1. Big Idea 6: Earth Structures Earth’s Resources
Grade 4 Benchmarks
SC.4.E.6.3 Recognize that humans need resources found on Earth and that these are either renewable or nonrenewable.
SC.4.E.6.6 Identify resources available in Florida (water, phosphate, oil, limestone, silicon, wind, and solar energy).
Mary Tweedy, Curriculum Support Specialist
Keisha Kidd, Curriculum Support Specialist
Dr. Millard Lightburn, Elementary Science Supervisor

2. What are some of Earth’s natural resources?
Water Plants Sun Air Wind Minerals Rocks
Land Soil Oil Coal Animals
Engage/Explore: Click on hyperlink: natural resources for a Discovery Education Fun-damental Earth’s Natural Resources and view Gifts from Nature.
Extension/Elaborate: 4th Grade Picture Inquiry Templates (Larry Chew) pp : List 5 energy sources that can be found in FL and mark where they can be found on a FL map. Next list 3 natural resources that can be found in FL and mark on the map where they can be found.
Discuss: 1. How do organisms benefit from resources?
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3. What resources are found in Florida ?
Florida has many natural resources:
Beaches
Pine Forests
Oil
Cattle
Phosphate
Citrus
Explain:
Talking Chips Strategy: Students share work from previous slide’s extension/elaboration and each member in a group name one natural resource in Florida and explain why it is useful and important.
Water
Limestone
Reefs
Solar Energy

4. What are Renewable Resources?
Nature can produce some resources again and again. These are called renewable resources. If we are careful we will not run out of these resources.
Solar
Energy
Water
Explain: Reinforce the idea that we still need to be careful. We need to replant forests, we need to keep our fresh water supplies free of pollution, etc.
Resource: Gr. 4 AIMS Earth Science: Renewable Resources pp
Trees
Wind Energy
Food

5. What are some Renewable Resources?
The sun is a renewable resource.
Energy from the sun is never used up.
Water is a renewable natural resource.
It evaporates from the oceans, precipitates in the form of rain and snow, and flows through rivers and streams back to the oceans.
Extension/Elaborate: Identify and discuss natural resources that can be found in FL.
Plants are renewable because plants can grow more plants. Seeds grow into plants that bear flowers. These flowers, when fertilized, produce seeds that grow into new plants.
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6. Florida’s Renewable Resources
Oranges
Solar
Energy
Renewable
Resources
Explain what /Discuss why: Solar energy , orange trees, drinking water, and wind are all renewable resources found in Florida.
Florida’s location near the equator and its climate provide an abundance of sunlight all year round which can be harvested as solar energy. The solar panels installed on homes, businesses, and schools will capture the sun’s energy to provide power. Meanwhile, utilizing solar energy can decrease electricity bills and help the environment conserve resources.
Florida grows the most oranges in the entire United States. Orange trees are widely cultivated in Central Florida where the conditions of the soil and climate are perfect. Florida oranges are picked from trees that are at least three years old. As an orange tree matures, the number of fruit it produces each year increases.
Florida has many sources of water. Most of Florida’s drinking water comes from the Floridan Aquifer. The Floridan Aquifer system is one of the major sources of ground-water not only in Florida but, in the United States.
Wind is another one of Florida’s renewable resources that allows moving wind currents to be converted into electrical energy. Although the state of Florida is surrounded by water on three sides, it does not get wind gusts significant enough to power homes and commercial businesses. The government’s “Go Green” Initiatives have challenged scientists to carry out experimental research on wind-generated electricity in parts of Florida.
Sources of
Water
Wind

7. Why are renewable resources important to us?
Renewable resources can be recreated, although some, like trees, may take more time to renew than we can wait.
Nonrenewable resources can be used up.
Explain and Evaluate:
Write a summarizing paragraph to describe reasons why natural resources are useful to humans. Include at least 3 reasons why we need our resources.
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8. What are Nonrenewable Resources?
They are resources that formed over millions of years.
They can not be made again in our children or our grandchildren’s lifetimes.
There is a limited supply of these resources and people are using them faster than they can be replaced.
What are some examples?
Fossil Fuels:
natural gas
crude oil
coal
Minerals:
aluminum
silver
iron
Copper
Rocks:
limestone
Explain / discuss
Resource: Gr. 4 AIMS Earth Science: Non-Renewable Resources p. 279.
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9. Florida’s Nonrenewable Resources
Phosphate
Oil
Nonrenewable
Silicon
Limestone
Oil, phosphate, limestone, and silicon are nonrenewable resources found in Florida that will eventually run out.
Have students explore their uses online. Show samples if available.
Explain: Break students into groups and have them research the resources
1. What are they used for?
2. Are any of them sources of energy?

