Grains on the Go brings soil science to life
What’s underneath our feet – and why does it matter to Ontario farmers?
Through the Grains on the Go public outreach program, Grade 3 students can explore those questions right in their classroom through a hands-on Soil Horizons experience.
Led by Emma, Grains Educator, the 100-minute program connects to the Ontario Grade 3 Science and Technology curriculum and helps students understand what soil is, what influences soil health, and why healthy soil matters for growing crops and caring for the environment.
Students explore the five soil horizons, from organic matter at the surface to bedrock below, while learning about the living and non-living components of soil. They also investigate nutrients, fertilizer and manure, and some of the ways grain farmers care for and monitor soil health.
Curriculum connections
The experience supports several Grade 3 curriculum expectations, including learning about:
- the importance of soil to society and the environment
- living and non-living components of soil
- substances commonly added to soil and how they affect soil health
- technology used to monitor soil health
- the nutrients plants need to grow
Students also learn how Ontario grain farmers use tools such as soil sampling and modern technology to better understand what is happening in their fields.
Hands-on learning
The 100-minute experience combines an interactive lesson with hands-on activities. Students spend approximately 40 minutes learning about soil and soil health, followed by a 10-minute hands-on review of the soil horizons.
They then put that learning into action by spending about 30 minutes creating an edible soil profile, using different ingredients to represent the layers beneath their feet.
By first exploring the concepts, then reviewing the soil horizons, and finally building their own model, students have several opportunities to reinforce what they have learned in a fun and memorable way.
Learning gets hands-on as students build their own edible soil profiles
A complement to Grade 3 STEMterprise
Grains on the Go is a separate program from Ontario Farming STEMterprise, but the two can work well alongside one another.
The Soil Horizons experience explores areas of the Grade 3 soils curriculum that are not covered in depth in STEMterprise, making it a useful complement for teachers using the Grade 3 project.
Students work together to match and identify the five soil horizons
Booking information
Grains on the Go is fully booked for the 2026–27 school year.
Information about bookings for the 2027–28 school year will be available next August.
Learn more about Grains on the Go and its curriculum connections.
