Unit Plan 32 (Grade 4 Science): Natural Resources & Fuels
Energy and fuels come from natural resources like coal, oil, wind, and sun—this Grade 4 unit explores how using them helps people and impacts the environment.
Focus: Explain how energy and fuels come from natural resources and how their use affects the environment.
Grade Level: 4
Subject Area: Science (Earth & Human Activity)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students explore natural resources (water, air, soil, plants, animals, rocks, fossil fuels) and how they are used to make energy and fuels. They examine everyday examples—electricity, gasoline, heating—and connect them back to resources like coal, oil, sunlight, and wind. Students analyze simple data and case examples to see how resource use can help people but also impact the environment, and they develop a short “Resource Use & Impact” explanation or mini-poster.
Essential Questions
- What are natural resources, and how do people turn them into energy and fuels we use every day?
- How does using different resources (like fossil fuels vs. renewable energy) affect the environment?
- How can patterns in data (graphs, maps, tables) help us understand resource use and its impacts?
- What can communities and individuals do to use resources wisely and reduce negative impacts?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Identify and classify common natural resources (renewable and nonrenewable) and connect them to everyday fuels/energy uses.
- Describe how energy and fuels (e.g., gasoline, electricity, wood) are derived from natural resources.
- Analyze simple texts, pictures, and/or data to explain at least one positive and one negative impact of resource use on the environment.
- Compare two examples of resource use (e.g., coal vs. solar) and describe how each affects land, air, water, or living things.
- Create a Resource Use & Impact Explanation (paragraph, poster, or slide) that clearly links a resource, its fuel use, and its environmental effects in student-friendly language.
Standards Alignment — 4th Grade (NGSS-Aligned)
- 4-ESS3-1 — Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and that their uses affect the environment.
- Example: Use pictures and short texts to explain how burning coal for electricity can lead to air pollution and habitat changes, while wind turbines use moving air.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can name and sort different natural resources (like water, wind, coal, oil, plants) and tell how they are used for energy and fuels.
- I can explain at least one way that using a resource helps people and one way it can harm the environment.
- I can read or look at simple graphs, maps, or pictures and tell what they show about resource use.
- I can compare two energy sources and describe how each affects air, water, land, or living things.
- I can make a clear explanation or poster that shows the connection between a resource, the fuel/energy it provides, and its environmental impact.