or soil looking for acorns that have been buried.
Lesson Plan
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Flood!

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students examine different types of soil have different capacities for retaining rainwater. In this science lesson plan, students determine that if the soil in an area will not hold enough rainwater there may be a flood. Students...
Lesson Plan
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Air in Soil Administration Procedures

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students study soil and its composition. In this soil composition lesson, students study examples of soil during several days of aeration. Students summarize their data, organize it, and must be able to explain their findings.
Lesson Plan
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Cows, Worms, and Compost

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students study decomposition. For this decomposition lesson, students discuss the background information about decomposition. Students then complete the 'Chew It Twice' worksheet.
Worksheet
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Coloring: Mole (Soil Study Unit)

For Students 2nd - 3rd
In this soil coloring activity, students color a picture of a cartoon-style mole. Students color the words "There are thousands of soil types."
Worksheet
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Soil Is Under All Our Feet..

For Students 1st - 3rd
In this soil coloring worksheet, students color a picture of a cartoon style worm. Students color the words "Soil is under all our feet ... You just have to look!"
Worksheet
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Help Mole Get to Soil School!

For Students 1st - 3rd
For this soil worksheet, students help a mole get to soil school by following the correct path in a maze. Students color the words, "Soil is amazing!"
Lesson Plan
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S-O-I-L Soil

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders research soil, its nutrients, and plant growth. In this soil lesson plan, 5th graders create soil journals, trace flowers, and include nutrient information on each petal. Students read an excerpt from "McBroom Tells the...
Lesson Plan
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What can American third graders learn about soil from the European Union

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders develop a list of ways humans destroy soil. In this soil conservation lesson, 3rd graders listen to a book on soil conservation and design posters about how to conserve soil. Students share their work orally with classmates...
Worksheet
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Helping the Soil

For Students 5th - 6th
In this soil conservation activity, students study and analyze two excellent ways to enhance soil conservation: compost heap and leaf-mould. Students review all the ingredients in making both.
Lesson Plan
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Creating Gardens

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students are shown that numeracy is all around them. They use volume, and calculate the quantity of soil required to make a garden to given instructions. Students are asked how to calculate the amount of soil required for the garden.
Lesson Plan
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What's In the Dirt?

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders watch a demonstration and write in their journals their predictions about how time might affect the moisture in the two paper towels. Using a Berlese funnel, they record their observations when it comes the amount of...
Lesson Plan
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Soil Analysis

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Young scholars examine zip lock bags of clay, silt, and sand to determine its origin. They rotate through stations to compare different soils and perform oil separation and Tullgren funnel tests.
Lesson Plan
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The Effects of Color on Heat Absorption And Climate

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students conduct an experiment to determine the effects of soil color on its day and night time temperatures. In small groups, they prepare dishes of black soil, brown peat moss, and white sand. They record the temperature changes when a...
Lesson Plan
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Soil Conservation and the EU

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine how the European Union countries conserve their soil. In groups, they describe ways in which humans can destroy soil and create a plan in which they can be involved to conserve soil in their community. They make...
Lesson Plan
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Save Our Soil

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students gain an understanding of the small amount of soil available to sustain humans on earth and complete an appropriate graph or chart from their collected data. They locate some of the countries they have heard about where people do...
Lesson Plan
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Herb is the Word

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students conduct an experiment to determine how different soils affect plant growth over a six-week period. After determining the physical properties of different types of soil, students plant various types of seeds into the soil...
Lesson Plan
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Am I Neutral? pH Properties in Soil

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students participate in a science lab to determine the pH of three different soil samples. Students conduct an experiment by creating a question, a hypothesis and then an investigation of soil samples. Then they compare colors apprearing...
Lesson Plan
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Is Soil Alive?

For Teachers 3rd
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...
Lesson Plan
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Digging in the Dirt

For Teachers 1st
First graders awareness is raised that not all dirt is the same. They compare and observe particle sizes in three different kinds of soils. They keep a record book of what the discover and talk about how some soils are alike and some...
Lesson Plan
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Soil Organisms

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students work together to collect soil samples from different locations. In the samples, they identify the macroorganisms and classify them. They identify the conditions that affect how macroorganisms grow. They also analyze and identify...
Lesson Plan
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Earth's Valuable Soil

For Teachers K - 4th
Students investigate the concept of how the earth is segmented into different parts. They use an apple as a model to display the different layers. The apple is divided into different fractions by being cut into different size pieces.