Other
Nutrients for Life Foundation: For Teachers: Nourishing the Planet
Download free curriculum with three modules on soil and plant science: elementary, middle, or high school. Each module includes hands-on investigations to help learners understand the importance of healthy soil and thriving plant...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Obi Wan Adobe: Engineering for Strength
Students conduct an experiment to determine how varying the composition of a construction material affects its strength. They make several adobe bricks with differing percentages of sand, soil, fibrous material and water. They test the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Soil Core Sampling
Students learn about one method used in environmental site assessments. They practice soil sampling by creating soil cores, studying soil profiles and characterizing soil profiles in borehole logs. They use their analysis to make...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Soil Investigations
Students learn the basics about soil, including its formation, characteristics and importance. They are also introduced to soil profiles and how engineers conduct site investigations to learn about soil quality for development,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Dense Are You?
Learners learn about geotechnical engineers and their use of physical properties, such as soil density, to determine the ability of various soils to offer support to foundations. In an associated activity, students determine the bulk...
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Weathering and Decomposition
Learn about weathering and decomposition in this tutorial that includes interactive activities, videos, and more.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Properties of Soil
This tutorial introduces students to the properties of soil.
NASA
Nasa: Exploration: Then and Now: Settlement Lesson
This lesson has young scholars examine different land to determine whether settlement is affected by an area's location, soil, and weather.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Earth and Space Science: Earth's Solid Membrane: Soil
Material to launch exploration of Earth's soil and its important role. View a one-hour video, accompanied by details on soil horizons and soil formation, and ideas for bringing this topic into the classroom.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Water, Soil, and Agriculture
Students learn about the fundamental importance of water, soil, and agriculture in sustaining the human standard of living; and the heavy toll that current agricultural practices take on water and soil resources.
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: The Dirt on Soil
This interactive website explores the various soil layers and introduces you to the lifeforms that live in those soil layers.
Other
South Africa: Soil Erosion
A thorough explanation of erosion including causes of soil erosion, water erosion, and water erosion.
Globe
The Globe Program: All About Earth: Our World on Stage [Pdf]
This delightful storybook provides young learners an understanding of how the Earth's processes work together. The students of an elementary classroom have been making costumes and practicing lines. Each student is playing the role of a...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Cutting Through Soil
Students pretend they are agricultural engineers during the colonial period and design a miniature plow that cuts through a "field" of soil. They are introduced to the engineering design process and learn of several famous historical...
University of Illinois
University of Illinois Extension: Claude's Got the Scoop on Soil
Students learn about how soil is made, who really needs soil, and what happens to soil if you don't take care of it.
US Geological Survey
U.s. Geological Survey: Introduction to Soils
This unit teaches students how soils develop and provides links between soils, climate, vegetation, and geology. It includes a field exercise where students can sample and characterize their local soil and relate different soil processes...
US Geological Survey
Usgs: Vermiculite
Information and statistics on the mineral vermiculite are presented by the USGS. Domestic production, sources, and substitutes are discussed in detail.
Other
Massachusetts Department of Education: Sunlight Warms Earth's Surface
This unit contains a series of lessons that allow learners to explore the effect of sunlight on Earth's natural surfaces of sand, soil, rock, and water. In addition, students explore how the color and material of a surface affects how...
Other
Indianetzone: Types of Soil
Get to know the five different kinds of soil .. clay, sand, loam, chalk, and peat.
Utah Education Network
Uen: The Dirt on Soil
After completing this instructional activity, students will understand the source and the process for the formation of soil, the different types of soil, and the components of soil.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Trb 4:3 Investigation 5 What Is in Soil?
Activity helps with understanding the basic components of soil and relates the components to plant growth.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Trb 4:3 Investigation 7 Plants in Soil
Understand how the components of soil effect plant growth.
Utah Education Network
Uen: S O I L Soil
Plants need nutrients to grow, those nutrients come from the soil, and nutrients can be added to soil to help plants grow better.
BBC
Bbc Schools: Ks2 Bitesize: Science: Materials: Rocks and Soils
Save Earth from the evil villain who is draining all the life from it. Following the activity, read more about rocks and soil, and then take a quick quiz to check for understanding.