Why Is Soil Important?

Good question! It’s fair to say that most elementary school students probably haven’t stopped to consider the role that soil plays in their daily lives. Sure, it can be fun to play in sometimes, but what does it really have to do with human survival?

The answer, of course, is that all living things are heavily dependent on soil… including humans! Soil provides many of the resources that humans use and depend on every day, such as food crops, natural fibers, building materials and water. This is why soil health matters! 

This 16-slide teaching presentation has been designed by our experienced team of teachers to demonstrate the importance of soil to plants, animals and humans to your students. Written in clear, age-appropriate language and accompanied by visuals and diagrams, this is the perfect resource to use when exploring how all living things depend on soil for their survival.

The presentation addresses the following topics related to the science curriculum:

• What is soil?
• Characteristics of soil
• The skin of the Earth
• How living things depend on soil
• Soil health matters
• Soil for plant growth
• Soil for crop growth
• Soil for natural fibers
• Soil for building materials
• Soil for water conservation

The end of the presentation presents the students with the following misconception check scenario:

Kiara overhears her friend Alexia make this comment:

“Why should I care about soil? It doesn’t affect my life at all!”

Write down what Kiara could say to Alexia to challenge her misconception about the importance of soil.

This activity provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the content presented in the presentation.

Use the dropdown menu to select the Google Slides version of this resource. Be sure to operate the presentation in Slideshow mode.

Teaching presentations are a fabulous resource when it comes to introducing new topics to your students. This high-quality resource will cut down on your science planning time, engage your students and encourage them to think about soil in a whole new way!

Expand Your Exploration into Soil

This teaching presentation provides an excellent overview of how plants, animals and humans depend on soil for their survival.

Looking for ways to expand your students’ engagement with this topic? Here are three great suggestions from one of our experienced teachers:

1. Animal Case Study –  Have your students choose an animal that lives in soil. Students research how soil supports this animal’s survival. Students could present their research to the class using a medium of their choice.
2. Plant Growth Experiment – As a class, study what happens when a plant is placed in poor-quality soil as compared to high-quality soil. Record observations over a period of time, then compare the results.
3. Class Garden – With the support of your school administration, create a class garden for the students to nurture. Have the students spend time observing the plant and animal life that are dependent on the garden’s soil for their survival.

Download This Soil Slide Deck

Use the Download button to access the Google Slides version of this resource. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides template before accessing it.)

Project the resource onto your screen and work through the slides as a class for a paperless lesson!

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This resource was created by Caitlyn Phillips, a Teach Starter collaborator.

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Teach Soil with These Teacher-Made Resources

Looking for more activities to enhance your science lessons on soil? We have a huge selection of teacher-created resources at your fingertips!