Soil Curriculum Overview

Day 1
Significance of soil
10 min. Why is soil important? 4
things we need to survive. Apple
demo.
5 min. Solo sit and write an ode to
soil haiku. Pair share.
15 min. Partners collect soil sample
for jar test and soil sort activity.
5 min. Start jar test
Materials:
1 dry erase board and marker
1 apple
1 pocket knife
1 clipboard & pencil/student
1 yogurt container/pair for soil
samples
1 jar/pair

Day 2
Soil composition and
texture

Day 3
Soil Formation

Day 4
Soil Quality

5 min. Particle size jar demo

20 min. Take soil cores to study

layers. Worksheet to describe
layers.

10 min. Dissect the soil at your

table and make a list of all the
different things you think it
contains. Use hand lenses to study
soil organisms.

25 min. Soil formation skits. Three

groups: In situ, glacial till, and
alluvial soil formation.

5 min. Brainstorm what kind of soil

we want in the garden. What
characteristics should good garden
soil have? (color, texture, critters,
etc.)

10 min. Make a pie chart of soil

25 min. Jar test locate your soil
sample on the triangle graph
Materials:
Large jar
Rocks, gravel, sand, water
1 Soil dissection/pie chart
worksheet/student
1 hand lens/pair
1 index card/pair
1 ruler/pair
1 triangle chart/pair

5 min. Watch soil layers song

Material:
Soil core probe from Antioch
Shovel
Worksheets
Skit cards

15 min. Design a way to test one of

the soil quality characteristics
mentioned. Write testing method
on a 3x5 card and collect any
materials you need. Hints are
available.
20 min. In the garden perform your
soil test in each bed (or in as many
beds as you have time for). Record
results on worksheet.
10 min. Share results and discuss
what the soil needs.
Materials:
Hint cards
Worksheets