Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v3 - Primary 1
Soil, Air and Water
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Soil, Air and Water
Download the Lessonotes Mobile Nigeria 2025 app for faster lesson access on Android and iPhone.
Subject: Basic Science
Class: Primary 1
Term: 2nd Term
Week: 1
Theme: Learning About Our Environment
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Watch on YouTubeIdentify other parts of the ir surroundings – soil, air and water Demonstrate that air exists Create air current by blowing with the mouth or using paper fan Demonstrate that air occupies space using balloons List the common sources of water
A. Soil Definition: Soil is the loose, upper layer of the Earth's surface where plants grow. It is made up of tiny pieces of rock, sand, clay, and decayed plant and animal matter (humus).
Characteristics: Colour: Soil can vary in colour, often appearing brown, reddish-brown, or dark grey/black depending on its composition and moisture content.
Texture: It can feel sandy (gritty), clayey (sticky when wet), or loamy (crumbly).
Contents: When observed closely, soil samples often contain small stones, pebbles, dead leaves, roots, and sometimes small insects.
Importance: Agriculture: Soil provides anchorage and nutrients for plants, enabling the growth of staple crops like groundnuts, maize, cassava, and yam that are vital to Nigerian diets and economy.
Construction: In many Nigerian communities, soil (especially clayey soil) is used to make mud blocks for building houses.
Habitat: It serves as a home for various animals, including earthworms, ants, and termites.
B. Air Definition: Air is a mixture of invisible gases that surrounds the Earth. It is everywhere around us.
Characteristics: Invisibility: Air cannot be seen with the eyes. No Taste, No Smell: Pure air does not have a taste or a smell.
Can be Felt: Although invisible, air can be felt when it moves (as wind).
Occupies Space: Air takes up space, which can be demonstrated with objects like balloons or plastic bags.
Demonstrations/Evidence of Existence: Feeling Air: When a teacher waves a hand quickly, students can feel the air moving against their skin. When students blow through their mouths, they feel the air.
Observing Movement: Moving leaves on trees, clothes drying on a line, smoke from a fire, and kites flying are all evidence that air exists and moves.
Creating Air Current: Blowing with the mouth (e.g., onto a piece of paper to make it flutter) or using a paper fan to create a breeze.
Occupying Space: Balloon
Example: When air is blown into a balloon, the balloon expands, showing that the air is taking up space inside it. The balloon gets bigger because air fills it up. Plastic Bag
Example: Blowing air into an empty plastic bag makes it puff up.
Importance: Respiration: All living things (humans, animals, plants) need air (specifically oxygen in the air) to breathe and survive.
Drying: Air helps to dry clothes, wet floors, and other objects.
Movement/Transport: Air currents (wind) can move objects like kites, dry leaves, and power windmills.
C. Water Definition: Water is a clear, liquid substance essential for the survival of all living things.
Characteristics: Colourless, Odourless, Tasteless: Pure water has no colour, no smell, and no taste.
Liquid State: At normal temperatures, water is in a liquid state, allowing it to flow. Common Sources of Water (Nigerian Context): Rain: The primary natural source of freshwater. Rainwater can be collected directly.
Tap Water: Water supplied through pipes to homes and public places, usually from a treated source.
Well: A deep hole dug into the ground to access underground water. Common in many rural and semi-urban areas.
Borehole: A narrower, deeper well drilled into the ground to extract groundwater using pumps. Increasingly common in Nigerian cities and villages.
River: A large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another river (e.g., River Niger, River Benue).
Stream: A small, narrow river.
Pond: A small body of still water, usually smaller than a lake.
Lake: A large body of still water surrounded by land (e.g., Lake Chad).
Importance: Drinking: Essential for human and animal survival.
Cooking: Used in preparing most meals.
Washing and Bathing: Crucial for personal hygiene and cleanliness.
Agriculture: Used to water crops and livestock.
Industry: Used in various manufacturing processes.
Materials: Samples of different types of soil (sandy, clayey if available), a cup of water, a balloon, an empty plastic bag, paper for making a fan, small leaves, a small container (e.g., transparent cup).
Teacher Activities: Introduction (10 minutes): Begin by asking students to name things they see around them in the classroom and outside. Introduce the topic "Soil, Air and Water" as important parts of their surroundings that they interact with every day. State the lesson objectives in simple terms (e.g., "Today, we will learn about soil, air, and water and how important they are to us").
Exploring Soil (15 minutes): Bring out samples of soil (e.g., a small pile of sandy soil, a small pile of clayey soil). Allow students to touch and feel the soil, observing its colour and texture.
Ask questions: "What colour is the soil? How does it feel? What do you see in the soil?" Discuss where soil is found (ground, farms) and its uses (growing crops like yam, building materials).
Exploring Air (20 minutes): Demonstrating Air's Existence: Ask students: "Can you see anything moving around us that is invisible?" Instruct students to wave their hands in front of their faces quickly.
Ask: "What do you feel?" (They should feel air). Take students outside or point to leaves on a tree.
Ask: "What makes the leaves move?" (Wind/Air). Blow gently onto a student's hand.
