Unit Overview

In the Renewable Resources unit, students are led through a progression of three inquiry lessons that focus on the comparison of renewable vs. nonrenewable resources, their uneven distribution, and human impact.

• Next Generation Science Standards

  MS-ESS3-1

  Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how these resources are limited and typically non renewable, and how their distributions are significantly changing as a result of removal by humans. Examples of uneven distributions of resources as a result of past processes include but are not limited to petroleum (locations of the burial of organic marine sediments and subsequent geologic traps), metal ores (locations of past volcanic and hydrothermal activity associated with subduction zones), and soil (locations of active weathering and/or deposition of rock).]

• Inquiry Scale
  • Each lesson in the unit has an Inquiry Scale that provides directions on how to implement the lesson at the level that works best for you and your students.
  • “Level 1” is the most teacher-driven, and recommended for students in 4th-5th grades. “Level 4” is the most student-driven, and recommended for students in 7th-8th grades.
  • For differentiation within the same grade or class, use different inquiry levels for different groups of students who may require additional support or an extra challenge.
• Common Misconceptions
  • Learners initially think that there are two distinct categories of resources: renewable and nonrenewable. Emphasize to students that it is actually a spectrum of how quickly and readily resources can be renewed. Some resources are more renewable than others.
  • Relatedly, students initially think that fossil fuels are not cyclical. Emphasize that the fossil fuel cycle just takes an incredibly long time (hundreds of millions of years), so the reliance on it as a cycle for resources is not sustainable.
  • Students assume that resources are evenly distributed around the world. Emphasize that resources are natural (come from the Earth itself) and so they are distributed unevenly.
  • Students tend to believe that it is difficult to have an impact on resources as an individual. Spend time thinking about steps that students can take to utilize more renewable resources.
• Vocabulary
  • • Renewable Resource
    • Nonrenewable Resource
    • Fossil Fuel
    • Cycle
    • Solar Energy
    • Wind Energy
• Content Expert
  • Don Duggan-Haas, Ph.D.
    Director of Teacher Programming The Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth & Cayuga Nature Center
• Leveled Reading

  * To give our users the most comprehensive science resource, Mosa Mack is piloting a partnership with RocketLit, a provider of leveled science articles.

  • Things That Can and Can't be Recycled

    This article gives student background information on the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources. both terms and explicitly defined, as well as the terms "replenish" and "recycling," in the context of each category of resource.

  
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