Natural resources and sharing them

Ages 9 to 12 Read alone or together · about 30 minutes

Read together

Natural resources come from the Earth: water, soil, forests, minerals and fuels.

Some, like sunlight and wind, renew. Others, like coal and oil, take millions of years and do not renew in our lifetimes.

Do it

1. List resources you used today: water, wood, metal, electricity.
2. Sort them into renewable and non-renewable.
3. Measure how much water your family uses to brush teeth with the tap on and off.
4. Write one way your home can use less, and one way to share with others.

Talk about it

• Which resources are renewable?
• How can we share fairly?

For the grown-up

Caring for creation is a theme in many churches, and some Christians see it as stewardship (Genesis 2:15). Present different views fairly and avoid fear. Use real facts and small, doable actions.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• NGSS Lead States, Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States (National Academies Press, 2013), performance expectation 4-ESS3-1 (energy and fuels from natural resources)
• United States Geological Survey, Water Science School, pages on water use
• United States Energy Information Administration, Energy Explained: renewable and nonrenewable energy

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.