Topic 26 Soil — what needs James (0)
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Question types (10)
One exemplar per question type in the test bank; approving a type approves every item written to it. The full type sheet.
Topic 26 · Soil · Type 1 · bank item PP-1 · tests EAR3-001
EasyMCQType 1 — a magnifying-glass view with one black arrow: what is the pale bit it touches
drawing lens_pp_grain
Here is soil from the park under a magnifying glass. What is the pale bit the black arrow touches?
- a) a seed
- b) a drop of water
- c) a bit of a dead leaf
- d) a bit of rock ← key
Why it is this type: Soil is bits of rock mixed with bits of dead plants and animals. / The bits of rock are pale and hard. / So the pale bit is a bit of rock.
Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar
Topic 26 · Soil · Type 3 · bank item PP-2 · tests EAR3-002
EasyMCQType 3 — where named bits of rock (the sand in a sandbox, a pebble, grit) came from
The sand in Gethin's sandbox was brought from a river. Where did the grains of sand come from?
- a) dead leaves that rotted
- b) bigger rocks that slowly broke apart ← key
- c) seeds that grew in the river
- d) river water that dried up
Why it is this type: A grain of sand is a tiny bit of rock. / Bits of rock come from bigger rocks slowly breaking apart. / So the grains came from bigger rocks.
Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar
Topic 26 · Soil · Type 4 · bank item PP-3 · tests EAR3-002
EasyMCQType 4 — how long a rock takes to become grit or sand
The waves roll a pebble on a beach until it is grains of sand. About how long does that take?
- a) one day
- b) one week
- c) one year
- d) far longer than a person lives ← key
Why it is this type: Bits rub off the pebble very slowly. / A pebble does not turn to sand in a day, a week or a year. / So it takes far longer than a person lives.
Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar
Topic 26 · Soil · Type 5 · bank item PP-4 · tests EAR3-003
EasyMCQType 5 — what happens to a named dead plant or animal left on the ground for a season
Idony's dead sunflower plants lie on the flower bed all winter. What happens to them by summer?
- a) They turn into grit.
- b) They rot into dark crumbs. ← key
- c) They stay exactly as they were.
- d) They vanish into nothing.
Why it is this type: The sunflower plants are dead plants. / Dead plants rot into dark crumbs. / The crumbs mix into the soil. / So by summer they have rotted into dark crumbs in the soil.
Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar
Topic 26 · Soil · Type 7 · bank item PP-5 · tests EAR3-004
EasyMCQType 7 — the water test with letters under three jars: which jar is under a named soil
drawing water_test_pp_JKL
Caspian pours one full cup of water on each of three soils and waits one minute. Which jar is under the sandy soil?
- a) J
- b) K
- c) L ← key
- d) All three jars hold the same.
Why it is this type: Water runs through sandy soil fast. / So the jar under sandy soil holds the most water. / Jar L holds the most, up to the third mark. / So jar L is under the sandy soil.
Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar
Topic 26 · Soil · Type 2 · bank item PP-6 · tests EAR3-001
MediumMCQType 2 — a named child claims a handful of soil is all one thing, like flour: what is soil really made of
Ottoline says a handful of soil is all one thing, like a handful of flour. What is soil really made of?
- a) bits of rock only
- b) one stuff with no bits in it
- c) bits of rock mixed with bits of dead plants and animals ← key
- d) bits of dead plants only
Why it is this type: Under a magnifying glass, soil is lots of bits. / The pale hard bits are rock. / The dark soft bits are dead plants and animals. / So soil is bits of rock mixed with bits of dead plants and animals.
Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar
Topic 26 · Soil · Type 6 · bank item PP-7 · tests EAR3-003 EAR3-001
MediumMCQType 6 — the layers strip, its own scatter, letters in its own order: which layer has been there longest
drawing layers_pp_JKL
Here is a cut through the ground under Sable's hedge. Which layer has been there the longest?
- a) J ← key
- b) K
- c) L
- d) All three the same time.
Why it is this type: A dead leaf rots slowly: whole, then bits, then dark crumbs. / The dark crumbs have rotted the longest. / J is the dark crumbs. / So J has been there the longest.
Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar
Topic 26 · Soil · Type 8 · bank item PP-8 · tests EAR3-004
MediumMCQType 8 — which soil a child picks for a stated purpose (water to run straight through)
Wilder wants water to run straight through his plant pot when he waters it. Which soil does he fill the pot with?
