Process
Students will be divided into teams of 4-5. Each team will be divided into expert groups (A, B, C, D) that will research together. Each expert group will be asked to research various websites to answer a question about soil. The experts will then report to their teams and the teams together will then present their findings to the class. After each team has made a presentation, predictions will be made about which soil they believe is the best for use in a garden. The last step in this process is completing a scientific investigation to determine the soil type found on our schoolyard.
Expert A will use the following websites to answer the question "Why is soil an important resource for us?" The information gathered from this research should be listed and illustrated in an inspiration document.
www.fieldmuseum.org/undergroundadventure/kidzone/soil_properties.shtml#why
www.blm.gov/nstc/soil/Kids/soilimpt.html 
Expert B will use the following websites to gather information to answer the question "What is soil made of ?" Use the information researched to create a pie chart in excel or powerpoint displaying your results.
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case2/c2facts1.html
http://extension.usu.edu/aitc/teachers/pdf/dirt/insoil3.pdf **scroll to page 4
Expert C will use the following websites to gather information to answer the question "What are the physical characteristics of sand and silt including grain (particle) size and texture?" Use the information researched to create and illustrate a chart of the information you discovered.
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case2/c2facts2.html
http://soil.gsfc.nasa.gov/pvg/texture1.htm
Expert D will use the following websites to gather information to answer the question "What are the physical characteristics of clay and loam including grain (particle) size and texture?" Use the information researched to create and illustrate a chart of the information you discovered.
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case2/c2facts2.html
www.soil-net.com/cms_test/ *Click on the picture of the house. *Next, click on the words "Digging Shallow". *Last, click on "Why and How Soils Differ".
http://soil.gsfc.nasa.gov/pvg/texture1.htm
All 4 experts will present their researched information to their team. Then, as a team, they will make a presentation to the class.
In your teams, discuss and answer the following question "Which soil type would best to use in a flower garden? Why?"
Each team will now conduct a simple scientific investigation to determine the soil type found on our schoolyard.
First, predict which soil type you think is found on our schoolyard. Why do you think that is the soil type?
Next, visit the following website to learn how to conduct this scientific investigation.
www.fieldmuseum.org/undergroundadventure/kidzone/texture_test.shtml#
***Click on Video and Watch the Texture Test video
Last, conduct the investigation and record your results. "Was your prediction correct?"
