Thanks to our partners at Raley’s, California Farmland Trust, and California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (CFAITC) are pleased to release What’s the Dirt on Soil! This educational curriculum is intended to provide third to fifth-grade elementary students with a hands-on activity to learn about soil. Follow along with us on social media as we share the project and provide a live demonstration!

This activity helps students explore the composition of soil. Using a simple jar test, students will collect soil, shake it with water, and observe how it settles into layers of sand, silt, clay, and organic matter. The full lesson takes about 45–60 minutes over two class sessions.

To support learning, California Farmland Trust will provide a jar of “good” soil for students to compare their own samples with—making this activity easy to do in any setting, including urban environments.

If you would like to receive the What’s the Dirt on Soil education kit, including the Education Poster, Educator Overview, Student Worksheet, and jar of “good” soil, please complete the following fields: