Rocks and Soils - Middleton Primary School

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Year 3 Science

Rocks and SoilsI can explain how the Earth is made up of different

layers of rocks and soils

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1Thinking Time!

What is under your feet right now?

Talk to your partner before we discuss as a class.

Think back to last lesson.

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2Under our Feet…

Under our feet is a layer of rock. This layer of rock is under every town and city, under fields and forests and even under the sea!

This layer of rock is called the Earth’s crust.

Below the crust is the mantle. The mantle is made of rock too but this rock is so hot that it has melted! It is called magma.

Can you think of an adjective to describe magma?

As you can see from the diagram, there are other layers too. We’ll find out more on the next slide.

CRUST

MANTLE

OUTERCORE

INNERCORE

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3Soils

Under the ground, there are many different layers made up of different rocks and soils. We have learnt about dif-ferent rocks and how they’re formed but we haven’t looked at soils yet.

Just like rocks, there are many different kinds of soil which are used for different things.

Soils are made up of pieces of rock, minerals, decaying plant material, microbes and water. This means the soil depends on the plants, rocks and minerals available in that area. Soils can be orange, red or even dark black. *New Word Alert*

Decaying – rottingMicrobe – a tiny living organism

like bacteria

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4Layers

Under the ground, there are many different layers made up of different rocks and soils. Let’s begin with the top layers.

Top soil which is full of nutrients and contains rotting plants and organisms.

Subsoil which is tightly packed soil, lighter in colour to the top soil as it contains fewer nutrients.

Rocky soil which is rocks that are breaking down in to soil.

Bedrock which is just rock.

Subsoil

Rocky soil

Bedrock

Top soil

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5Layers

Under the bedrock is the Earth’s crust. But it doesn’t stop there!

Earth’s crust which is a thin layer of cold, hard rock that can be anywhere from five to fifty miles thick depending on location.

Outer core which is made of metal and much hotter than the mantle.

Inner core which is the same as the outer core but even hotter!

Mantle which is hot, molten rock (magma) a bit like treacle.

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6Dirt Pudding

We can make a dirt pudding to model the different layers of the Earth to help you re-member them. We will make it in a clear plastic cup so the layers can be seen easily. Each ingredient will represent a different layer.

1. At the bottom of the cup a squirt of red ice cream sauce or golden syrup to represent the mantle, inner and outer core.

2. Next, the earth's crust: Add a biscuit on top (which fits the bottom of the cup) to repre-sent the earth’s crust.

3. Bedrock: Add some layers of wafer thin chocolates or slices of fruit such as apple to represent the bedrock.

4. Subsoil: Add some instant chocolate dessert to represent the subsoil (it is lighter in colour as it contains fewer nutrients than the top soil and is densely packed and clay like).

5. Topsoil: Crush some biscuits such as Oreos to make the nutrient rich top soil. This can be sprinkled on top.

Independent Task

Before eating the ‘dirt pudding’ draw or photograph the layers and then label them with the correct labels.

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7

Can you remember the names of these layers of rocks and soils?

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8Recap Quiz

*Challenge*Can you remember the description too?

Top soil which is full of nutrients and contains rotting plants and organisms.

Subsoil which is tightly packed soil, lighter in colour to the top soil as it contains fewer nutrients.

Rocky soil which is rocks that are breaking down in to soil.

Bedrock which is just rock.

Can you remember the names of these layers of rocks and soils?

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9Recap Quiz

*Challenge*Can you remember the description too?

Rocks and Soils - Middleton Primary School

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