Background

Natural resources are referred to as land or raw materials. Land, water, plants, and animals are examples of natural resources. These materials occur naturally within environments.

We use natural resources for many different things. Agriculture is responsible for cultivating the use of plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. From this, we directly get our food, food for the animals in our diets, clothes, and in some cases, energy. Paper and paper products, as well as furniture, all come from the cultivation of our forests.
 

Vocabulary

Shelter: something that provides protection from the weather or provides a hiding place from other animals.
Natural Resources: things we use from nature.
 

Attention Grabber

Read aloud a book about birds and how they survive. Ask your school librarian for
some suggestions.

To help the students to start thinking about birds using things from nature, show them a short clip that you can find on the internet. This shows a good visual of how birds use things natural resources to build their shelters.
 

Garden Activity

Part 1: Food
 

·    Pretend to turn students into birds. They need to find food. Have them walk with a partner and find 3 different things in the garden they would eat. Note: They are making a list of what they’d eat, not actually eating anything.
·    Have each group share what they’d eat as a bird. Record their results. Take a quick trip through the garden and point out what the list included.
·    Eat a small snack from the garden to help to reward the “little birdies” for their hard work.
 

Part 2: Shelter
 

·   Have students work individually or together to create a small nest. Have a model for them to see what a bird’s nest is. Create boundaries and guidelines for students. For example, only use things from the ground.
·    Have students share their bird’s nest with each other.
·    Take a picture of their nest.

 

Wrap Up & Assessment

·    Print out the picture of each student’s nest. Have each student write a complete sentence about the materials they used to build their nest. Have them write a complete sentence about the food they ate as a bird.
·    Discuss what animals need to survive. Help students understand the relationship between plants and animals. Review what plants need. As a class, create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting things that plants and animals need. 

 

What’s Next

·    Have students create a list of things people use from nature. For example, we use wood to make desks. Have several different visual examples to share with the students (desk, pencil, wool, etc…)
·    Ask students to make a list of things they used when they get home from school. Together at school, you can go over their lists and where those objects came from. How many of them came from nature?
 

Download Materials

Student Worksheets