Georgia S6E5.h
The Standard
Plan and carry out an investigation to provide evidence that soil is composed of layers of weathered rocks and decomposed organic material.
Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science · Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to show how Earth's surface is formed.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students plan and conduct a soil investigation using clear jars, water, hand lenses, or sieves. They record observations and use the results to identify weathered rock particles, organic material, and visible layers.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students choose a workable procedure, keep sample amounts consistent, and record measurements or labeled observations. They use specific evidence to explain that soil contains both rock particles and decomposed plant or animal material.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think soil is only crushed rock or only dead plant material. They may assume every soil sample forms identical layers or mistake whole leaves for all organic matter.
How to Assess It
- Give students a soil sample and ask them to write a three-step investigation. Require them to name one result that would show rock material and one that would show organic material.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Shake soil and water in clear jars, let it settle, then measure the layers and inspect floating material with hand lenses.
Write a claim explaining what soil contains, then support it with two observations from a jar test.
Match cards labeled sand, clay, pebbles, humus, and leaf fragments to weathered rock or organic material, then justify each match.
Compare soil from a garden bed and a worn path, then recommend which location would better support plant growth using observed evidence.
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Printable S6E5.h Worksheet
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Related Standards
- S2L1.b
Plan and carry out an investigation of the life cycle of a plant by growing a plant from a seed and by recording changes over a period of time.
- S6E5.b
Plan and carry out an investigation of the characteristics of minerals and how minerals contribute to rock composition.
- S3E1.b
Plan and carry out investigations to describe properties (color, texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support growth of plants) of soils and soil t...
- S3E1.c
Make observations of the local environment to construct an explanation of how water and/or wind have made changes to soil and/or rocks over time.
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