Big Ideas About the Earth and Me:
1. The Earth’s surface is made up of many different materials, such as minerals, rocks, sand, clay, silt, gravel, and soil.
2. Humans are dependent on earth materials as natural resources to manufacture objects and provide fuels.
3. Manufactured materials can be reused, reduced, and recycled to conserve natural resources.
4. The surface of the Earth is constantly changing through erosion, glaciers, volcanoes, landslides, and earthquakes.
5. Humans also change the surface of the Earth through farming and development.
During this unit of study, students will examine and describe different earth materials. They will compare and contrast the properties of rocks, minerals, sand, silt, clay, and soil. They will learn that sand, silt, and clay are small particles of minerals and rocks and soil is a mixture of these particles and once-living organic matter.
Your child will 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.
The unit concludes with an exploration into slow changes (erosion) and rapid changes (landslides, volcanoes, and earthquakes) that affect the surface of the Earth.
1. The Earth’s surface is made up of many different materials, such as minerals, rocks, sand, clay, silt, gravel, and soil.
2. Humans are dependent on earth materials as natural resources to manufacture objects and provide fuels.
3. Manufactured materials can be reused, reduced, and recycled to conserve natural resources.
4. The surface of the Earth is constantly changing through erosion, glaciers, volcanoes, landslides, and earthquakes.
5. Humans also change the surface of the Earth through farming and development.
During this unit of study, students will examine and describe different earth materials. They will compare and contrast the properties of rocks, minerals, sand, silt, clay, and soil. They will learn that sand, silt, and clay are small particles of minerals and rocks and soil is a mixture of these particles and once-living organic matter.
Your child will 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.
The unit concludes with an exploration into slow changes (erosion) and rapid changes (landslides, volcanoes, and earthquakes) that affect the surface of the Earth.