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.

The purpose of this resource is to measure the amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in each horizon in a soil profile. Using a NPK test kit, students mix a dry, sieved soil sample into a solution and chemically extract the N, P, and K as nitrate, phosphate, and potassium. The N, P, and K amounts in the sample are determined by comparing the solution to a color chart. Students describe the ... Full description.

The purpose of this resource is to measure the pH of a soil horizon. Students mix dried and sieved soil samples with distilled water. The mixture is allowed to settle until a relatively clear layer is formed. Students use a pH pen, pH meter, or pH paper to determine the pH of the sample. The procedure is done three times for each horizon. 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.

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.

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.

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.

This chapter of the GLOBE Teacher's Guide presents information on how to characterize soil profiles and measure soil moisture and temperature. K-12 students from all over the world are participating in the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program by taking environmental measurements at their schools and sharing their data via the Internet. Measurement protocols and ... Full description.

A learning activity for the Scoop on Soils book in the Elementary GLOBE Series. Students will make predictions about what they think they will find in a sample of soil. They will investigate the sample and sort out the various items they find. Next they will spend time outside observing one or more sites to see what they find in the soil. After recording and sharing their observations they will create ... Full description.