Questions to ask about soil

We continue this series with 'Questions for any rock face 3: soil; what questions about soil might be asked at any soil exposure?'

Soil is the mixture of material at the Earth’s surface that can support the growth of plants. It has four key components: rock fragments (from the rock beneath or brought into the area), decaying plant material, water and air. It often has a vertical sequence of layers, called a soil profile.
Show your pupils the soil at the top of the rock face, if a good profile can be seen in cross section, and ask them these questions:
- How many different soil layers can you see?
- How does rock become changed into topsoil?
- Is this a rich or poor soil? (Generally, the greater the number of growing species there are, the richer the soil)
Many more activities about soils can be found on our website.

Special Earthlearningidea Fairytale

To celebrate this holiday season, we have published a special ELI geological fairytale, 'Once upon a time, long, long ago . . . '

This is 'a once a pun a time geological tale' and pupils can groan loudly at every 'joke'. You only need a very strange imagination to write a similar story. Please send them to us to publish.
And the moral of the story? - geologists should not mess with prose.
We apologise to all our translators; we don't think this will work in any other language!

Sensory treasure hunt

Another ELI Early years is published today. This activity is great fun, especially if all the objects chosen have a holiday theme.
'Sensory treasure hunt; using senses to match objects with similar properties' 

This activity has endless potential and can be used in many ways. It is best carried out outside where there is plenty of space but can equally well be enjoyed in the classroom or home. Children can work at their own pace with the faster and more able investigating uses and other properties such as the object’s ability or not to change shape. The words fulfil many literacy requirements and children can try to apply them to other objects.
Lots of other ELI Early years ideas can be found on our website.

Bringing a fossil 'back to life'

An activity that is great fun for the end of term:-
'Running the fossilisation film backwards; bringing a fossil ‘back to life’'

Your pupils will have great fun pretending to be fossils which gradually come back to life. Ask the pupils to imagine a film being taken of an animal as it dies and sinks to the ground before being fossilised. They then ‘run the film backwards', imagining in reverse how the animal actually did sink to the ground and how it lived before that fatal moment.
Perhaps they can take some video clips of their actions; we will publish the best of these so please send them to us!

Pirates and buried treasure - new ELI Early years

New for ELI Early years is 'Pirates and buried treasure; grouping and sorting a variety of objects'.

This activity involves identifying, describing and grouping a selection of objects, including Earth-related objects, into various categories. The activity can fit into any teaching scheme where grouping of objects is required but it can also be included in literacy and numeracy programmes.
This is one of a growing number of Earthlearningideas suitable for young children; all can be seen on our website.

Which power source?

'Which power source? – solving the crisis in Kiama; searching for all the power sources that could be developed in a mythical country'.
Kiama has a power crisis. It used to get all its power from oil supplied by Turaba, the country next door. But there has been a border dispute in the Barotsi Hills region – and Turaba has cut off all oil supplies.

Ask your pupils to study the map for clues to all the different power sources Kiama might develop instead. Ask them to work in groups to:
• write a list of all the power sources that could be developed;
• put the list of power sources into a table and list the advantages and disadvantages of each (for example some may be renewable, some may be cheaper or easier to develop than others, etc.);
• decide on the four best options and prepare a presentation on why these choices have been made.
After completing the activity, pupils can:
• list a range of potential power resources for a country;
• debate the advantages and disadvantages of each of the power sources;
• decide on the best options and explain their decisions.
Many more activities about power sources can be found on the website.

Activities to simulate features in the field

The new ELI today is 'Interactive re-creation; activities using simple transportable apparatus to simulate features in the field'

Demonstrate bedding, laminations, cross bedding, ripple marks, folding, faulting and shelly limestone - all with simple equipment. These activities help pupils to understand what they are seeing.
Many more ideas for activities out of doors can be downloaded from the website.