10. Phosphate is a nonrenewable Florida Resource
Things that are made from Phosphate:
fertilizer
vitamins
soft drinks
toothpaste
Explain/discuss: As stated earlier, phosphate is also one of Florida’s nonrenewable resources. Most of the phosphate deposits from Florida are used to manufacture fertilizer and are supplied to farmers throughout the world. A small portion of the phosphate is used to make supplements, vitamins, soft drinks, and toothpaste. 

11. Limestone is a nonrenewable Florida Resource
Things that are made from Limestone:
building and landscape materials
materials used in road construction
cement manufacturing
*Bonus questions:
What type of rock is limestone?
Limestone is a sedimentary rock.
How do sedimentary rocks form?
Explain: (Show a sample of limestone.) Limestone, another one of Florida’s nonrenewable resources, is a sedimentary rock that is naturally occurring in Florida. Pure limestone is made of calcite. Marine organisms are the primary source of the calcite in limestone. Therefore, limestone is mostly found near or within the ocean. Limestone is mainly used in road construction and in building materials. Limestone is also used to manufacture glass and cement.

12. Silicon is a nonrenewable Florida Resource
Silicon is an element found in 90% of the minerals making up Earth’s crust. It often takes the form of sand. It is used in the production of the following:
caulk
glass
wrist bands
many electronic devices
Explain: Finally, silicon is a nonrenewable resource found in Florida that most commonly takes the form of sand. Sand is abundant in Florida and is used in the production of glass and bricks. Silicon is also an important ingredient in steel and many electronic devices.

13. Value of Renewable Resources
Although fossil fuels are still available today, they take millions of years to form. We use them much faster than nature can make them. Therefore, we need to make more use of renewable energy resources.
Explore/Explain: Click on the hyperlink: Value of Renewable Resources. Discuss. We rely on fossil fuels to make our lives comfortable. Water energy is used all over the world. Machines inside dams change the energy of moving water into electrical energy. The technology to use these forms of energy is growing especially with solar energy in Florida and wind energy in the Mid-west.
Solar Energy
Water
Energy
Wind
Energy

14. Virtual Lab: WOW, Windmills!
Variables (Things that can change.):
____________ _____________ _____________
Variable I will change (Test/Independent/Manipulated):
___________________
Testable question (Problem Statement):
______________________________________________
This is a fair test because________________________
_____________________________________________
Hypothesis:
Procedures:
Explore: Click on hyperlink: WOW, Windmills! for a virtual lab. Read the lab introduction and discuss with students. They will do the Level 1 activity. Pass out the student sheet for Level One. Complete the Student Planning Sheet (left side) together.

15. Virtual Lab: WOW, Windmills!
Data :
Test Number
Number
of Blades
Shape
Pitch (angle)
Average Number of Spins in 1 Min.
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16. What are some differences between renewable and nonrenewable resources?
Nonrenewable resources are resources that cannot be replaced in a short amount of time.
Unlike renewable resources, it is possible for humans to use up all of the nonrenewable resources in the world.
A renewable resource is a resource that humans are not likely to run out of.
Wind is a renewable resource because the wind will always continue to blow on Earth.
Trees are a renewable resource because they can be planted and grown in a short amount of time.
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17. Saving Resources
The world doesn’t have an endless supply of natural resources. We have to make our natural resources last longer. The wise use and protection of natural resources is called conservation.
Use cloth shopping bags
Ride your bicycle instead of driving
Buy recycled products
Turn off the water while you brush your teeth
Reduce
Review and Extend: Click on hyperlink: Saving Resources. Then view Saving Resources and discuss.
Recycle aluminum cans
Turn off lights when you
leave a room
Recycle
Reuse

18. What can we do? We can use resources wisely.
We can reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Explain
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19. Assessment
1. Earth will eventually run out of certain kinds of energy resources. These are called nonrenewable energy resources. Which answer lists ONLY nonrenewable energy resources?
solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric
natural gas, wind, and water
gasoline, solar, and nuclear
coal, oil, and natural gas
Evaluate
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Florida Achieves

20. Assessment
2. In Florida, limestone mining produces over 153 million tons of products a year, including concrete, asphalt, and cement.
Which of the following best describes how limestone mining should be handled in Florida?
It should be restricted, because some people have a toxic reaction to limestone products.
It should be restricted, because there is only a limited amount of limestone available.
It does not need to be restricted, because new deposits of limestone can be discovered and used.
It does not need to be restricted, because limestone can be easily replaced as sediment is compacted.
Evaluate

21. Assessment
3. It is important to develop renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power.
What is the advantage of using these resources, instead of using fossil fuels?
They make more energy than fossil fuels.
They are cheaper to maintain than fossil fuels.
They cannot be depleted or used up, like fossil fuels.
They do not depend on weather conditions, like fossil fuels.
Evaluate
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Florida Achieves

22. Show What You Know 3- List 3 nonrenewable resources
2- List 2 renewable resources
1- Write 1 idea for conserving
resources
Big Idea 6: Vocabulary Review Game
Evaluate
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