Living Off the Land

Living Off the Land

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Land and Water Resources

What is a natural resource? It is something in nature. People use natural resources. Air is one. Water and land are, too. We breathe air. We drink and cook with water. We build houses on land.
Water is a very useful natural resource.

Trees are another natural resource. We get wood from trees. Natural resources are also under the ground. Fuel is a resource. We burn fuel to make heat. Cause and Ef fect How do people use natural resources?
People can use these trees.

Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson grew up on a farm. She loved to be outside. She played in the woods. She watched animals. She made pictures of animals.

1907
Born
1918 Writes her rst story, at the age of ten 1936 Works as a biologist for the United States government

Rachel Carson liked to write, too. She wrote about plants and birds. She wrote about the ocean. She wrote about how these things can be hurt.

1964
Died
1962 Writes her most famous book, Silent Spring

People Settle
People need food and water. They need a place to live. People look for natural resources. They build homes nearby. They build communities. Some are large. Some are small.

Cities are large communities.

People can grow food and raise animals on farms.

A city is large. It has many people, houses, and stores. A suburb is a smaller community near a city. Farms are far from a city. Cause and Ef fect Why do people live in different kinds of places?

Changing Our Environment

The environment is all the things around us. People can change the environment. Farmers change the land. They cut down trees. They move rocks.

Long ago, farmers planted seeds by hand.

Today, farmers use technology. Technology is the use of new things and ideas. Farmers use new tools. They water plants in new ways. Cause and Ef fect How do people change the environment?

Today, machines plant many seeds at a time.

Connecting Communities
People in communities like to visit each other. Long ago, going to other places was slow. People used horses and wagons. Now we have cars and planes.

A horse and wagon were used long ago.

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We can talk to people who are far away.

Long ago, people wrote letters to each other. Today, we use e-mail. We use the telephone. These are kinds of communication. Communication is sharing ideas. Cause and Ef fect How has communication changed? 11

Activity 1 Match the word to its meaning.

technology natural resource environment suburb communication

1. something in nature that people can use 2. a smaller community near a city 3. the use of new things and ideas 4. all the things around us 5. sharing ideas

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Activity 2 Look at the list of words. Put the words in a chart like this one. Then use a dictionary. Learn what the words mean. natural resource rural environment communication fuel urban technology route conservation suburb transportation

I Know

Sounds Familiar

Dont Know

technology natural resource environment

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Activity 3 Complete each sentence. Use words from the list. route conservation fuel communication products

1. People burn _______ to make heat. 2. E-mail is one kind of _______. 3. I walk by a lake on my _______ to school. 4. That store sells many _______. 5. _______ can help save water.

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Activity 4 Write each term. Then use each term in a sentence. natural resource technology urban transportation Activity 5 Fill in the sentences. Use the words in the list. suburb rural environment

1. A _______ is near a larger city. 2. Everything around us makes up our _______. 3. Farms are in _______ areas.

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Cause and Ef fect How do people use trees? 1. Vocabulary List two natural resources. 2. What are some ways people change the environment? 3. How do farmers use technology? Activity Make a Poster Choose a natural resource. Make a poster about the resource. Share your poster with your class.

Photo credits Front Cover age footstock/SuperStock; 2 Kim Karpeles; 3 Carol Simowitz Photography; 5 Bettmann/Corbis; 6 Richard Day/Panoramic Images; 7 Grant Heilman Photography; 9 Photri-Microstock; 10 ThinkStock LLC/Index Stock Imagery

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ISBN-13: 978-0-15-352752-4 ISBN-10: 0-15-352752-8
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