Social Studies and Science

Integrated Unit
Unit Overview and Instructor Background Knowledge
a). Unit Title: Natural Resources of Michigan
b). Family/Parent Letter:
Dear Families:
Your child is beginning a unit called Natural Resources of Michigan. We designed this unit to
promote inquiry-focused science and social studies. During the next to weeks, your child will be
actively involved in this unit. This unit is geared for third graders, and focuses on the following areas:
1. The Earths surface is made up of many different materials such as rocks, minerals, gravel,
sand, soil, clay, and water.
2. Michigans Natural Resources, including the Great Lakes, lumber (forests), copper, salt,
fisheries and wildlife.
3. Human dependence on these earth materials/natural resources, and where they originate within
Michigan.
4. The impact of human use on natural resources in Michigan, and different ways to reduce, reuse,
and recycle these natural resources.
During this unit, students will examine and describe different earth materials. They will compare and
contrast the properties of rocks, minerals, sand, soil, and clay. They will learn that sand, soil, and clay
are small particles of minerals and rocks. Your student will also study earth materials as natural
resources, while considering some of their uses. Some materials are used as natural objects while
others are processed as manufactured objects. The students will also examine positive and negative
effects of humans on the environment and find ways that third graders can help to protect the
environment, including recycling many manufactured objects. Below you will find some activities to
do at home that help support and further your students learning within this unit.
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Take your student to the library to find books about earth materials, natural resources, and ways
to conserve the supply of these natural resources within the Earth.
Set up a plan in your home to make an effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle materials. Choose
packaging of material that in environmentally friendlier (such as bringing your own bags, or
choosing paper bags instead of plastic when grocery shopping!). Make a list with your student
of ways your family can save natural resources.
Take your student to a glass manufacturing plant, or paper manufacturing plant. Help them
interview the plant managers to see the process involved in making the products and to learn
what kind of natural materials are involved in the production. Or, you could watch an online
video of a glass of paper manufacturing plant and discuss it with your student.
Start a compost for household waste that decomposes vegetable matter, grass clippings, and
leaves.
Support your students desire to explore this unit by encouraging them to research any
questions they have or concepts they would like to learn more about.

I hope you enjoy discussing the concepts involved in Natural Resources of Michigan with your
student!
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c) Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings.

1. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering).
2. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
3. Flows, cycles, and conservation.
4. Structure and function.
A natural resource is something that is found in nature and is necessary or useful to
humans. Natural resources come from the earth and are used by humans daily. Lumber,
copper, and water are examples of natural resources; gravel, sand, soil, and clay are earth
materials that work as natural resources. The particle size of earth materials effects how it
interacts with water. Water falls faster through gravel and sand because they are made of
particles that are spaced further apart, and water travels slower through soil and clay because
the particles that make up soil and clay are spaced close together. We use some natural
resources to build things for us to use, but some natural resources like rocks, sand, soil, and
clay, help us by staying in the ground and filtering water as it percolates through the earth
materials. Humans are dependent on earth materials as natural resources to manufacture
objects and provide fuels. Manufactured materials can be reused, reduced, and recycled to
conserve natural resources. Human use of natural resources can be detrimental to the
environment, such as cutting down trees and depleting forests, endangering animals, and
polluting water. Human use of non-renewable resources depletes our supply of those natural
resources, but there are conservation strategies we can use to help prolong their availability.
d) Essential Questions:
1. What would happen if the surface water went straight into the aquifer? What role do the soil
particles and rocks and gravel and sand play in cleaning the water before it gets to the aquifer
2. How are materials taken form the Earth used as natural resources?
3. How are Earth materials used to make common objects?
4. What are ways in which humans alter the environment through the use of natural resources?
5. What natural resources are renewable and non-renewable?
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e) Key Concepts:
1. Resource: A supply of something that someone has and can use when it is needed.
2. Natural Resource: Something that is found in nature and is necessary or useful to humans.
3. Renewable Resources: Any natural resources that can replenish itself naturally over time, such
as wood or solar energy.
4. Non-Renewable Resources: Any natural resource from the earth that exists in limited supply
and cannot be replaced if it is used up; Any natural resource that cannot be replenished by
natural means at the same rates that it is consumed.
5. Lumber: Timber; Wood; Trees sawed or split into planks or boards.
6. Copper: Red-brown metal found in the earth that is mined, melted, and molded for human use.
7. Groundwater: Water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rocks. Ex. rain or
melted snow seeping through earths surface.
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8. Aquifer: Underground bed or layer that fills with groundwater, water from rain or melted snow,
that drains into the ground. In some areas the water passes through the soil on top of the
aquifer; in other areas it enters through joints and cracks in rocks.
9. Water filtration through the natural resources of earths surface (gravel, sand, soil, clay).

