I just finished up my Natural Resource unit VA SOL 3.11 last week and started our Ancient China unit (I love social studies, so I am so excited for this). I wanted to share some of my resources that I created and used for teaching natural resources (renewable and nonrenewable natural resources).

My favorite thing about teaching science is that I can show a boatload of Bill and videos. My kids are big Bill Nye fans, so I appreciate that they love science because they enjoy him. He definitely brings the science fun in our happy, little classroom. YouTube has all the Bill Nye videos. For this unit, used used his “energy sources” and “sun” videos.

I am a big fan of graphic organizers. My whole life I used graphic organizers to categorize and systemize my thinking. I am a visual learner, and this truly makes content “click” for me. My worksheets include Frayer models, a comparison chart, and a bubble flow chart. I use these worksheets whole group. I am in love with my new document camera stand for my iPad, and these worksheets can easily be used with it. I have a discussion with the kids and together we decide what goes into each bubble or square. There’s also answer keys… perfect for those days that your mind just isn’t working right (even teachers have those days!).

I love colorful signs, so I created these two signs for the classroom. I work hard for a literacy-rich classroom, so I often change up my science or social studies signs. The kids love seeing the new posters and commenting on the colors of pictures. If you’re curious…. the plant under renewable resources is actually a geothermal plant!