Ask: "What did you feel?" Creating Air Current: Distribute small pieces of paper. Guide students to fold them into simple fans or just blow directly on them.
Ask: "What happens when you blow on the paper?" (It moves/flutters).
Demonstrating Air Occupies Space: Show an deflated balloon and an empty plastic bag. Blow air into the balloon, demonstrating how it inflates and gets bigger.
Explain: "The air I am blowing is taking up space inside the balloon." Blow air into the plastic bag and tie it shut. Show students that the bag is now full and puffy.
Explain: "The air has filled the bag and taken up all the space." Exploring Water (15 minutes): Bring out a cup of water. Ask students to describe the water (colourless, odourless, liquid). Discuss the uses of water (drinking, bathing, washing, cooking, farming).
Ask students: "Where do we get water from?" Lead a discussion to list common sources of water in Nigeria: rain, tap, well, borehole, river, stream. Write these on the board as students mention them.
Summary and Review (5 minutes): Recap the key points about soil, air, and water. Reinforce their importance and presence in the surroundings.
Student Activities: Observing and touching soil samples. Waving hands to feel air. Blowing air with their mouths and feeling it. Making simple paper fans and using them to create air currents. Observing the inflation of a balloon and a plastic bag with air. Identifying water in a cup. Participating in discussions by answering questions and naming sources of water. Pointing out soil, water, and moving air (e.g., wind making leaves move) in the school compound.
Instructions: The teacher asks these questions orally, allowing students to respond. The teacher guides them to the correct answers and provides explanations.
Question: Look around our school compound. Name two things you can easily find on the ground that we talked about today.
Solution: Soil and small stones. (
Commentary: This checks their ability to identify soil as part of their immediate surroundings.)
Question: We cannot see air, but how do you know it is all around us? Give one way.
Solution: We can feel it when it moves (wind), or it makes things like leaves and clothes move. (
Commentary: This assesses their understanding of how to demonstrate air's existence through sensory experience or observation.)
Question: If you have an empty plastic bottle and you try to fill it with air using your mouth, what happens to the bottle? Why?
Solution: The bottle will fill up and bulge a little (or become firm). This happens because the air takes up space inside the bottle. (
Commentary: This tests their comprehension of air occupying space using a slightly different object than a balloon.)
Question: Your mother wants to cook jollof rice at home. Where can she get clean water from in your area? Name three places.
Solution: Tap, borehole, well, river, stream, collected rainwater. (Any three appropriate sources relevant to the local Nigerian context are acceptable). (
Commentary: This objective checks their knowledge of common water sources and their real-life application.)
A. Differentiation (Supporting Diverse Learners): For Struggling Learners: Visual Aids: Use large pictures or flashcards of soil, air (e.g., wind blowing leaves), and various water sources (tap, well, river).
Pair Work: Pair struggling learners with more capable peers for activities like making a paper fan or identifying water sources.
Teacher-Led Repetition: Provide more direct, one-on-one guidance and repeat demonstrations and explanations in simpler language.
Tactile Learning: Allow them more time to touch and explore soil samples and feel the air.
For High-Achieving Learners: Expanded Listing: Challenge them to list more than five water sources or name different types of soil they might have encountered (e.g., red soil, black soil).
Creative Expression: Ask them to draw a short comic strip showing how soil, air, or water is used by people or animals.
Simple Investigation: Encourage them to think about what happens when water is heated (evaporation) or cooled (freezing) in a very basic observational sense.
B. Remediation (For Learners Needing Extra Support): Re-demonstration: Re-perform the key practical activities (blowing up a balloon, making a fan, touching soil) with individual or small group attention.
Targeted Questions: Ask very specific, simple questions that require a yes/no answer or a single word, building confidence.
Matching Game: Create a simple matching game where students match pictures of water sources to their names, or objects that move with air to the concept of air.
Storytelling: Use a simple story that highlights the importance and characteristics of soil, air, and water.
C. Extension (Enrichment for Advanced Learners): Observation Journal: Encourage students to keep a simple "Science Journal" where they draw and label things they observe related to soil, air, and water in their surroundings at home or school. For example, drawing a plant in the soil, clothes drying in the air, or a bucket of water.
Local Exploration: Ask them to discuss with their parents or guardians to identify which water source is most commonly used in their homes and why.
Simple Experiment Design: Guide them to think about how they could show that air is lighter than water (e.g., by observing bubbles rising in water).
Agriculture and Food Security: Students learn that soil is essential for growing crops like cassava, maize, and yams, which are staples in Nigerian diets. This understanding connects directly to where their food comes from and the importance of farming for the country's economy and survival. Health, Hygiene, and Sanitation: Emphasizing water's importance for drinking, cooking, and washing helps students grasp the need for clean water to prevent diseases like cholera and typhoid, which are prevalent health concerns in many Nigerian communities. The teacher can relate this to proper handwashing and clean cooking practices at home.
Environmental Awareness and Conservation: Understanding soil, air, and water as vital resources can initiate early discussions on environmental responsibility. For instance, students can learn not to litter the soil, not to waste water, and that clean air is good for their health, linking to issues like avoiding bush burning or indiscriminate waste disposal.