In this activity, students use an interactive or paper-based graphic organiser to explore their ideas about the components of soil.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
- recognise that inorganic mineral particles are components of soil
- recognise that organic matter (including living organisms) is a component of soil
- recognise that water and air are components of soil
- justify their choices about what makes up soil.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
- introduction/background notes
- what you need
- what to do
- extension ideas
- student worksheet.
Related content
Use these articles to aid in discussions on the science ideas and concepts relating to soil
Image card acknowledgements:
Pebbles by Joanbanjo. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Drops Impact by Marlon Felippe. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Clay-ss-2005 by Siim. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Leaf litter by Mokkie. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Concrete Casting Defect Blowhole by Elgewen – own work. Licensed under Creative Commons 1.0
Two diamonds by Washington Diamonds Corporation/Inbal-Tania Studio. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Turtle plushie by Anil Öztas. Licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0-de
Microbes, earthworms and dead insects, © University of Waikato
