Grade Level: 4th Grade

Time: 30-45 minutes

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

Objective: Students will gain an understanding of the term stewardship and of their role in being stewards.

Purpose: Students learn the meaning of stewardship and start to learn what it takes to be a steward.

Required Materials/Resources: 

• • Stewardship Definition Poster (found in the Educator Essentials)
  • Word Splash (one per student)
  • Images of Stewardship PowerPoint presentation.
  • Bumper sticker template (one per student)
  • Exit tickets (one per student)

Suggested Teacher Preparation:

• • Display the Stewardship Definition Poster
  • Display the stewardship words from step 4 where all students can see them.

Standards:

Social Studies: SS5.1.1(Explicit)

ELA: 4.L.6 (Explicit), 4.L.5.c (Practiced/Encountered)

Vocabulary:  

• • Benefit – an advantage or profit gained for something
  • Conservation – the careful utilization of a resource in order to prevent waste and leave some for future generations
  • Entrust – to give somebody the responsibility of doing something or of caring for someone or something
  • Generation – a group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age
  • Resource – a place or thing that provides something useful
  • Steward – an individual who manages areas or resources
  • 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. 1. Display the Stewardship Definition Poster from the Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom Wyoming Stewardship Project: As Wyoming citizens, we are stewards entrusted with the responsible development, care, and use of our resources to benefit current and future generations.
      

      Teacher Note:

       The included talking points on the final slide are examples to help start conversations. Students may have their own ideas and suggestions of how the images show stewardship depending on their background knowledge. 
   2. Play the Images of Stewardship PowerPoint presentation. After each slide, have students pair share to discuss how each photograph displays stewardship. Before moving on to the next slide, have a few students share out their thinking.  If students are unsure about how individual images display stewardship, refer to the image guide and talking points included at the end of the PowerPoint.
   3. Pass out a copy of the Word Splash sheet to each student. Have students choose two or more of the words that connects with stewardship. Give students 5-10 minutes to choose and circle their words. At the bottom of their paper, students should write a brief explanation of how the words relate to stewardship.
   4. Place students into small groups. Have groups define or create synonyms/examples for the key terms below. When students have finished brainstorming, have groups share out their ideas. As students share out, be sure they understand each of these key terms:
      • • • • benefit: advantage, profit
            • conservation: care, responsible use
            • entrusted: responsible, commit
            • generation: age group, grandparents, parents
            • resources: Wyoming resources, wildlife, people, land, minerals & energy, water, agriculture
            • stewards: caretakers, managers
   5. When students are finished discussing the vocabulary, pass out the bumper sticker templates. Have students create a stewardship bumper sticker using words or images from the lesson. Have students share out their bumper stickers and display them in the classroom.
      

      Teacher Note:

      You may also want to keep the bumper stickers for future reference if students participate in the Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom bookmark contest. They can use their same idea and transfer it to the bookmark template for the contest. 

1. 1. 6. Pass out exit tickets. Say: “On your exit ticket, write an example of how you can be a steward in your everyday life.” Examples can be in the classroom, on school grounds, their neighborhoods, parks, etc.

   Assessment: Check students’ bumper stickers and informal exit tickets to see if they include various aspects of stewardship (conservation, education, advocacy). If they don’t, be sure to draw some of those concepts forward in the upcoming lessons.

   Credits/Sources: Photo credits are listed in the PowerPoint presentation.