Natural resources for kids: a K–2 made from the Earth hunt
What it is: a K–2 scavenger hunt where pairs find classroom objects and trace each one back to the natural resource it came from: a window from sand, a mug from clay, a pencil from wood and graphite, a spoon from metal dug out of rock, a T-shirt from cotton plants. Students learn that the things they use every day start as natural resources.
Time: about 25 minutes. Grade: K–2.
Materials: resource picture cards (sand, clay, rock and metal, trees, plants, water), a clipboard and recording sheet per pair, and a class chart titled "Our things came from".
- Hold up a glass jar and a cup of sand. Tell students glass is made mostly from sand that is melted at a factory.
- Show the resource cards and name each one.
- Pairs hunt for 10 minutes and find five objects. For each, they write or draw the object and guess the resource.
- Meet on the rug. Each pair shares one object and places a sticky note on the right resource on the class chart.
- Count the chart together: which resource did we find the most?
- Ask: "Which of these things could we reuse or fix instead of throwing away?"
Safety: students stay in the room, do not touch outlets, heaters or anything broken, and leave objects where they found them.
Differentiation: students who need support hunt for three objects with a picture checklist. Students who are ready trace one object through two steps (tree, then lumber, then pencil). English learners can use "A ___ comes from ___."
Quick check: hold up a pencil and ask which natural resources it came from.
Need it for another grade or subject? Ask us on the request page and our team will write it.
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About this resource
- Shared by
- @UpOnlyLearning · Curriculum team
- Posted
- Oct 30, 2026
- Type
- Lesson plan
- Grade
- Grades K–2
- Subject
- Science
- Language
- English
- License
- Free for classroom, co-op and tutoring use. Please don't resell.