Smithsonian
Soils Exhibit!
(through January 2010) |
Check out this exciting exhibit
online.
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SOIL!
Get the Inside Scoop
This is a great book for kids, and a good resource for
teachers, targeted toward middle school.
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Summer
Science Teacher Academy,
2008
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Activities prepared for June 20,
2008 Soil Science Session, Brownwood, TX
(with TEKS)
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What is
Soil? |
A PowerPoint presentation that
provides simple to complex definitions of soil from many sources.
Robinson, created 2004, updated 2006 |
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Hungry,
naked, and homeless: Where would we be without soil? (K-5)
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Activities prepared for the
WTAMU Math-Science Teacher Conference, September 20, 2008
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Soil: A marriage of
science and
math?
(Grades 6-8)
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Activities prepared for the
WTAMU Math-Science Teacher Conference, September 20, 2008 |
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The
Apple As Planet Earth:
Spin by Dr. Dirt
(with TEKS)
Dr.
Dirt:
Soils, Water, Ecosystems, and Aquifers
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Activities prepared for the
WTAMU Math-Science Teacher Conference, September 25, 2004
Activities prepared for the
WTAMU Math-Science Teacher Conference, September 24, 2005
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Physical
model of soil with three phases of matter
(with TEKS)
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Soil Texture activities
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The
Sponge Model:
A sponge is used to represent several facets of soil water relations
and engineering properties. |
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Making
observations with tools
(with TEKS)
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Carbonates and vinegar effervescence
(with TEKS)
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Profiles
in Soil Science
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A compilation of articles about
influential soil scientists in the United States.
(with TEKS)
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Soil Air
Basic information about the soil atmosphere.
(with TEKS)
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Soil and Water
These demonstrations use marbles, golf balls, and ball bearings to show
where water exists in soil, and how it is removed by plants
Texas Essential Knowledge and
Skills, K-8 Adobe *.pdf file
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Dirt pudding recipes
and pictures
This tasty pudding can be used to teach about the horizons (layers) in
soil.
Texas Essential Knowledge and
Skills, K-8 Adobe *.pdf file |
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What
is capillarity?
These demonstrations provide the basics about capillary action, where
and how water is held in soil.
Capillary action at work using ball
bearings and reverse light.
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Sand
Castles: Pre-engineering 101
These simple exercises demonstrate some basic soil engineering
properties.
Texas
Essential Knowledge and Skills, K-8 Adobe
*.pdf file
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What
about surface tension?
Surface tension is an air-liquid phenomenon. Detergents and surfactants
alter the surface tension of water, decreasing the cohesion of water.
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Soil is a
filter
This simple exercise demonstrates some basic soil chemical properties
that protect our water supplies.
Texas
Essential Knowledge and Skills, K-8 Adobe
*.pdf file
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You have always heard the grass is always
greener on the other side of the fence, but...
Is the
Grass Really Greener?
Texas Essential Knowledge
and Skills, K-8 Adobe *.pdf file |
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Soil Temperature
These exercises demonstrate the effects of
water, color, mulch, and configuration on soil temperature.
Texas Essential Knowledge and
Skills, K-8 Adobe *.pdf file
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Erosion
Erosion is a problem, and these pictures show some of the more common
problems associated with erosion.
(with TEKS)
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Soil
Residue
This exercise provides a method students can use to determine residue
remaining on soil surface after harvest. The residue cover
influences the erosion potential of soil.
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What's a plow anyway?
Pictures of tillage implements with discussion of what they do and why
they are used.
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Irrigation Methods in the Great
Plains
Brief summary of irrigation methods used with pictures and
discussion
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Essential Plant Nutrients
(with TEKS)
Generalized
Nutrient Cycle (diagram)
(CEC = cation exchange capacity; AEC = anion exchange capacity) |
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Nutrient uptake activity with carnations
(with TEKS)
Link
to nutrient cycles diagrams (N, P, K, S) from PPI-PPIC (Phosphate &
Potash Institute)
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How
Big Is Your World?
The world is a complex system, but often our knowledge of it is limited
by our experience and interest.
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Mini
Soil Profile
Check out this new, quick, and inexpensive technique to make a
mini-soil profile using a note card and double sided carpet tape.
(with TEKS)
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ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/NSSC/
Educational_Resources/sellsoil.pdf
Kentucky
Soil, It's Worth Protecting
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10
Key Messages about the importance of soil: USDA-NRCS
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Using
Soil as a dye: Dirt Shirts
(with TEKS)
Crayons
colored by soil
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Painting
with soil
Jan Lang's paintings for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial in 2003
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