Engage: Soil in Society

Part A. Soil in Art, Literature, and Music

Start with a short slide show of healthy and/or devasted soil. Play the show with a mix of music, art, and literature.
Note: Educators will need to build the slide show and set it to music. Alternately, ask students to supply an image and a song or piece of literature to share.

Time required: 5 minutes to show slides and introduce the lesson, 20 minutes to research, 20 minutes to discuss
Using the resources listed below, prepare enough note cards or strips of paper for each student in the class. Have students select from the collection and research an artist, musician, or song.

Sources of soil-inspired Art, Literature, and Music:
Music inspired by soil
Songs of Soil - USDA
Videos and Media
SoilScape Studio

Give students time to research and then return to the class to share what they have learned. Use the following questions to guide their research.

• What was the artist trying to express?
• Why is soil / land important to society?
• When was the piece created?
• What historical events may have inspired the piece of work?
• How did it make you feel?
• What did the piece make you wonder?
• What questions would you like to ask the artist?

Part B. Story Map: The Living Land

Time required: 15-30 minutes Introduce the unit with the following Story Map: The Living Land 
This is a great introduction/review of the fundamental "problem" -- is there enough land for everything? The dramatic maps, images, and graphics show how the land is presently used around the world. Story Map: The Living Land