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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:
How could you figure out what kind of soil is best for building a house?
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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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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| Mystery Mud Tester worksheet | 30 copies |
| Mystery Mud Tester Answer Key teacher-only resource | 1 copy |
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Cornmeal
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45 teaspoons |
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Dixie Cups (3 oz)
|
45 cups |
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Flour
|
45 teaspoons |
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Paper Plates
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15 plates |
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Paper Towels
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30 paper towels |
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Plastic Spoons
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15 spoons |
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Solo Cups (9 oz)
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15 cups |
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Toothpicks
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45 toothpicks |
We suggest students work in pairs. You will need access to water for this activity.
Divide your Dixie cups into three equal piles. Use a marker to write “A” on each cup in one pile, write “B” on each cup in the second pile, and write “C” on each cup in the third pile.
Add 2 teaspoons of cornmeal into each cup that is labeled “A.” This is a model for sandy soil.
Add 2 teaspoons of flour into each cup that is labeled “B.” This is a model for clay soil.
Add 1 teaspoon of flour and 1 teaspoon of cornmeal into each cup that is labeled “C.” Gently shake these cups to mix the cornmeal and flour together. This is a model for a mix of sand and clay soil.
Fill each Solo cup about a quarter full of water. Each pair of students will only need a few spoonfuls.
Making a mud model is very fun, but it can also be distracting! We recommend waiting to distribute the cups of water and spoons until Step 5 of the activity, after students have explored the dry soil models.
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