GoalRemember how we use different rocks, how digging them can harm habitats, and ways we can care for our environment.
New words
quarry · a big hole where workers dig rock out of the groundrecycle · to use old things again to make new onesenvironment · the world around us, with all its living things
Explanation
People use different rocks for different jobs. Chalk is soft, so we can write with it. Marble is hard and smooth, so it is used for floors and statues. Granite is very strong, and slate splits into thin sheets for roofs. We burn coal to make heat. We dig rock out of the ground in quarries and mines. This can spoil the habitats of the plants and animals that lived there, so many animals must move away. We can care for our environment. We can plant trees, tidy up litter, recycle paper and plastic and not waste things.
Worked examples
Workers dig a quarry to get stone for houses. The plants and animals that lived there lose their habitat.
Sara puts old paper in the recycling box. The paper can be used again, and fewer trees need to be cut down.
A class can look after the environment by planting a tree, feeding birds and picking up litter.
Class activity
Rock hunt (with an adult): look for three different stones in a garden or park. Feel each one: is it rough or smooth, hard or soft? Which would be best for a path? Put them back afterwards and wash your hands. Then think of two ways you could care for the place where you found them.
Practice
1
Which rock is soft enough to write with?
A, chalk.
2
Name two ways we can care for the environment.
For example: plant trees, recycle, tidy litter, feed birds, use less paper.
3
What can happen to animals when a quarry is dug where they live?
They lose their habitat, so they must move away or they may die.
