Grade Level: 4th Grade

Time: 45-60 minutes

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

Objective: Students will:

• • Complete a pledge to be stewards for Wyoming’s mineral and energy resources.
  • Write a persuasive writing piece/public service announcement using provided criteria.

Purpose: Students learn different ways they can serve as stewards of Wyoming’s minerals and energy.

Required Materials/Resources:

• • A piece of poster paper for each of the following terms:
    • • preservation/conservation
      • advocacy
      • education
      • innovation
  • Speed Gallery Walk Take-Away worksheet (one per student)
  • Graphic Organizer for Writing worksheet (one per student) (Source 3)
  • Stewardship Pledge Scroll (one per student)
  • Energy Pro & Con sheets from Lesson 7
  • Cause and Effect Relationships graphic organizers from Lesson 8
  • Sticky notes
  • Timer
  • Video: http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/whip-around Whip Around (Source 2) Video length: 2 minutes

Suggested Teacher Preparation:

• Prepare posters for gallery walk. Write each of the following terms on its own piece of poster paper: preservation/conservation, advocacy, education, and innovation. Once made, post around the room.

  Teacher Note:

  If you are unfamiliar with a gallery walk, learn about it at https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/gallery-walk. (Source 1) 
• Read steps/watch video for Whip Around strategy if you are not familiar with it.

Standards:

Social Studies: SS5.1.1 (Practiced/Encountered)

ELA: 4.W.4 (Explicit), 4.L.6, 4.W.1.a, 4.W.1.b, 4.W.1.d (Practiced/Encountered)

Vocabulary:

• • Advocacy – the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal
  • Conservation – the careful utilization of a resource in order to prevent waste and leave some for future generations
  • Innovation – a new method, idea, product
  • Preservation – the act of maintaining or protecting

Instructional Procedure/Steps:

1. Remind students of the definition of stewardship and the guiding question for this unit. Say: “As Wyoming citizens, we are stewards entrusted with the responsible development, care, and use of our resources to benefit current and future generations. Because of this, we ask ourselves, how can we be stewards of Wyoming’s mineral and energy resources?”
2. Draw students’ attention to the posters hanging around the room. Provide students definitions or brief explanations for the vocabulary words. Say: “There are many different ways to engage in stewardship. We are going to discuss those today.”
3. Pass back students Energy Pro & Con sheets and Cause and Effect Relationships graphic organizers from previous lessons. Say: “Please reread the facts from your sheets. Pay special attention to the facts you felt were cons for each resource. Also, think about other issues associated with each resource. These are some of the areas where we might direct our stewardship efforts.”
4. Give each student a set of sticky notes. Say: “Now, think about how we can practice stewardship of Wyoming’s mineral and energy resources. You will write a stewardship idea on each of your sticky notes. When time is up, place each of your sticky notes on the poster it applies to: conservation, advocacy, education, and innovation. For example, if you want to teach a younger sibling about renewable energies, you would place that on the education poster.  An idea could be something that you personally could do, like teaching your sibling, or an idea could be something that would take efforts from a bigger group/community, like passing a law to help increase safety standards. Record one idea per sticky note. Are there any questions?”  Take questions at this time about the activity not ideas for the sticky notes. Give students enough time, so they are working productively and that every student has created at least one sticky note. When you feel it is time to move on, have students place their sticky notes on the appropriate posters.

   Teacher Note:

   Students may not generate ideas for all categories. The teacher can prepare some Post-it notes with ideas for each category. The class could also work together to add ideas to any posters that are empty prior to the gallery walk. 
5. Now, have students complete a speed gallery walk. Pass out the Speed Gallery Walk Take-Away worksheets.  Say: “You will have three minutes to study each poster. Read all of the sticky notes on the poster. After reading, choose an idea to record in each section of your worksheet. Questions?” Place students at each poster, so there are not too many students at a poster. Start the timer for the first three-minute period. When time is up, have students rotate to the next poster and repeat the process.  Continue rotating until all students have spent time with every poster.
6. Next, students will create a persuasive writing piece/public service announcement explaining how to be stewards of Wyoming’s mineral and energy resources. Pass out the Graphic Organizer for Writing worksheets.  The topic sentence has been provided, but students will create their key ideas, supporting details, and conclusion. Give students a few minutes to use the ideas from their gallery walk notes to complete their graphic organizers.  Once students have their ideas mapped out, have students create their writing pieces.

   Evaluation

   In this task, students will be engaged in the higher order thinking skills of evaluation by making a claim about stewardship and defending their thinking with supporting ideas. 
7. After students have finished their stewardship writing pieces, pass out the Stewardship Pledge Scrolls. Have students complete the pledge with one thing that they will commit to doing to be a steward of Wyoming’s mineral and energy resources.  Once all Pledge Scrolls are completed, have students make a circle. Have students share their pledge using the Whip Around strategy. Display Pledge Scrolls, so they are visible during the Mineral and Energy Fair that will occur during the final assessment.

   Teacher Note:

   Students need to create clear and coherent writing in order to demonstrate their understanding of stewardship. However, students should not be completing the full writing process. That is not the focus of the lesson.

Assessment: Evaluate students’ writing pieces based on their understanding of stewardship and using writing rubrics specific to your school or district.

Possible extension activity: Have someone from the energy industry or local conservation district come in to talk about ongoing efforts/projects in your local area. If possible, have students participate in a stewardship project.

Credits/Sources:

1. 1. Facing History And Ourselves. (2018). Teaching Strategy: Gallery Walk. Retrieved October 7, 2018 from https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/gallery-walk
   2. The Teacher Toolkit. (n.d.). Whip Around. Retrieved July 6, 2017, from http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/whip-around
   3. EnchantedLearning.com. (1996 – 2018). Generate Your Own Worksheets. Retrieved October 7, 2018 from, https://enchantedlearning.com/generatepages/