Natural Resources and Materials
Natural Resources Around Us
Lesson duration is: 40 minItems in this lesson
Natural Resources Around Us
Open with the idea that children use natural resources every day, often without noticing. Keep the focus on materials and water because those are the main threads of the lesson.
Our Learning Goal
I can describe the properties of natural materials and explain how we use and care for water.
This item has no instructions
What words come to mind when you hear natural resources?
Use the responses to surface prior knowledge about water, sand, stones, soil, clay and how we use them.
What Are Natural Resources?
Natural resources are things we get from nature.
They include:
water
rocks and stones
sand
soil and clay
People use them to build, grow food and make useful things.
Keep the definition simple and concrete. Avoid bringing in fuels or forests in detail, because the lesson spine is about materials and water.
Materials Can Have Different Properties
A property is something we can notice or test about a material.
For example, a material can be:
hard or soft
rough or smooth
wet or dry
loose or sticky
clear or cloudy
This slide sets up later science language. Emphasise that properties help us compare materials and decide what they are useful for.
Mud, Clay, Sand and Stones
These natural materials do not behave in the same way.
Mud is wet and sticky.
Clay is smooth and can be shaped.
Sand is loose and grainy.
Stones are hard and keep their shape.
If helpful, connect each one to a familiar example: muddy puddles, clay pots, sandcastles and pebbles.
How Their Properties Help Us
The properties of a material help us choose how to use it.
Clay can be shaped into bricks or pots.
Sand is used in building.
Stones are strong for walls and paths.
Mud can cover ground and hold water for a short time.
Avoid overcomplicating building uses. The key idea is structure-function: people choose a material because of its properties.
Which material is smooth and can be shaped?
Sand
Clay
Stones
Mud
Checks the key property-material match from the materials block.
Materials and their properties
People use natural materials in different ways. Mud is wet and sticky, while sand is loose and grainy. Clay can be shaped into pots, and stones are hard and keep their shape.
All blanks come directly from the taught comparison of mud, clay, sand and stones.
Water Is a Vital Resource
Water is one of the most important natural resources.
We need water for:
drinking
washing
cooking
growing plants
helping animals and people stay alive
Make the point that water is needed by all living things, not only humans.
Ways to Save Water
We should use water carefully because clean water is precious.
Turn off taps properly.
Use only the water you need.
Take shorter washes or showers.
Water plants carefully.
Fix dripping taps.
Link saving water to caring for a natural resource. Keep it practical and age-appropriate.
Why Water May Need Cleaning
Water from rivers, lakes or puddles may contain:
dirt
sand
tiny living things
other unwanted substances
Before people drink it, the water often needs to be purified.
Avoid going into microbes in depth; 'tiny living things' is enough for this age.
Simple Water Purification Methods
Water can be made cleaner in different ways.
Filtering removes bits of dirt.
Settling lets heavier particles sink.
Boiling can help kill tiny living things.
Clean-looking water is not always safe water.
Important misconception: clear water is not always safe to drink. Mention that some purification methods are used together.
Which is a good way to save water?
Leave taps on
Use extra water
Fix dripping taps
Take longer showers
Distractors reflect the opposite of the water-saving advice on the slides.
Cleaning and caring for water
Clean water is precious, so we should save it. Water from rivers or lakes may need to be purified before drinking. Filtering removes bits of dirt, and boiling can help kill tiny living things.
Reinforces both careful use of water and simple purification methods.
Melting and Freezing
Some materials can change state when their temperature changes.
Freezing: liquid water becomes solid ice.
Melting: solid ice becomes liquid water.
The material is still water, but its state changes.
Stress that the substance stays the same. This helps prevent confusion between a material changing state and a new material being made.
Slide heading
Slide text
Use this image slide as a visual pause to reinforce that ice and liquid water are the same material in different states.
What happens when water freezes?
It becomes steam
It becomes ice
It disappears
It becomes sand
Checks the state change idea that the material stays water.
How are melting and freezing different?
Expected elements: freezing means liquid water changes to solid ice; melting means solid ice changes to liquid water. Encourage students to use both key words correctly.
What Is Solubility?
A material is soluble if it can dissolve in water.
Sugar is soluble.
Salt is soluble.
Sand is not soluble.
Stones are not soluble.
When something dissolves, it seems to disappear, but it is still in the water.
A common misconception is that dissolved materials vanish completely. Clarify that they are mixed into the water too finely to see easily.
Dissolve or Not Dissolve?
Different materials behave differently in water.
Soluble materials mix into the water.
Insoluble materials stay as solid pieces.
This helps us sort and describe materials.
Use the exact term 'soluble' again for consistency. You may mention 'insoluble' aloud if useful, though the main term is soluble.
Floating and Sinking
When we put an object in water, it may float or sink.
Float means it stays on the surface.
Sink means it goes down into the water.
Different materials and objects do not all act the same way.
Keep the language observational rather than introducing density formally at this age.
Examples of Float and Sink
A leaf may float.
A piece of wood may float.
A stone usually sinks.
A metal spoon usually sinks.
We can compare objects by watching what happens in water.
You can note that shape matters too, but do not develop it far unless needed.
Which material is soluble in water?
Stone
Sand
Sugar
Leaf
Tests the taught example of a soluble material against common visible solids.
In water
Some materials behave differently in water. Sugar can dissolve because it is soluble. A stone does not dissolve and usually sinks. A leaf may stay on the surface and float.
Combines the final two subtopics: solubility and floating or sinking.
What is one thing you learned today?
Invite short personal reflections about the most memorable idea, such as saving water, purification, melting and freezing, dissolving, floating or sinking.
What helped you understand best?
Use this to find which teaching method or example supported understanding best, such as examples, pictures or comparing materials.
How confident do you feel about these science words now?
This item has no instructions
Glossary
natural resource - something useful that comes from nature
property - a feature of a material that we can notice or test
clay - a smooth natural material that can be shaped when wet
purify - to make water cleaner and safer
freezing - changing from liquid water to solid ice
melting - changing from solid ice to liquid water
soluble - able to dissolve in water
This item has no instructions
Glossary
float - to stay on the surface of water
sink - to go down into the water
filtering - removing solid bits from water by passing it through a filter
settling - allowing heavier particles to fall to the bottom
mud - wet soil that is soft and sticky
sand - loose grains of rock
stone - hard natural rock material
This item has no instructions
