Students investigate and then describe properties of soil. In this activity, however, they are asked to observe it as if they are encountering it for the first time. As they explore soil with their senses, students are scientists examining the physical properties of matter. As they describe these properties in their own words, they become poets creating an expanded meaning of soil for themselves. As both scientists and poets, students learn the value of keen observation and the challenge of describing an object in a vivid way.
All forms of matter have properties that can be described by using one or more senses.
Third graders do not need an entire activity on the properties of matter to be able to describe their soil. Through sensory and language arts activities such as this one, however, students gain a heightened awareness of these properties. As students describe the color, the texture, the weight, and the smell of their soils, they become more careful and more thoughtful observers. While the word matter may still be an abstraction for most children, the ability to make detailed observations about its properties is a concrete skill. Turning observations into a poem, a story, or even a song is also a skill, one that can be used again and again to integrate science and language arts.