f). Rationale: In this unit students will learn about the rocks and minerals that make up most of the earths solid
surface that they encounter on a daily basis. Specifically, students will compare and contrast the different
properties that make up sand, soil, clay, and rocks. Students will also explore the natural resources native to
Michigan, and how these resources are manufactured into objects they depend on in their daily lives. Students
will learn how to decrease their impact on the depletion of natural resources by reusing, reducing, and recycling.
It is important that students learn about the natural resources within Michigan because they play a large role in
how our state functions and survives. It is also important that students become aware of what their state has to
offer in terms of valuable materials and resources that other states are not as fortunate to possess. Students need
to understand the benefits of Michigans possession of these natural resources so that they can value and protect
them.

g). Unit Objectives:

1. At the end of this unit, the students will be able to explain the different size of particles of Earth
materials and how it affects the pace water flows through them. (i.e. clay, sand, soil, gravel)
2. At the end of this unit, students will be able to identify and natural resources and explain why
they are considered a natural resource.
3. At the end of this unit, the students will be able to describe how humans are dependent on earth
materials and where these earth materials originate.
4. At the end of this unit, the students will be able to recognize the detrimental effects of human
use of earth materials in Michigan.
5. At the end of this unit, the students will be able to express different ways of how to conserve or
restore earth materials in Michigan (or in other contexts).
h). Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs), Content Standards, and Anti-Bias Standards:
E.SE.03.13 Recognize and describe different types of earth materials.
E.ES.03.04 Identify natural resources (metals, fuels, fresh water, and forests).
E.SE.03.51 Describe ways humans are dependent on the natural environment (forests, water, clean air,
Earth materials) and constructed environments (homes, neighborhoods, shopping malls, factories, and
industry)
E.SE.03.52 Describe helpful or harmful effect of humans on the environment (garbage, habitat
destruction, land management, renewable, and non-renewable resources).
3-G5.0.1 Locate natural resources in Michigan and explain the consequences of their use.
3-G5.0.2 Describe how people adapt to, use, and modify the natural resources of Michigan.
3-G1.0.2 Use thematic maps to identify and describe the physical and human characteristics of
Michigan.

ELA: R.CM.03.01 Connect personal knowledge, experiences, and understanding of the world to
themes and perspectives in text through oral and written responses.
Resources
a). Planning Resources
1. Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center Outreach Staff and Teachers from
Participating Districts (2008). Earth and Me: Teacher Guide.
2. French, M. J., & Skochdopole, L. D. (1998). It's a Salmon's Life!. Science and Children, 35(4),
35-39.
3. Kotar, M., Guenter, C. E., Metzger, D., & Overholt, J. L. (1998). Curriculum Integration: A
Teacher Education Model. Science and children, 35(5), 40-43.
4. McConnell, David (2005). Our Michigan Adventure!. Hillsdale Educational Publishers, Inc.,
Hillsdale, MI.
5. Michigan Department of Natural Resources (2015). Forestry. State of Michigan.
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-30301---,00.html
6. Michigans Natural Resources and Environment: A Citizens Guide (2001). Michigan
Legislature Legislative Service Bureau Science and Technology
Division.http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/Publications/NaturalResources.pdf
7. Michigan Maps. Michigan Advantage.org.
8. Nelson, D. (2007). Project Wet Curriculum and Activity Guide 2.0.
b) Classroom Resources: During our social studies and science units, we will be using many
classroom materials in order to engage our students and further their learning of the Natural Resources
native to Michigan. Below is a list of the materials that will be used within our classroom.
! Student textbook titled, Our Michigan Adventure
! Student journal titled, Earth and Me
! Comparing Earth Materials worksheet
! Guided Research worksheet
! Maps of the state of Michigan
! Samples of gravel, sand, clay, and soil
! 4 water bottle funnels
! Measuring cup
! Magnifying glass
! YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNWAerr_xEE
! Coloring utensils (markers, crayons, colored pencils)
! Document camera and projector
! Poster boards
! Post-it notes
! Glue
! Scissors
! Oil Spill! by Melvin Berger
! Weslandia by Paul Fleischman
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Dirt by Steve Tomecek