- a) sandy soil ← key
- b) clay soil
- c) garden soil
- d) any of the three soils
Why it is this type: Water runs through sandy soil fast. / Water sits on top of clay soil, and only some runs through garden soil. / So Wilder fills the pot with sandy soil.
Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar
Topic 26 · Soil · Type 9 · bank items PP-10, PP-9 · tests EAR3-004 EAR3-001
HardtypedType 9 — three observations (pale and gritty; nearly every bit a hard grain of rock; water runs straight through): type the name of the soil
text entry
Wilhelmina's soil is pale and gritty. Under a magnifying glass nearly every bit is a hard grain of rock, and water runs straight through it. Type the name of this kind of soil.
Accepted answers (typed): sandy soil · sandy · a sandy soil
Why it is this type: Hard because: three observations are combined, and the name is produced, not recognised.
The why line (what a student reads after answering): Pale and gritty, mostly grains of rock, water runs through fast. / Those are sandy soil's properties. / So the soil is sandy soil.
Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar
Topic 26 · Soil · Type 10 · bank items PP-9, PP-10 · tests EAR3-001 MAT3-007
MediumtypedType 10 — soil shaken in a jar of water and left an hour: "the bits of rock will be at the ___ of the jar — type the word"
MCQ from 29 Sep 2026
A boy shakes soil in a jar of water and leaves it for an hour. He wants to find the bits of rock. The bits of rock will be at the ___ of the jar. Type the word.
Accepted answers (typed): acc_place("bottom", "floor", "base") — bottom · the bottom · at the bottom · on the bottom · down at the bottom · bottom of the jar · the bottom of the jar · at the bottom of the jar · on the bottom of the jar, and the same nine forms for floor and for base (the grader folds case)
Why it is this type: Hard because: two steps — the bits of rock are the heavy bits, and heavy bits sink — and the place is produced.
The why line (what a student reads after answering): In the jar, the bits of rock sink. / The bits of dead leaves float. / So the bits of rock will be at the bottom of the jar.
Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar
The lessons (4)
Each lesson in teaching order: its one-line summary, the article, the script and the quiz, then your ruling.
Topic 26 · Lesson 1
Lesson 1 What soil is made of
Meera's handful; "dirt is dirt", says Lyle. A round glass that makes small things look bigger — a magnifying glass — shows pale hard bits that do not squash (rock) and dark soft bits, a bit of leaf, a bit of twig, a bit of a dead beetle (dead plants and animals). Then the jar. Three lines close "soil is alive": worms live in it, roots grow in it, the soil itself is not alive (the reviewer agrees; "plants eat soil" is left to the Life strand). Quiz: which kind of bit, from its look; the drawn crumb; the jar; Hester's "one stuff" (no); Bronwen's "the soil is a living thing" (no); two typed terms.
Topic 26 · Lesson 2
Lesson 2 The bits of rock come from bigger rocks breaking apart
Kezia's sand: where did the grains come from? A cracked boulder with pieces and grit at the bottom of it; the waves rolling a pebble smaller and rounder; boulder → rock → pebble → grit → grain of sand, all the same stuff; far longer than a person lives; rub two rocks over white paper and grit falls. No cause for the crack — "weathering" is Grade 4's, and the reviewer agrees this is the right amount. Quiz: where a pebble / grit / sand came from, how long, what falls when rocks are rubbed, three claims.
Topic 26 · Lesson 3
Lesson 3 The dark crumbs come from dead things rotting
Roshan's leaf pile, tall in fall and low and dark in spring: where did the leaves go? Under a hedge: whole leaves, leaves in bits, dark crumbs — the lower, the longer it has been there. A dead leaf slowly goes soft, falls apart and turns into dark crumbs: it rots; the crumbs mix into the soil. An apple core and a beetle rot; a pebble does not. The leaves did not vanish — they became part of the soil. Quiz: the buried apple core, Dagny's "vanished into nothing" (no), the drawn layers (which has been there longest), what rots and what does not.
Topic 26 · Lesson 4
Lesson 4 Tell two soils apart
Flora's two pots: "brown is brown". Three soils on three plates: look (pale yellow-brown, orange-brown, dark brown), feel (gritty; smooth and sticky; soft and crumbly), test (the same amount of soil in each cup, one full cup of water on each, one minute: runs through fast; sits on top; some runs through). Named: sandy soil, clay soil, garden soil; the table as the summary. Quiz on the fixed set: from stated properties, from a drawn card, from the drawn water test, Mattias's "all soil is the same brown" (no).
Skill: write-like-james @ 8b55b65 · built 6 October 2026 by build_tools_needs_you.py