Background Information
Natural resources are materials found in or on the earth that are used by humans and other living things. Two of our most precious natural resources are water and soil.
Water is life – we can’t survive without it. We need clean water for drinking, for showers and baths, to cook with, to swim in… All of the water that exists here on Earth is the same water that was here during the time of the dinosaurs! There will never be any new water. That same water continues to move through the water cycle: precipitation, evaporation, condensation, precipitation… and it happens all over again. We must work together to protect our water and keep it clean since we can never get any new water!
Soil is another very important natural resource in Iowa. Think of all the different things that we can grow in our soil! We have some of the richest, most fertile soil in the whole world, and this allows us to grow many different plants and crops. We must work together to protect our soil, as well, for us and all of the living creatures that depend on it.
Vocabulary
Watershed: An area of land that drains to a common point
Natural Resources: Materials found in nature that are used by humans and other living things
Pollution: Waste found in nature that doesn’t belong
Bacteria: Germs
Organisms: Living things
Nutrients: Things in food that help us grow (vitamins and minerals)
Conserve: Save or keep
Books
A River Ran Wild by Lynne Cherry
The Water’s Journey by Elinore Schmid
Videos
We All Live in a Watershed (Music Video plus enhanced learning activities: The Water Cycle, Watershed Walk, and New Word Wall)
Conservation Dogs (Music Video/Follow with enhanced learning activity: Treat Mother Earth Like Ourselves)
What’s In Your Water?
Fishing (Video and Enhanced Learning Activities)
The Beach (Video and Activity)
The Walk (Video and Worksheet)
Adventures of the Conservation Pack
Episode 3 (Video and Worksheet)
Episode 6 (Video and Worksheet)
Episode 8 (Video and Worksheet)