Lesson Resources

Lesson Resources

Find presentations, lesson ideas, activities, songs, games and reading materials to introduce Save Soil in the classroom.

Introductory Presentations

Save Soil Presentation for Younger Children

A slide deck to support an engaging discussion about soil, its importance to our daily lives, what is happening to it and what we can do about it. You can follow this with the ‘Why Save Soil? Young People Explain’ video. Age 3 – 11

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Save Soil Presentation for Older Children

A slide deck to support an engaging discussion about soil, soil health and the Save Soil movement. You can follow this with the ‘Why Save Soil? Young People Explain’ video. Age 7 – 16

български Deutsch Español Français Hrvatski Italiano Magyar Nederlands Português Română Српски Slovenščina

Save Soil Presentation

A slide deck to support discussion on the importance of soil and why it needs saving – by Philipp. Age 7 – 16

Deutsch

Primary School Presentation

A presentation explaining what soil is and why we need to look after it – by Pallavi. Age 5 – 11

Save Soil STEM Presentation

A presentation covering what soil is made of, the life in soil, how soil is useful for us and what we can do for soil – by Shiv. Age 5 – 11

Lesson Ideas and Activities

Suggestions for Introducing the Theme of Soil in a Creative Class

A collection of simple ideas to introduce the idea of soil into an art, poetry, drama, music or other creative class. Age 5 – 16

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Toolkit for Schools

A collection of fantastic lesson ideas for introducing soil to children – by Roxana Păun and Anca Rohan. Age 5 -11

The Earthworm Quiz

A fun way to have a discussion about the importance of earthworms in soil. Age 7 – 16

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Soil Water Retention and Erosion Experiment

See for yourself how organic matter impacts soil’s ability to store water. Age 5 – 14

Français

Save Soil Colouring Book

A colouring book to introduce the importance of soil to little ones. Age 0-7

Français

Soil Song Game

A fun way for youngsters to explore everyday encounters with soil through song. Age 5-11

Song – All We Need Is Soil

A song expressing how soil is fundamental to the future we create. Age 5-11

Fun Soil Songs

Fun, soil-themed songs to classic tunes – by Francis Hole. Age 3-7

Bingo

Bing cards with words relating to soil – by Alexis-Gitte. Age 5-7

Nederlands

Drawing Save Soil by Sophie Snyers

An art lesson personifying the life of the soil – by Sophie Snyers. Age 7-14

Art Lesson – Magical Artwork with Soil

An art lesson using soil and acrylic paint (mixed media) – by Sophie Snyers. Age 7-14

How Calandreta Los Falabreguièrs brought Save Soil into the Classroom 

The videos watched, discussions had and activities taken part in – by Mireille. Age 5-11

Don’t Lose Your Cool: Fallen Leaves Insulate the Soil

An experiment to show how leaf litter protects the soil and soil life from extreme temperatures – Soil Science Society of America. Age 7-14

Artwork with Soil and Living Plants

An idea for living wall art – by Sophie Snyers. Age 7-14

Reading Materials

The Magical World of Soil Biodiversity

A collection of beautifully illustrated, informative stories about soil – Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN. Age 5-11

Soil Biodiversity Atlas

An informative 180 page book that goes into great detail about the biodiversity of soil – Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative. Age 5-18

We Are Soil

A story exploring soil in a scientific manner – Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN. Age 7-11

A Dying Teenager’s Recovery Started in the Dirt

An account of how a virus found in soil helped rid a young transplant patient of her infection – The Atlantic. Age 11-18

Life in the soil was thought to be silent. What if it isn’t?
A fascinating article about the sounds that can be found in soil – Knowable Magazine. Age 11-18

Chaos of Delight
A website all about the tiny creatures that live in the soil – packed with exquisite photos and surprising information – Andy Murray. Age 7-18

 

Downloads

A Save Soil Exhibition Flyer to invite others to join. – български čeština Deutsch Español Français Hrvatski Italiano Magyar Português Română Српски Slovenščina

A How to Participate Flyer to explain to schools how to take part.

A Save Soil Exhibition Flyer for Children to invite young children and their parents to join. – Deutsch Español Français Hrvatski Italiano Magyar Português Română Српски Slovenščina

 

See also

Why Save Soil?

All About Soil

Introductory Videos

Farmers’ View

Creative Themes

Save Soil Anthem

Anapaula Rocha

When I joined the Save Soil movement I saw the possibility to reconnect with my first memory about soil. I was about 7 years old and my teacher asked us to monitor the growth of a bean and look after that tiny piece of life. This first experience never lost its sense of magic and mystery for me. How was it possible for a seed to transform itself into a plant on a piece of cotton wool and then grow enough to continue living in soil? I recalled transplanting it into the soil and still now remember the smell of that soil too.

As a parent I had revived the experiment, watching my children growing their own beans at school. 

As a child photographer, there were many times when I had witnessed children connect deeply with the wonder of forests. We sat on the ground to deepen their experience.

My involvement with Save Soil has brought the opportunity to engage once again with the bean project. I had the pleasure of repeating the experiment and photographing it in detail as well as contacting two families and engaging with their children about soil.

The children were of different ages and showed a good range of familiarity with the soil; some were more involved than others. After listening to their own experiences I shared the idea of recreating the bean project. They will monitor the experiment using their creative skills and we will reconnect in the middle of the project.

I believe that connection with soil is an essential component in raising awareness about the soil itself and its depletion. By conducting the same experiment, and inviting the children to engage with their creativity, it will certainly create an opportunity for conversation with their own families and friends about soil - sharing how the soil needs our attention and care just now.

Roxana Păun

My first presentation was about ”What is the soil?” The children in my class have already studied about the layers of the earth: Barysphere, Hydrosphere and Lithosphere. Soil is part of the Lithosphere, the outermost part of it. Then we start talking about the composition of the soil: what it contains as non-living matter and the life inside the soil: microbes, fungi, bacteria, worms, insects, and other animals. We also discussed what is the role of the soil, how it contributes to the other living beings on Earth, and the importance it has for the survival of life on our planet.

The children were so excited about all the information, and they contributed with their own knowledge and ideas. They connected so many areas of the economical system to farming, and discovered that actually everything comes from soil. We have performed experiments, and the children wrote various projects on soil. We are planning to continue with the study of soil in the next two months.

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As a parent I had revived the experiment, watching my children growing their own beans at school. 

As a child photographer, there were many times when I had witnessed children connect deeply with the wonder of forests. We sat on the ground to deepen their experience.

My involvement with Save Soil has brought the opportunity to engage once again with the bean project. I had the pleasure of repeating the experiment and photographing it in detail as well as contacting two families and engaging with their children about soil.

The children were of different ages and showed a good range of familiarity with the soil; some were more involved than others. After listening to their own experiences I shared the idea of recreating the bean project. They will monitor the experiment using their creative skills and we will reconnect in the middle of the project.

I believe that connection with soil is an essential component in raising awareness about the soil itself and its depletion. By conducting the same experiment, and inviting the children to engage with their creativity, it will certainly create an opportunity for conversation with their own families and friends about soil - sharing how the soil needs our attention and care just now.