Soil

View how microbes grow in soil. Class members first create a Winogradsky column to grow bacteria. They then set up the column of mud in a plastic bottle and include a food source for the microbes and observe the column of mud over the...

It's time to roll up those sleeves and get a little dirty in the second lesson of this series on the science of food. Investigate where plants and animals get the minerals they need to live in this two-part exploration of soil. First,...

Study the properties of soil and water absorption with a science activity. Based on a paragraph with background knowledge on sandy soil, silt, and clay soil, third graders choose which illustration represents a bottle full of sandy soil....

The class studies the soil food web that includes earthworms and conduct four experiments using the crawly critters. Individuals determine whether earthworms are sensitive to light, touch, temperature, and acid.

Rock the classroom with this hip video clip about dirt and rocks! Contents and the process of producing soil and sand are explained in the forest and on the beach. Time, pressure, and high temperatures are introduced as the requirements...

Students investigate the use of soil, an important natural resource in artwork. They experiment by crushing soil particles and adding the different color samples to artist acrylic to create true "earth colors". Using this paint, they...

Young geographers collect samples of different kinds of soil to match to the soil terms in Barry Rudner's rhyming book Filet of Soil: dirt, mud, dust, soot, etc. They start a glossary for the project on index cards or large sheets of...

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...

What type of soil holds in moisture the best? Find out with a guided-inquiry based lesson in which scholars investigate three types of soil—sand, clay, and silt—and the ability of each to retain waiter for plant growth. Learners graph...

Third graders examine soil samples and explore the what happens in each layer of the subsoil. They work in cooperative groups to create a scroll that shows what takes place in each layer, and discuss why much of the activity is in the...