Texas TEKS 1.10.A
The Standard
investigate and document the properties of particle size, shape, texture, and color and the components of different types of soils such as topsoil, clay, and sand
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students observe soil samples with hand lenses and compare the grains by size, shape, texture, and color. They record what they find, including grains, small rocks, and plant pieces.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can describe and sort topsoil, clay, and sand using more than one property. They can support a comparison with observations from each sample.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think all soil is brown, smooth, and made only of dirt. They may confuse texture with color or assume large grains make soil heavier in every case.
How to Assess It
- Give students pictures or small samples of sand, clay, and topsoil. Ask them to name two properties of each and circle any visible components.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Place sand, clay, and topsoil in trays for students to examine with hand lenses, touch safely, sort, and sketch.
Ask students to write: Which soil sample is easiest to identify, and what two observations support your answer?
Play Soil Sample Mystery by reading property clues while students hold up cards labeled sand, clay, or topsoil.
Compare soil from a garden bed and playground, then discuss which would help plants grow and what evidence supports the choice.
Keep exploring
Related Standards
- 1.10.B
investigate and describe how water can move rock and soil particles from one place to another;
- 2.10.A
investigate and describe how wind and water move soil and rock particles across the Earth's surface such as wind blowing sand into dunes on a beach or a river c...
- 6.6.B
investigate the physical properties of matter to distinguish between pure substances, homogeneous mixtures (solutions), and heterogeneous mixtures;
- 3.10.B
investigate and explain how soils such as sand and clay are formed by weathering of rock and by decomposition of plant and animal remains; and
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