Students will understand the characteristics of a healthy soil, including how energy, water, and nutrients cycle through it; healthy soil structures; and the impact of soil textures.

View Lesson
Discipline
Earth and Space Sciences
Grade Level
9-12
Lesson Area
Soil Basics
Soil Biology
Soil Physics
Lesson Type
Teacher's Guide
Lesson Keywords
Sand
silt
Clay
Aggregate
pedon
ped
slacking

Next Generation Science Standards

Grade Discipline Core Idea
9-12 ESS2.A: Earth materials and systems

Feedback effects exist within and among Earth's systems.
9-12 ESS2.C: The roles of water in Earth's surface processes

The planet's dynamics are greatly influenced by water's unique chemical and physical properties.
9-12 LS2.A: Interdependent relationships in ecosystems

Ecosystems have carrying capacities resulting from biotic and abiotic factors. The fundamental tension between resource availability and organism populations affects the abundance of species in any given ecosystem.
9-12 PS1.A: Structure of matter (includes PS1.C Nuclear Processes)

The sub-atomic structural model and interactions between electric charges at the atomic scale can be used to explain the structure and interactions of matter, including chemical reactions and nuclear processes. Repeating patterns of the periodic table reflect patterns of outer electrons. A stable molecule has less energy than the same set of atoms separated; one must provide at least this energy to take the molecule apart.