Special Study – Soil and Soil Conservation

In every outthrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand there is the story of the earth. – Rachel Carson

Where to look for books in your library: J 552 primarily

SOILS

Books:
Jump into Science: Dirt by Steve Tomecek (IP, PB, gr. p-3, 32 p.)
The Dirt Book by Eva Knox Evans (83 p.)
How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World by Faith McNulty (IP, g. P-3, 32 p.)
The World Beneath Our Feet: The Story of Soil by Martin L. Keen (MS, 96 p.)
The Soil that Feeds Us by Eleanor B. Heady (62 p.)

Teacher background from HoNS:
The Soil, p. 760-766

Object lessons:
HoNS Lesson 216, The Soil, p. 763 (3 experiments)
Layers of Soil Activity (This takes 2-3 days to fully settle.)
Estimating Soil Texture: Sand, Silt or Clayey? (MS or HS)
Look at various soils under a handlens or microscope

Books:
Rocks Rivers, and the Changing Earth by Herman and Nina Schneider (particularly chapters 1-2, IP, gr. 3-8, 192 p.)
Life in a Bucket of Soil by Alvin Silverstein (IP, gr. 3-8, object lessons included, 96 p.)
Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth by Molly Bang (IP, PB, gr. 3+, 48 p.)
Erosion by Joshua Rutten (gr. 2+, 32 p.)

Teacher background from HoNS: 
The Soil, p. 760-775

Object lessons:
HoNS Lesson 216, The Soil, p. 763 (3 experiments)
HoNS Lesson 217, How Our Valuable Soil is Lost, p. 770
HoNS Lesson 217, How to Conserve Our Soils, p. 775
Activities included in Life in a Bucket of Soil

**Note: When you are studying “earth science” you will encounter more explanations of the evolutionary theory than when you are studying botany or elephants, for example. Older books have less inclusion of this perspective, usually. My guiding line is that they not mock or attack the young earth view point. We can have a conversation about “millions of years”.

The following resources might be useful:

Creation.com – Engineer Goes Back to School: Don Batten chats with geologist Dr Tas Walker (Flood model solves geological puzzles)
Answers In Genesis – Radioactive and Radiocarbon Dating (video)
Dr. Ron Carlson – Origins (video, covers carbon dating)
Dinosaurs, Flood Pt 1
Dinosaurs, Flood Pt 2