Pick one of the soil samples that feels moist or appears to have the most organic matter. Place a paper towel on your overhead. Notice that it blocks out the light. Place a drop of water on the paper towel, some of the light now shines through. Check to see if the soil left any moisture in the towel by placing it on the lit overhead.
Soils do hold moisture.
Utah Agriculture in the Classroom Activity 3 - Soil Air 1. Ask each student group or pair to place 1 cup of dry soil into a 2-cup container. Students should measure the amount of water left and subtract it from 1 cup. Lead students to infer that the amount of water in the soil sample was approximately the amount of air that was displaced. As the students added the water to the sample, they should have seen bubbles, until the sample was saturated.