1. SOILS More Than Just Dirt

2. What Is Soil? Soil is a layer that covers most of the land surface of the earth. Soil is what forests, fields and gardens grow in. Soil is made of sand, silt, clay and decayed plants. Soil is home of many insects, worms and bacteria. Let’s brainstorm ideas about soil……

3. Properties of Soil We will now watch the video… What Is Soil? You saw in the video that soil also contains air and water. Now let’s see what kind of soil holds water better. Making a prediction …. Will sand hold water or will the water run through? ……. Will clay hold water or will the water run through?

4. Let’s Experiment We will need clay, sand, sieves, water and containers. What did we find out? 1. Place sand in one sieve and clay in the other. Make sure to cover the entire bottom of the sieve. 2. Place a sieve over each of your containers to catch water. 3. Slowly pour water into each sieve. Be sure not to pour too much in. 4. Observe which container receives the most water.

5. Does sand or clay hold water better? WHY? Clay is the correct answer, because clay holds water and sand doesn’t. Clay holds water because it is made of small, flat particles with no air space between them. Sand has larger, roundish particles with lots of space between.

6. Which kind of soil do you expect to find in the bottom of a pond in a field?

7. It is clay because clay allows the water to collect at the surface while sand would allow it to drain away into the ground.