Grade Level: 2^nd Grade

Time: 20-30 minutes

Essential Question: How can we be stewards of Wyoming’s public and private lands to benefit current and future generations?

Objective: Students will use visuals and identify ways to be stewards of a variety of places/things.

Purpose: Students learn the meaning of stewardship and how they can be a steward.

Required Materials/Resources:

• Poster/chart paper for definition of stewardship
• Picture Cards – (At least two cards per pair of students and the teacher will need a few cards for examples. For the student pairs, one card needs to be a private item: dog, house, shoes, farm, etc.; and the other card needs to be something public: wildflower field, park, lake, etc.) (These cards will be used again in Lesson 2.)
• Sentence Stems sheet (one per student)
• Sticky notes (one per student)

Suggested Teacher Preparation:

• Decide on student pairs for the activity.
• Choose Picture Cards that will be used as samples.
• Write “Sentence Stems” on the board.
• Decide how many Picture Cards pairs will receive. (These cards will be used again in Lesson 2.)
• Title a piece of poster/chart paper “WE ARE STEWARDS” to place the exit tickets on at the end of the lesson. This can be used throughout the unit.

Standards:

Social Studies: SS2.4.1 (Explicit)
ELA: 2.SL.1, 2.SL.6 (Practiced/Encountered)
CVE: CV5.1.4 (Practiced/Encountered)

Vocabulary:

• Natural resources – sources of life, materials, or energy that are found on 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. Say: “Today, we are starting a unit about being a steward of our land in Wyoming. Being a good steward means taking care of our things, places we visit, and our natural resources. Natural resources are sources of life, materials, or energy that are found on the earth and very important for humans. I used a natural resource today when I took a shower this morning. Can any of you think of a natural resource you’ve used today?” Allow students to share a few examples: trees, water, air, soil, plants, animals. If they have trouble generating some, provide them with multiple examples.

2. Display one of the Picture Cards and discuss with the class that we have to be STEWARDS of the things we use and the places we visit including why it is important to be a steward. Some examples include the following: If a picture of a park is displayed, the teacher might say, “I would be a steward of this park by keeping my dog on a leash, picking up my trash, and by reading the rules on how to use the equipment. It’s important for me to take care of this park and be a steward, so I have a fun place to play.” If a picture of shoes is displayed, the teacher might say, “I am a steward of my shoes by putting them in my closet when I’m not wearing them, not putting knots in the shoelaces, and putting them on all the way, so I don’t ruin the backs of the shoes. My shoes cost money, and it’s important for me to be a steward of them so they will last.”

3. Say: “There is a reason we are stewards. Everything we do has a consequence. Can you think of what would happen to our items if we are not stewards of them?” Allow students to respond. Again, if they are having a difficult time, provide examples. For example, if a picture of a park is displayed, the teacher might say, “If we are not stewards of this park, the playground equipment could be broken, there could be trash everywhere, and it would not be a fun place to play.” Encourage students to share how things could change in the future if we are not stewards.

4.

Pass out and review the Sentence Stems sheets. Place students into pairs and give each pair at least two cards. (Give pairs as many cards as you wish.) Students have five minutes to study their Picture Cards. Have pairs discuss their Picture Cards and complete their Sentence Stems sheet. Each student should use a different card for his/her own Sentence Stem sheet. Students should be prepared to share their responses with the class. Monitor student discussions, and if students need help, ask them the following scaffolding questions to have them recognize how we take care of the places/things and why it is important to do so. “What would happen if we didn’t have this place/object? How do we need to take care of this place/object, so it isn’t ruined?”

• We can be stewards of this (object or place) by (how do we take care of it).
• We need to be stewards of this because ______________________.
• If I am not a steward of ______________ then __________________. For example: If I am not a steward of the park, then we would not have a fun place to play.
• Give an example of a situation where stewardship is important________________.

5. When students have finished discussing and completing their sheets, have pairs make a group of four to share their Sentence Stem responses. Choose a few pairs to share their responses with the whole class. After all pairs have shared, say: “Remember, good stewardship means taking care of things that matter to us, our family, and our community for the future. In our next lesson, we will learn about the difference between private and public land and how we can be stewards of Wyoming land.”

Assessment:

Give each student a sticky note to use as an exit ticket. Say: “On your sticky note, write or draw one way you can be a steward.” Have the students share their responses with their partner and have them place their sticky notes on the WE ARE STEWARDS poster/chart. Examine sticky notes to check that students did provide a correct way to be a steward. This poster with exit tickets will begin the next lesson.

Credits/Sources:

Photo credits are cited on the Picture Cards.