The purpose of this resource is to define a soil characterization site. The following factors are defined: location, latitude, longitude, elevation, aspect (the direction of the steepest slope across an exposed soil site) and landscape position and slope (describes the contours of the land at the soil characterization site). Full description.

The purpose of this resource is to introduce students to gravemetric measurements - calculating the amount of water in a soil sample or other substance by weighting it before and after drying. Full description.

The purpose of this resource is to measure near-surface soil temperatures. Students measure soil temperatures at 5 cm and 10 cm depths using a soil thermometer. Students will be able to perform a soil thermometer calibration, carry out soil temperature measurements accurately and precisely and record and report soil temperature data. Students will be able to relate soil temperature measurements to ... Full description.

The purpose of this resource is to introduce students to the importance of soil. In the first activity, students generate a list of why soils are important. In the second activity, students are asked to describe the five factors that form a unique soil profile and to explore these concepts. In the third activity, students are shown a demonstration of how much soil there is on Earth that is available ... Full description.

This lesson plan develops the concept of irrigation for elementary school level kids. The lesson plan provides two activities involving role playing. Using the role playing activites and labs, elementary students should acquire the critical thinking skills necessary to draw conclusions about various aspects of irrigation. Full description.

K-12 students from all over the world are participating in the GLOBE program by taking environmental measurements at their schools and sharing their data via the Internet. NASA scientists use GLOBE data in their research and provide feedback to the students. The Soil Chapter of the GLOBE 2003 Teacher's Guide presents information on how to characterize soil profiles and measure soil moisture and temperature. ... Full description.

This slide show provides information to guide pesticide users in applying pesticides in a manner that will protect groundwater as much as possible from contamination. The slide show covers properties of pesticides, soil, and groundwater that are likely to worsen contamination and provides suggestions for handling and applying them. Other topics include basic geology of groundwater and potential health ... Full description.

In this activity, students construct their own wetlands using gallon-sized plastic containers, soils, plants, and other materials. One container will have constant drainage while the other maintains well-saturated soil. Students observe both containers over a two-week period and record daily observations of different parameters, including soil pH. The activity helps students develop an understanding ... Full description.

Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) is an international, interdisciplinary, water education program for formal and informal educators of students ages 5 to 18. This project site provides opportunities to order high quality educational material, samples of Project WET activities, information on Make a Splash Festivals, education standards, information on events, Project Wet reports and water ... Full description.

The Water Sourcebooks from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contain 324 activities for grades K-12 divided into four sections: K-2, 3-5, 5-8, and 9-12. Each section is divided into five chapters: Introduction to Water, Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment, Surface Water Resources, Ground Water Resources, and Wetlands and Coastal Waters. This environmental education program explains the ... Full description.