How Dirt Works
Provided by: The Nature Conservancy|Published on: September 23, 2024|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences
Authors: Nature Lab by The Nature Conservancy
Location: North America > United States, North America > United States > California
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this Nature Lab lesson, students explore the importance of soil and what constitutes healthy soil.
- Students will conduct demonstrations to show what the soil provides for people and the planet, watch an interview with a Southern California scientist who works with soil, and write about how soil provides things they use every day.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- In the interviews with the scientist, Sophie Parker, her passion for soil and her work is evident as she speaks about biodiversity, soil health, and the importance of soil.
- Giving students the task of finding group members by joining puzzle pieces is a unique and creative way to group students.
Prerequisites
- Younger students may be disturbed by the clip of the decomposing fox in the introductory video.
- Before completing the Explore portion, students may need terms from the list defined, especially civil engineer, geologist, and hydrologist.
- Many of the links for the timeline resources are either broken or lead to an entirely different website. Timetoast is the only link that is accurate. However, the links for Timeglider and Time Rime go to the same website (Preceden), which also creates timelines.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Using mixed media, students can make models of a soil profile. Encourage students to be creative with their representations.
- Since Google + is no longer active, students can use their pre-existing classroom media system or a resource like Google classroom to share project ideas.
- For the Extend portion, teachers can use this vermicomposter toolkit to create a compost bin, especially since the link to the materials in this resource is broken.
This lesson teaches all about soil, its importance, and why it is important to take care of the soil. The lesson does not specifically mention climate change. However, it does discuss why soil is important for life and how maintaining soil health is important for our earth. Some of these topics include how soil filters pollution, cycles nutrients, and regulates water. These topics often come up when discussing climate change impacts and solutions, as well as in conversations about caring for the environment, so it is helpful for students to understand soil and its role in our environment. The information presented is accurate, and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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