New
New
Year 5

Introducing sustainability

I can explain what sustainability means to me and start to identify choices that can be made with this in mind.

New
New
Year 5

Introducing sustainability

I can explain what sustainability means to me and start to identify choices that can be made with this in mind.

warning

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Sustainability can be defined as meeting the needs of today without preventing future generations from doing so.
  2. There is great inequality across the world about who gets what, where, when and why.
  3. We have some power to enact some choices about where we go, how we get there, what we eat and what we do.

Keywords

  • Consumption - Consumption is the process of using up resources.

  • Inequality - Inequality is when something is not shared evenly between everyone.

  • Natural resources - Natural resources are those that come from Earth without human influence and can be used for human needs.

Common misconception

Children may believe that renewable resources are 'safe'.

Explain that even water - a renewable natural resource - could become too polluted to use or if trees are cut down quicker than they can be replanted then that supply of wood will be exhausted.

Be sensitive to the fact that some children will have more freedom to make their own decisions than others. The example choices in task 2 can be tailored to address individual circumstances so that all children feel a sense of empowerment.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

6 Questions

Q1.
What are natural resources?
man-made objects that are useful to humans
Correct answer: materials found in the natural environment that are useful to humans
are only found in certain parts of the world
are substances that are harmful to the environment
Q2.
Which of these are natural resources?
Correct answer: wood
Correct answer: coal
bikes
Q3.
What does the term 'exhaustible' mean in relation to natural resources?
they are harmful to the environment
they can be used indefinitely
Correct answer: they can run out if used too much
they are not valuable
Q4.
Natural resources are distributed around the world.
Correct Answer: unequally, not equally
Q5.
What does it mean if a resource is 'unevenly distributed' around the world?
Correct answer: It is found more in some places than others
It is found only in the ocean
It is found only in one country
It is not valuable or useful
Q6.
What is the link between natural resources and the world's population?
they are evenly distributed among the population
they are only used by large populations
there is no link because people do not need natural resources
Correct answer: they are essential to the economy and society

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these are basic human needs?
Correct answer: food and water
a soft bed
Correct answer: shelter
Correct answer: warmth
Q2.
Match the keyword to the definition.
Correct Answer:inequality,when resources and opportunities are not evenly available for everyone

when resources and opportunities are not evenly available for everyone

Correct Answer:consumption,the process of using up resources

the process of using up resources

Correct Answer:natural resources,materials produced by the environment that humans can make use of

materials produced by the environment that humans can make use of

Q3.
Sustainability can be defined as meeting the needs of today without preventing generations from doing so.
Correct Answer: future
Q4.
Non-renewable resources are and will eventually run out.
infinite
Correct answer: finite
never ending
Q5.
Which statement is true?
Renewable resources will never run out.
Only non-renewable resources will be exhausted.
Correct answer: Renewable resources could be exhausted if they are not used sustainably.
Q6.
Human demand and natural resources are distributed across the Earth.
evenly
equally
Correct answer: unevenly