From nature to my backpack, and using resources wisely

Natural resources are materials from nature that people use, such as water, soil, air, plants, animals, minerals and oil. Almost everything in your day began as a natural resource. Your cotton shirt came from a plant, your pencil from wood and graphite, and your bread from wheat and water. Many products need more than one resource, and factories turn raw materials into the things we buy. Some resources, like air and sunlight, are free to everyone. Others must be dug, grown, caught or collected. Some things in a school bag, such as plastic, are made by people, but they are made from natural resources too, such as oil. Thinking about where things come from helps us to care for them.