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Soil Layer Dirt Cups - Study Soil and Have a Sweet Snack!

Provided by: Illinois Food Scrap & Composting Coalition |Published on: April 22, 2026

Activity - Classroom

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Synopsis

In this activity, students will create dirt cup treats to represent the soil layers.
This resource also includes soil discussion questions and a diagram of the soil horizons.

Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences

Authors: Illinois Food Scrap & Composting Coalition

Region: Global, Illinois

Languages: English

Positives

Students will love having a sweet treat in class!
The diagram in this resource is a helpful reference that students can use throughout their soil learning journey.

Prerequisites

To make the dirt cups, teachers will need sandwich cookies, chocolate chips or other toppings, chocolate pudding, green sprinkles or coconut, gummy worms, graham crackers, and a glass jar or plastic cup.
Teachers will want to refer to any allergy concerns before preparing this treat. Teachers should also note that students with tree nut allergies may not be able to have coconut.

Differentiation & Implementation

Teachers can use this as a hook for a lesson about soil health, or students can eat these treats as they watch this video about healthy soil.
To make connections to climate change, teachers can discuss soil as a carbon sink and also how compost can help make the soil healthy.
Teachers can use the discussion questions as possible avenues for student research projects. Students can select one of the questions to research and write a report on.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.