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Grade K-3, 4-7
Subject Science, Biology
Resource type Lesson plan/Unit plan
Duration 30-60 minutes

About This Resource

With animation, interactivity, and sound effects, Starting with Soil demonstrates how plants and animals cooperate to make the soil we need to grow healthy food. Kids learn that soil starts with bare rock and discover how long it takes nature to make one inch of topsoil. (Spoiler alert: it takes 500 years!) Different chapters convey the importance of pollinators and the critical roles animals, the weather, microorganisms, and cover crops play in organic farming. Designed for students ages 7-9, Starting with Soil allows users to plant seeds, build a compost pile, drag a microscope over different organisms in soil to get a better look, and view the symbiosis at work when corn, beans, and squash are planted together.
Starting with Soil by the Centre for Ecoliteracy

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