Teacher resources

This section of Soil-Net aims to provide a series of resources and information to teachers. Here you will find materials to help plan and deliver lessons, both in the classroom and as an outdoor activity.

Content is split up by school age. The UK Key Stage 1 (student ages 5-7) and 2 (ages 7 to 11) being grouped, as well as Key Stages 3 (ages 11 to 14) and 4 (ages 14 to 16).

Soil-Net Primary

Soil-Net Primary material is in two main sections.

'Digging Shallow' is primarily aimed at Key Stage 1 and takes the form of movie animations for nine key soil-related themes.
'Digging Deeper' is primarily aimed at Key Stage 2 materials and extends these movies through the addition of Activity sheets, Topic sheets, Lesson trails and Glossaries which go into more depth.

Soil-Net Secondary

Soil-Net Secondary also has two main sections:

Key Stage Three materials are presented as a series of broad information topics. Related to these,
Key Stage Four materials take the form of a series of more detailed thematic case-studies in addition to the main body of secondary work.

Both Soil-Net Primary and Secondary pages contain links for teachers and parents presenting an extensive set of classroom, outdoor and extracurricular activities, as well as more general teaching resources.

Each and every section ends with a short consolidating quiz. A bit of fun, but see how your students compare with the average scores from all Soil-Net users achieved when we did an audit way back in 2008! Soil-Net Quiz scores (23/Oct/08) (pdf, 8K)

Safety first!

All activities must be carried out in accordance with LEA and school guidelines. Primary Schools should be aware of the Association for Science Education (ASE) booklet "Be Safe" which many Local Authorities have adopted for their schools.

Primary and Secondary Schools should also be aware of the CLEAPPS Science Publication CD-ROM which includes all CLEAPPS guidance on health and safety matters. CLEAPPS will also issue specific risk assessments for any activities not covered in these guidelines. Visit the CLEAPPS website or phone 01895 251496, or fax 01895 814372 or write to the CLEAPSS School Science Service, at Brunel University, Uxbridge UP8 3PH.

We want Soil-Net to be a useful and relevant user-centered site, so we would value your feedback on this site and its development!

If you have any comments or suggestions for the Soil-Net team, please complete one of the page feedback forms, or contact us at the following address:

Soil-Net Project Office
National Soil Resources Institute (NSRI)
Cranfield University
Building 52a, Front Office
Cranfield
Bedfordshire
MK43 0AL, UK

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