Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Steve Trash Science: Birds Are Amazing/Renewable vs Non-Renewable

Subject Area

Science

Grade(s)

4, 5

Overview

Steve Trash teaches kids about science with fun and magic. The show is filmed in Alabama.

In this episode, Steve shares his knowledge about some of the coolest creatures on the planet: birds. Why are there so many different kinds of birds? Why so many colors? How do they fly? Then he shares one of his favorite ideas to think about: what makes a resource renewable or not renewable?

    Science (2015) Grade(s): 4

    SC15.4.5

    Compile information to describe how the use of energy derived from natural renewable and nonrenewable resources affects the environment (e.g., constructing dams to harness energy from water, a renewable resource, while causing a loss of animal habitats; burning of fossil fuels, a nonrenewable resource, while causing an increase in air pollution; installing solar panels to harness energy from the sun, a renewable resource, while requiring specialized materials that necessitate mining).

    Unpacked Content

    UP:SC15.4.5

    Vocabulary

    • natural resources
    • natural renewable resources
    • nonrenewable resources
    • fossil fuels
    • air pollution
    • pollution
    • solar energy
    • environment
    • effects
    • affects
    • habitat
    • solar panel
    • impact
    • solution
    • derived
    • harness

    Knowledge

    Students know:
    • How energy is derived from natural resources.
    • How energy resources derived from natural resources address human energy needs.
    • Positive and negative environmental effects of using each energy resource.
    • The role of technology in improving or mediating the environmental effects of using a given resource.

    Skills

    Students are able to:
    • Waves, which are the regular patterns of motion, can be made in water by disturbing the surface.
    • When waves move across the surface of deep water, the water goes up and down in place; there is no net motion in the direction of the wave except when the water meets a beach.
    • Waves of the same type can differ in amplitude (height of the wave) and wavelength (spacing between wave peaks).

    Understanding

    Students understand that:
    • Energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources, and their use affects the environment in numerous ways.
    • Resources are renewable over time, while others are not.

    Scientific and Engineering Practices

    Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

    Crosscutting Concepts

    Cause and Effect
    Science (2015) Grade(s): 5

    SC15.5.16

    Collect and organize scientific ideas that individuals and communities can use to protect Earth’s natural resources and its environment (e.g., terracing land to prevent soil erosion, utilizing no-till farming to improve soil fertility, regulating emissions from factories and automobiles to reduce air pollution, recycling to reduce overuse of landfill areas).

    Unpacked Content

    UP:SC15.5.16

    Vocabulary

    • Natural Resource
    • Scientific idea
    • Individual
    • Community
    • Terracing
    • Erosion
    • Soil
    • No-till farming
    • Fertility
    • Emissions
    • Pollution
    • Recycling
    • Landfill

    Knowledge

    Students know:
    • Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life can have major effects, both positive and negative, on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space.
    • Individuals and communities are doing things to help protect Earth's resources and environments.

    Skills

    Students are able to:
    • Obtain and combine information from books and/or other reliable media to explain how individuals and communities can protect Earth's natural resources and its environment.

    Understanding

    Students understand that:
    • Individual communities interact with components of environmental systems and can have both positive and negative effects.

    Scientific and Engineering Practices

    Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

    Crosscutting Concepts

    Systems and System Models
    Link to Resource

    CR Resource Type

    Audio/Video

    Resource Provider

    PBS
    Accessibility

    Accessibility

    Video resources: includes closed captioning or subtitles
    License

    License Type

    CUSTOM
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