DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY OF SOILS IN DIDACTIC BOOKS FOR THE EARLY YEARS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Background: The "soil" content is presented gradually in the early years of elementary school, one of the resources most used as support in basic education is the textbook, which through the National Plan of Book and Didactic Material, was evaluated carefully before being released for selection of schools and education professionals. Aim: This study aims to describe aspects of the "soil" content in four science textbooks for the third year of elementary school. Methods: Documentary analysis followed Bardin’s model. In the pre-analysis, the materials were organized in L1, L2, L3, and L4 followed by floating reading to identify the descriptive and content support elements. The practical activities were classified according to Campos and Nigro, based on the participation of students and teachers in their development. The images were analyzed based on Gestalt pregnancy theory. Results: The analyzed books present respectively 18, 30, 18, and 17 pages destined to the content, where it was possible to identify the presence of definitions, practical activities, and contextuality of the images, although some have neglected relevant aspects. Discussion: The materials use different methodologies, which favor the cognitive development of the student. However, none of the books has information on the main types of soils in Brazil besides presenting limitations on soil classification and science. Conclusion: We conclude that the textbooks of elementary school analyzed present the soil content in its structure, with definitions through texts and images, to an appropriate extent and present relevant proposals for practical activities.