12/10/21, 12:10 AM Rocks and Soils lesson plan / RHS Campaign for School Gardening

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LESSON PLAN

Rocks and Soils Lesson plan Estimated time: 60

minutes
Location: Outdoors & Indoors
Links to National Curriculum
School term: All year round
KS2 Science; Rocks and Science SCN 3 1-17a
Key stage(s): KS2, KS3
KS3 Geography; Rocks, Weathering & Soils
Subject(s): Science, Geography

Learning objectives To understand soils are made from rocks and organic matter.
Identify similarities and differences between types of soil.
Investigate soil from the local environment.
Look at how the parts a soil is made of affect how it behaves.
To begin to understand the value of soil.

Key vocabulary Rock, soil, bedrock, weathering, organic matter, humus, living organisms, particles, drainage

Introduction Background information

Fully investigate a tray of soil and collect words to describe the appearance and Soil is vital to all living things and is made from a mix‐
texture. This collection might include dirt, earth, mud, worms, crumbly etc. What ture of tiny particles of rock, humus (dead plants and
is soil made of? List the parts that can be identified – use magnifiers to help. animals), air and water.

The solid rock, underlying the loose soil (bedrock) will

Activities differ from place to place and this has an effect on the
soil type. There are 3 main kinds of soil – sand, silt
Separate soil into its constituent parts. Ask for suggestions and list how and clay. Loam is a mixture of all of them.

this could be done – sieving would be one way or you could: Make a soil It takes 400 years to develop 1cm of typical soil and
shake: Use a wide necked, transparent container with a well-fitting lid. Half 3,000 – 12,000 years to form enough to farm! Check
fill with water and add a spoonful of soil. Screw the lid on tightly and shake out the How much soil activity to really appreciate this
vigorously to combine, then leave to settle for at least 5 minutes. Observe precious natural resource!
how different components sink into layers, whilst others float. Are the
layers clearly visible? Due to differing particle size the bottom layer will be Resources
sand, the middle silt and the top clay. The largest layer will indicate the
Soil samples

general soil type.

Transparent lidded container, spoon, water

Make a soil cake: Go outside and collect the ingredients to make soil. Soil texturing flow diagram (ideally laminated)

Have you made soil? What’s missing? Use the ‘What is soil of made of?’ Collecting bucket, spoon

info sheet to explain this. Magnifiers

Explore soil characteristics. Pour water onto different samples of soil

(sandy and clay), observe what happens – does the water drain through or
sit on the surface?
Soil texturing test – the way a soil feels describes its texture and this is Differentiation
dependent on the size of the particles it contains. Test different soil types to
Create a recipe card for soil
see if you can feel the difference. Use the Soil texture test activity to find
the answer.Test different soils from a range of locations in your outdoor Extension: What would be the ideal type of soil
space, to see if they are the same. Record this information on a map of to grow crops and why?
your grounds. Make sure you are testing soil, not compost (especially if
taking a sample from a raised bed).

Next steps

Plenary

Try growing plants in different types of soil - what can

you discover? Use the 'Be a soil scientist' activity to
'The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself' is a quote from Franklin
give you ideas.
Roosevelt (President of the United States from 1943 - 45). What does this
mean?

Ask for a description of soil again -  has the content changed from words used
at the beginning of this lesson?

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12/10/21, 12:10 AM Rocks and Soils lesson plan / RHS Campaign for School Gardening

Assessment questions Name the main ingredients of soil

What was missing from the soil recipe?
Is soil as precious as gold?

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