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Soil is one of Earth's most precious resources. It provides the support and nourishment that plants need in order to grow. In turn, plants provide food for animals and people. As well as rock fragments, SOIL LAYERS contain air, water, and plant and animal remains.

Soil is formed as rock is broken up by ice, frost, wind, and water. Plants take root among the rock fragments and bind them together. When plants die, they fertilize the soil. Soil takes many years to form, but it can be destroyed very quickly by bad farming methods, such as deforestation (clearing the land of trees).

There are three main types of soil-clay, sandy, and loamy. There are also other types of soil, depending on the type of underlying rock and the climate and vegetation. Loams are a mixture of clay, sand, and silt, and are more fertile than other soils.

Living things play an important role in helping to recycle nutrients (nourishing minerals) that enrich the soil. When plants and animals die, their remains are broken down by scavenging creatures, such as beetles, microscopic bacteria, and fungi. This releases minerals into the soil. The minerals fertilize plants so they can grow, and so the cycle of life begins again.

A small patch of soil just 1 sq yd (1 sq m) in area can hold a billion living things. These include insects, spiders, worms, centipedes, mites, fungi, and tens of thousands of bacteria.

Soil scientists divide the soil into layers from the surface down to the underlying bedrock. This is called a soil profile. The layers in a soil profile are known as horizons. The depth of each horizon varies among different types of soil.

A layer of dark, fertile humus made of rotting plants lies at the soil's surface. Underneath, the topsoil contains plant roots, and plant and animal remains that bacteria and fungi are helping to rot down. The subsoil contains fewer plant and animal remains but has plenty of minerals washed down from the layers above. Below are rock fragments, then solid bedrock.

Copyright © 2007 Dorling Kindersley

Soil is one of Earth's most precious resources. It provides the support and nourishment that plants need in order to grow. In turn, plants provide food for animals and people. As well as rock fragments, SOIL LAYERS contain air, water, and plant and animal remains.

Soil is formed as rock is broken up by ice, frost, wind, and water. Plants take root among the rock fragments and bind them together. When plants die, they fertilize the soil. Soil takes many years to form, but it can be destroyed very quickly by bad farming methods, such as deforestation (clearing the land of trees).

There are three main types of soil-clay, sandy, and loamy. There are also other types of soil, depending on the type of underlying rock and the climate and vegetation. Loams are a mixture of clay, sand, and silt, and are more fertile than other soils.

Living things play an important role in helping to recycle nutrients (nourishing minerals) that enrich the soil. When plants and animals die, their remains are broken down by scavenging creatures, such as beetles, microscopic bacteria, and fungi. This releases minerals into the soil. The minerals fertilize plants so they can grow, and so the cycle of life begins again.

A small patch of soil just 1 sq yd (1 sq m) in area can hold a billion living things. These include insects, spiders, worms, centipedes, mites, fungi, and tens of thousands of bacteria.

Soil scientists divide the soil into layers from the surface down to the underlying bedrock. This is called a soil profile. The layers in a soil profile are known as horizons. The depth of each horizon varies among different types of soil.

A layer of dark, fertile humus made of rotting plants lies at the soil's surface. Underneath, the topsoil contains plant roots, and plant and animal remains that bacteria and fungi are helping to rot down. The subsoil contains fewer plant and animal remains but has plenty of minerals washed down from the layers above. Below are rock fragments, then solid bedrock.

Copyright © 2007 Dorling Kindersley

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Soil is one of Earth's most precious resources. It provides the support and nourishment that plants need in order to grow. In turn, plants provide food for animals and people. As well as rock fragments, SOIL LAYERS contain air, water, and plant and animal remains.

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What is soil? Did you know that it's a mixture of four main ingredients: weathered rock, organic matter, air, and water? With this science worksheet, your students will find out much more about this topic. First, they'll read an informational text on what soil is and why it is important. Then, their nonfiction comprehension skills will be challenged by having them write what they think the main idea of the passage is. This resource pairs well with the science curriculum in second grade.

Get Ready for Second Grade

This workbook is packed with worksheets that will help students practice the core concepts featured in the second grade curriculum, from word study and math to reading and writing.

This workbook makes sense of cents and the dollar bill. This set of worksheets will usher kids through counting, matching prices to money, and making change, with word problems and visual aids.

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What is Soil? | Worksheet | Education.com

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What is soil? Did you know that it's a mixture of four main ingredients: weathered rock, organic matter, air, and water? With this science worksheet, your students will find out much more about this topic. First, they'll read an informational text on what soil is and why it is important.

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BLM NSTC Soil Biological Communities for Kids

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So then, what is dirt? Dirt is what gets on our clothes or under our fingernails. It is soil that is out of place in our world - whether tracked inside by shoes or on our clothes. Dirt is also soil that has lost the characteristics that give it the ability to support life - it is "dead."

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Kids learn about the Earth science subject of soil including how it is formed, properties, horizons, layers, topsoil, bedrock, and facts about soil.

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Children of the Earth United
~ Environmental Education for Kids of all Ages ~

Learn about Animals, Plants, Ecology, Nature, Environmental Issues, Native Wisdom, Nature Centers, Activities, and much more at www.childrenoftheearth.org !

Copyright 1999 - 2015 Children of the Earth United. All Rights Reserved.

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Soil Facts for Kids: Where Does Soil Come From

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Children of the Earth United ~ Environmental Education for Kids of all Ages ~ Learn about Animals, Plants, Ecology, Nature, Environmental Issues, Native Wisdom, Nature Centers, Activities, and much more at www.childrenoftheearth.org ! Copyright 1999 - 2015 Children of the Earth United. All Rights Reserved.