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How do you build a city out of mud?
Material Magic Unit | Lesson 6 of 6

How do you build a city out of mud?

Material Magic Unit | Lesson 6 of 6
Lesson narration:
Scroll for prep
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DISCUSS:
What do you see in these places that you could use to build a house?
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DISCUSS:

What kinds of things are good to build houses with?

What makes them good for building?

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DISCUSS:
What would be good about living in a house made of pillows?
What would be bad about living in a house made of pillows?
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DISCUSS:
How is the wet mud different from the dried mud?
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DISCUSS:

How could you figure out what kind of soil is best for building a house?

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Step
01/16
Find a partner.
Decide who will be Soil Captain and who will be Water Wizard.
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02/16
Get your supplies. (You’ll get more supplies later.)
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Soil Captain & Water Wizard: Examine each pretend soil closely. What
do they look like? What do they feel like? What do the soils do when
you stir them with a toothpick?
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04a/16
Discuss:
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04b/16
Here’s what we noticed.
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05/16
Get the rest of your supplies.
You’ll need a cup of water and a spoon.
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Soil Captain: Hold one of the Mystery Soil cups steady.
Water Wizard: Carefully add 1 spoonful of water to the cup.
You just need a little bit—it’s better to add too little than too much!
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Soil Captain: Use a toothpick to mix Mystery Soil A for 5 seconds.
Water Wizard: Continue mixing the Mystery Soil A and the water for
another 10 seconds. Both: Repeat for Mystery Soil B and C.
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Test #1: Big Clump. Mud needs to clump together. To test this, try to
lift a clump of mud up with your toothpick. If a big clump of mud can
stay on the toothpick, it passes the test!
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Discuss:
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Water Wizard: Turn cup A upside down on your plate.
Soil Captain: Use a pencil to write the letter A on the plate.
Both: Repeat this for cup B and cup C.
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Test #2: Brick Builder. Work with your partner. Using your toothpicks,
spoon, or even your fingers, try to form your mud into a shape. If the
mud stays in the shape you make, it passes the test!
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Discuss:
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Test #3: Not Too Sticky. Work with your partner. Use your fingers (or
a toothpick) to see if the mud sticks to you! If the mud does NOT
stick to you & easily comes off your fingers, then it passes the test!
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Both: Use a paper towel to wipe off your fingers and clean up.
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Discuss:
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Discuss:
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DISCUSS:

What tests could you do to see if your mud changes in extreme weather, like hot sun or rain?

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soil


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tiny pieces of rock and other materials that cover the ground
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sandy soil


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a type of soil that has a rough texture; water easily flows through it
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clay soil


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a type of soil that has a smooth texture; water does not easily flow through it
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weather


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what the air is like at a particular time and place
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mixture


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a combination of two or more things
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material


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what something is made of, like metal, wood, or plastic
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texture


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how something feels to touch, such as rough or smooth
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investigate


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a process to figure out the answer to a question or to understand how something works
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property


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something you can observe about an object or material
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model


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a pretend version of something that scientists use when the real thing is too big, small, or complicated to work with
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observe


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to pay close attention to something
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experiment


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a test used to discover new information about a question
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Lesson narration:

Grade 2

Material Properties

Soil Properties

2-PS1-1, 2-PS1-2

Activity Prep

Print Prep

In this lesson, students explore a unique building material: mud! The properties of mud depend on the properties of the soil it's made from. In the activity, Mystery Mud, students use models of sand and clay soils to investigate how the properties of soils can differ. They use their observations as evidence to classify each soil model based on whether or not it would make mud that’s good for building.

Preview activity

Exploration

12 mins

Wrap-Up

8 mins

Grade 2

Material Properties

Soil Properties

2-PS1-1, 2-PS1-2

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