What Do You Know About Soil?

Journal Article | July 2022

What Do You Know About Soil?

Book Chapter | March 2016

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about soil. Soil is the material that is useful to plants and animals, including people. Its formation is a slow process but continuous and still…

Get the Scoop on Soil Microbes

Journal Article | November 2020

Going Beneath the Surface: Using Socioscientific Issues to Explore Human Impacts on Soil

Journal Article | July 2024

Socioscientific issues (SSIs) can help students think about the moral and ethical issues related to science. When SSI issues are based on local phenomena and issues within students’ communities, they can also resonate…

The Color of Soil: Exploring the chemistry of soil color

Journal Article | April 2000

Soil color is a study of various chemical processes acting on soil. These processes include the weathering of geologic materials, the chemistry of oxidation-reduction actions upon various minerals of soil, and the…

What’s in Our Soil?

Journal Article | August 2017

A university-nonprofit-school partnership aims to raise environmental awareness.

Soil, Weeds, and Computers

Journal Article | April 2004

After a 2001 wildfire in the state of Wyoming, scientists were interested in learning what hydrophobic layers existed in the heavily burned areas and at what depth. In a collaborative, inquiry-based project, high school…

Creative Soil Conservation

Journal Article | January 2010

Take plant lessons outdoors with this engaging and inquiry-based activity in which third-grade students learn how to apply soil conservation methods to growing plants. They also collect data and draw conclusions about…

Having pHun With Soils

Journal Article | March 2013

Test the pH of soil to explore its impact on an ecosystem.