Topic: Soil and its main types. Distribution of soil types on Earth

Author: Magdalena Jankun

Target group

2‑nd grade students of a high school and technical (basic level).

Core curriculum

VI. Pedosphere and biosphere: soil‑forming process, soil types, zonation, soil and vegetation stacking.

The student:

1) presents the factors and course of the main soil‑forming processes, including those occurring in the area where the school is located;

2) distinguishes features of the main types of zonal and non‑zonal soils, explains their distribution on Earth;

4) explains the relationship between the climate, the occurrence of soil types and plant formation in the zone system.

The general aim of education

A student determine the features and occurrence of zonal and non‑zonal soils, and their agricultural usefulness.

Criteria of success

• explain the term: „soil”;

• provide factors that influence the course of the soil‑forming process;

• name the types of zonal soils: podzolic, brown and fawn, chernozems;

• discuss the causes of formation of astrephic soils: fen soils, rendzinas, black and mountainous soils;

• show the most fertile soils on the map of world;

• discuss soil profiles;

• indicate differences in the structure of soil profiles, soils;

• discuss the economic importance and degradation of soils.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in a foreign language;

• learning to learn;

• digital competence.

Methods / forms of work

• using ICT tools;

• activity with educational material and multimedia on the epodreczniki.pl platform;

• individual activity, activity in pairs, and collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook for teaching geography;

• interactive whiteboard;

• multimedia projector;

• tablets/computers;

• map of world – soils;

• geographical atlases.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. The teacher refers students to the source materials and asks them to explain the terms: soil, soil‑forming factors, soil‑making process. The teacher adds the content to the soil‑related factors, for example: rock bed, mineral composition, porosity, permeability, climate – precipitation and temperature, human activity – drainage, fertilization, organisms – thickness and quality of the humus layer, and time which is very important – the soil formation time.

2. On the interactive whiteboard, the teacher shows a interactive illustration „The soil‑forming process”. Together with the students, the teacher analyses the soil formation stages.

Realization

1. Work in groups. The students analyze the soil profiles:

• 1st group: podzolic soil;

• 2nd group: brown soil;

• 3rd group: chernozem;

• 4th group: fen soil;

• 5th group: rendzinas.

Each group prepares the most important information and provides characteristics of the selected profile, and indicates the location of these soils on the wall map of world. The groups determine agricultural usefulness.

2. Work in pairs: using the soil map in the abstract or a geographical atlas, paying attention to the map legend, the students search for soils in their regions of residence, referring to the geographical region, for example. The students make an analysis of which soils are the most frequent and why so. The teacher indicates 2‑3 pairs of the students who give answers.

3. The teacher displays an interactive harmony showing distribution of soil types on the Earth on the interactive whiteboard. Students analyze the soil types occured in particular zones.

Summary

1. At the end of the class, the students do interactive exercises on the interactive whiteboard.

2. The teacher assesses the students' activity during the lesson, appreciating their engagement and commitment.

Homework

Work in pairs. The students have two topics to choose from:

1. The economic importance of soils in Poland.

2. Causes and consequences of soil degradation in Poland.

The work can take the form of a poster or a multimedia presentation.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Soil and its main types. Distribution of soil types on Earth

Soil is the outer layer of the earth's crust, which apart from mineral particles also contains water, air, various soil organisms and dead matter of organic origin, called humus. Soil is formed as a result of a slow soil‑forming process that involves the transformation of the parent rock into soil and its further development. This process takes place in two stages:

1. fragmentation of the parent rock or accumulation of rock crumbs as a result of the activity of water, wind, temperature or other processes;

2. transformation of rock material into soil with the participation of soil organisms; characteristic soil levels are formed then, starting from the surface level with a high content of humus to the parent rock; these levels specific for each type of soil form the so‑called soil profile.
   The main factors that shape the properties of soils are: climate, water, parent rock, organisms, relief and human activity.

These factors are called soil‑forming factors.

The diversity and zonation of climate, and with it the plant zones, resulted in the formation of climatic‑plant‑soil zones with characteristic soil types.

Regardless of the climatic‑plant‑soil zone, there are intrazonal soils. Examples of them are:

• fen soils – formed during river floods in valleys and deltas; they are fertile and rich in humus;

• rendzinas– formed on limestone substrates, mainly in temperate climates; they are rich in humus, fertile but difficult to do farming;

• black soils – formed in areas of vanishing swamps and lakes; rich in humus, very fertile but difficult to do farming;

• bog soils – formed in swamps, swamp drying increases their fertility;

• mountain soils – they generally do not have a developed soil profile, low fertility.