Content Area: Social Studies

 

Index: 6.6E Grade 4 CPI 2

 

Standard: 6.6 - Geography

 

Strand: E -  Environment and Society

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator: 2 - The student will explain the nature, characteristics, and distribution of renewable and non-renewable resources.

 

Grade: 4

 

Sample Activities:

 

·        Students begin by studying resources in general. They learn that the utility of specific resources is related to the surrounding context. The diamond mines in South Africa have not in general benefited most of that country’s people. Other kinds of resources are the source of values-laden arguments. For example, is a rain forest a resource? What is the value of certain wet-lands? After developing a list of resources and where they are found, students compare the availability of the resources to the economy of the country or region to define that relationship.

 

·        When identifying renewable and nonrenewable resources, students think about resources that can be used and that will still be available (like the wheat fields of Kansas) and those that can be used but will eventually be used up (like the diamond mines of South Africa). They then choose a resource and explain whether it is renewable or nonrenewable and why. Students begin to make lists of both types of resources, adding the location for each. Next, each student chooses a state or country and begins to research the impact of the chosen resource on the place selected—for example, the impact of tomatoes on the New Jersey economy, oil on Saudi Arabia’s economy, coffee on Brazil’s economy, sugar on Cuba’s economy, and so forth. Do students know that South Africa has the largest deposits of uranium in the world? What effect does this have on social conditions in that country? What are our country’s greatest resources? Are people a resource?

 

·        Students study resource maps regarding issues like United States and worldwide use of land for various kinds of agriculture, oil and coal deposits, gold and silver, and so on. They may be surprised to learn the locations of major oil deposits (e.g., in Russia, Mexico, Africa, and the Arab countries). Students research the answer to questions such as the following: Given the distribution of oil deposits, why do we hear only about problems in the Arab countries?

 

Kidspiration Activities:

 

·        Comparison

·        Brainstorm ideas in Picture View

·        Go to Writing View to organize ideas and add details

·        Use symbols and links to create concept maps that explore relationships between consumers, resources, and the economy

·        Use SuperGrouper categories  to create sorting and organizing activities.

·        Use SuperGrouper categories to create compare/contrast activities

·        Use symbols and links to show cause/effect relationships