Soil activities

Activities about soil

These activities aim to enable children to understand the importance of a healthy soil to organic farmers and the environment.

Activity: Soil - all muck or magic?

Why is soil important? What is it made up of? Many things can be made in a factory, but is it possible for us to manufacture soil?

The soil factory

Try to make a soil factory by mixing up a soil recipe of stones, leaves, twigs, bones, water and air. Discuss what the recipe may be and then put all the ingredients in an old sack to mix them up. You may need a hammer to break some pieces. Does the finished product look or feel anything like real soil? The activity shows that making soil takes a long time and needs that extra ingredient of soil life to be successful.

What soil am I?

Soil types vary, not only in different parts of the country, but from field to field and garden to garden. Collect samples of soil from different parts of the farm, school grounds or gardens. Ask groups to sort the soils into collections based on colours, particle size, shapes, living things, feels and smells! Each group should explain the classification they used.

The mucky hand test

To find out what type of soil it is, you will need to carry out this simple test (used by farmers to find out about their soils):

• Add enough water to the soil sample so that you can knead it for a few moments in your hand.
• Try and make the following shapes.
• The shape you get most easily will tell you what type of soil you have.

Shape	Type of soil
Cone	Sand
Ball	Loamy sand
Worm	Loam
Bent cracked worm	Clayey loam
Smooth bent worm	Clay

The final shape you get is the soil texture, for example, if a worm shape can be made but it breaks if bent, it is a loam.

Did you know?

Like water and air, soil is an essential natural resource. It forms very slowly but can be lost very rapidly by erosion, or become contaminated by pollution. Plants need soil to grow properly and everything we eat in the end comes from plants. Soil is a 'life factory' where minerals, water and air are worked on by micro-organisms to provide the right conditions for plants to grow. Organic farmers recognise that a healthy soil is the foundation for a healthy farming system and aim to encourage this through natural methods (through crop rotations, adding manure and compost) and avoiding chemical fertilisers and synthetic pesticides which suppress soil life. Healthy soil, healthy food, healthy people.

Learning opportunities

Science

Enables pupils to:
Develop investigative skills in asking questions about what soil is made of and how it can be classified into different groups, carry out test to determine soil type.
Consider importance of the soil and its relationship to plants and living things.
Develop observation and recording skills.

English

Provides opportunities for discussion and written work such as a report on the different activities undertaken and the conclusions made.