Just A Dream by Chris Van Allsburg
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Knowing Your Students and their Prior Knowledge

a). Students knowledge:
My classroom consists of a 50/50 split Spanish immersion program. This means I have an
A.M. class and a P.M. class. My morning class starts out with me, learning in English, whereas my
P.M. starts their day in immersed in a Spanish lead classroom. Right before lunch, they switch. My
morning class goes to the Spanish lead classroom and the P.M. class comes to my English lead room.
This situation leaves little time for subjects such as social studies and science since we only have our
students for half a day. So, unfortunately, our students have not been studying a specific social studies
or science unit up until this point.
Although it is difficult to find time for social studies and science in our daily schedule, we have
read a number of I Survived books to our students and discussed historical events in detail. For
example, we have studied the attack on the twin towers, Pearl Harbor, titanic, and the shark attack of
1916 (occurred in a creek in New Jersey) allowed us to discuss the waterways amongst the Earth and
why it is unusual for a shark to reach and survive in a small creek. Other than these specific historical
events, science and social studies were not present within my classroom.
b) Students preconceptions and interests.
I created a pre-assessment item for my students to complete so that I could see everything they
knew or thought in terms of natural resources before beginning the unit. I used this information to help
guide the planning of my lessons and address misconceptions and interests. Since my students do not
get to see social studies and science very often within our classroom it was apparent in their
expressions when I passed out the pre-assessment worksheet that they were very excited and motivated
to begin learning. I asked students to answer the following questions about water, lumber, or copper:
What makes this resource a natural resource? Explain one way that this resource helps humans.
Explain one way that use of this resource can harm the environment.
When I began analyzing my students pre-assessment data, I immediately noticed that many
students were unaware of the terms lumber and copper. I anticipated that most students would be
unfamiliar with the term copper, but I was surprised to learn that most of them had not learned the
term lumber either. Since all but one student chose water as one of the natural resources on the preassessment, I decided to only analyze my students answers for water. After analyzing my students
pre-assessment data, I have learned that almost all of my students know of a way or reason humans
use/need water. This leads me to believe that all of my students understand how valuable water is to
humans, which could potentially help them realize how important other natural resources are to
humans as well. I was also surprised that none of my students knew exactly what a natural resource is.
A couple students alluded to natural resources as being found in nature, but none of them were able to
truly define natural resources. I am not very surprised that most students could not come up with ways
human use of natural resources can harm the environment, but I was surprised and confused as to find
that many of them answered the question by giving examples of way water could possibly harm
humans, such as drowning or choking. I think this might have been a misinterpretation of the question,
or else my students dont believe that our use of water can be harmful to the environment. Based on
the state my students are in now, I am excited for this unit because I know there is a lot to learn. I have
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discovered that I may need to spend more time on what natural resources are, how we use them, and
how our use can be detrimental to the environment. I will need to be explicit in my lesson plans when
explaining scientific concepts, and try to provide authentic ways for students to experience and come
up with realizations on their own. I think my students will need to have a lot of discussion amongst
their peers, in whole group settings and in small groups or pairs. This will spread ideas and hopefully
enhance understanding.
c). Linguistic, social and academic challenges, resources and supports.
Throughout this unit there are multiple supports and resources for linguistic, social, and
academic challenges. First, there are multiple modes of delivering information to my students, such as
readings, visual presentations (PowerPoint/Prezi), guided notes, and small and whole group
discussions. These different modes of delivery help to reach all types of learners, and provide students
with multiple attempts to process the same information. Having students work in small groups also
supports students with social and academic challenges. It provides a safer and more comfortable
setting for shy students to express their thoughts and not feel overwhelmed. It also helps bring a
number of ideas to the table and supports student who may be more academically challenged.
Another support I will provide is during the small group research project at the end of the unit.
Each student will conduct their own research, and do their best to thoroughly explore the natural
resource assigned to them. Then, as an additional support, students will meet in their small groups and
share all of the information they found during their individual research. This will allow for all
students to share their findings and feel heard within their group, while also supporting those who
experienced difficulties during their research. Additionally, for those students who are academically
gifted, they will be expected to conduct a more thorough research of their natural resource. As for
students with behavioral concerns, they have individual plans they abide by daily that are tailored to
their specific conditions.