Grade Level: 2^nd Grade

Time: 20-30 minutes

Essential Question: How can we be stewards of Wyoming’s mineral and energy resources to benefit current and future generations?

Objective: Students will learn the meaning of stewardship and generation.

Purpose: Students understand what stewardship is and how being stewards of Wyoming’s mineral and energy resources will impact future generations.

Required Materials/Resources:

• Stewardship poster
• Chart paper for anchor charts
• Generation photos (one set per each pair of students or small groups OR one set for the class if doing activity as a whole class)
• Lesson 1 Sentence Stems sheet (one per student)

Suggested Teacher Preparation:

• Post the Stewardship poster.
• Read “Minerals & Energy 101” document in the Educator Essentials documents.
• Create an anchor chart titled “WE ARE STEWARDS” to place sentence stems on at the end of the lesson. This can be used throughout the unit.
• Create a unit vocabulary anchor chart to be used throughout the entire unit.
• Decide if you will do the generation photos activity (step 4) in pairs, small groups, or as a whole group then match students accordingly.
• Be able to post Sentence Stems, so all students can see them.

Standards:

Social Studies: SS2.4.1 (Practiced/Encountered)
ELA: 2.W.8, 2.SL.1, 2.SL.6 (Practiced/Encountered)

Vocabulary:

• Generation – a group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age
• Natural resources – sources of life, materials, or energy that we are able to get naturally from the earth
• Stewardship – As Wyoming citizens, we are stewards entrusted with the responsible development, care, and use of our resources to benefit current and future generations.

Instructional Procedure/Steps:

1. Direct students to the Stewardship Poster and read the definition aloud. Ask: “Who is responsible for each of your own desks?” Students should say themselves. Say: “You are each a steward of your own desk since you are responsible for the care and use of your desk to make sure it looks nice for the next year’s student.” Ask: “Who is responsible for your bedroom?” Students should say themselves. Ask: “What about a pet? Who is responsible for the pet?” The owner. Say: “All of these are examples of stewardship.” Provide other examples of stewardship as necessary. Keep the Stewardship poster displayed throughout the unit.

2. Say: “Today, we are starting a unit on being a steward of our natural resources both renewable and nonrenewable in Wyoming. Being a good steward is taking care of our natural resources, so they are available for generations to come. Natural resources are sources of life, materials, or energy that we are able to get naturally from the earth and are very important for humans. I used a natural resource today when I brushed my teeth this morning: water. Can any of you think of a natural resource you’ve used today?” Give students an opportunity to share a few examples: trees (paper), water, air (wind), soil, plants (food), animals (food), sunlight (warmth). If students have trouble generating some, provide them with multiple examples. Add the terms “Stewardship” and “Natural Resources” to the vocabulary anchor chart.

3. Ask: “What is a generation?” Allow students to share their ideas and then provide them with the following definition of a generation: “A group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age.” Add the term “Generation” to the vocabulary anchor chart.

4. Put students into pairs or small groups (or keep as a whole class). Give each pair/group a set of the Generation photos. Say: “Study the pictures. Put them in order from the oldest generation to the current generation.”

5. When pairs/groups are finished ordering their photos, provide the correct order. Discuss the timeline with the students by asking the questions below. Allow students to respond before moving on to the next one.

• “How did you know which photos showed the older generations?”
• “How did you know which photo showed the most recent generation?”
• “Have you ever received anything that was from someone in a different generation?”
• “What was it? What did it look like?”

6. Say: “The photos make a timeline that shows different generations. I am a different generation than you. You are a different generation than both your parents and grandparents.” Ask: “Have you ever heard anyone talk about something that can be passed down from generation to generation?” Allow students to respond. Say: “Older generations can pass down items like clothing and possessions to the generations that come after them. How would you feel if the generation before you cut down all the trees, and there were none left today?” Have students brainstorm with a partner then share with the class. This previews the idea that we need to use resources responsibly and plan for future generations use. We will explain this more in depth in future lessons.

Assessment:

Review Sentence Stems with students. Have students generate responses with their partner from the previous step. Monitor discussions, and if students need help, provide them with the following guiding questions to recognize how we take care of the natural resources for future generations and why it is important.

• “What would happen if we didn’t have natural resources?”
• “How do we need to take care of this place/object, so it isn’t ruined?”

After pairs discuss, pass out Sentence Stem sheets, and have students complete Sentence Stems individually. When students are finished, have students post their sheets on the “WE ARE STEWARDS” anchor chart. Check sheets for accuracy and understanding of stewardship and generation.

7. After students have posted their sheets, say: “In our next lesson, we will learn about the importance of conserving resources for future generations.”

Credits/Sources:

Photo credits are listed on the Generation photos.