Activity 1: Seeing is Believing

1. Play the video Growing Appetites, Limited Resources. Ask students to pay attention to the importance of energy in our lives and what energy sources we currently use.
2. Have students pull out their All in a Day... handout. Have students begin discussing some of the items they have listed in the four categories. Have students add to their log as needed.
3. Explain to students that everything on their list came from two places — agriculture or mining. Define each of these words.
4. Ask students to identify which items entered in their logs required agriculture and which required mining. Here are some items to look for in the log and to use as prompts:
   • Bedding: cotton sheets, wooden bed frames (agriculture)
   • Metal tables and desks (mined resources)
   • Computers, cell phones and other electronics (mined resources)
   • Wall coverings & floorings: paint, wallpaper, wood, linoleum, wool rugs, floor wax (agriculture)
   • Personal needs: soaps, shampoo, cosmetics, deodorants, perfumes (Many products come from agriculture and the plastic containers that hold them come from mining.)
   • Sporting goods: leather or rubber balls, mitts, bats (Both agriculture [leather] and mining [plastics])
   • Transportation: cars, buses, and petroleum fuel (Mostly mined. Ethanol in fuel would be from agriculture, but only accounts for a small percentage of fuel.)
   • Food: Fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein (agriculture)
5. Provide digital access to the e-magazine Renewable vs Nonrenewable vs Inexhaustible Resources and give each student a green, blue, and red colored pencil or highlighter. Inform students that they will be learning about three different types of resources that our Earth provides.
6. Instruct the students to:
   1. Read the e-magazine and click on the interactive links (video clip on page one and google slide presentation on page four).
   2. As they read, they should highlight the type of resources used for each item listed on their All in a Day... handout:
      • Renewable = green
      • Nonrenewable = red
      • Inexhaustible = blue
   3. On page four they should click on the "Let's find out!" button and view the slide show. Students should list each resource in the correct classification on the back of their All in a Day... handout.
7. After students complete the e-magazine, answer questions as needed and perform a formative assessment to see if they understand the difference between renewable, nonrenewable, and inexhaustible resources.
   • Renewable Resources: Natural resources that can be replaced by human efforts are considered renewable. The supply of these resources can be reduced without proper management. Examples: forests, fish, wildlife, agriculture, plants, animals.
   • Nonrenewable Resources: These are limited natural resources that cannot be replaced or reproduced (within a generation). We cannot manage them for renewal. Once they are gone they are gone—forever. Examples: oil, mineral resources (lead, iron, cobalt, zinc, etc.), soil (made so slowly: 1,000 - 500,000 years).
   • Inexhaustible Resources: These are natural resources that can last forever regardless of human activities. They renew themselves continuously. This does not mean that resources are not limited. Human misuse can damage these resources. Examples include available surface water (little can be done to affect the total amount of water, but it can be contaminated), air (we can damage the air with pollution, but we cannot use it up), and sunlight (pollution can limit this resource).

Activity 2: Mission to Planet Zorcon

NOTE: This is a very busy activity! Be sure to have plenty of space, and conduct this activity where students will not disrupt other classes. A great outdoor activity. Review the directions carefully and note the preparation time that is required.

Preparation:

1. Tape the tarp on the floor in a central area. If you are doing this in your classroom, move all the desks against the walls. Draw a large circle (at least four feet in diameter) in the center of the tarp to represent Planet Zorcon.
2. Copy enough Zorcon Research Staff ID Badge sets for your class, printing each set on a different color of paper (for the purpose of clean-up; same colors go together). There are five badges per group, so if you have 30 students you will need six sets. You will also need some students to serve as Government Inspectors—if the number of students in the class is not evenly divisible by five, you can assign the remaining number to this role.
3. For each group, place one set of Zorcon Research Staff ID Badges, 5 spoons, and 2 cups in a gallon-sized Ziploc.
4. Fill another Ziploc with the “resources” (see the Materials List).
5. Print or set up a computer/projector to project the Planet Zorcon slides to guide your students through the simulation.

Activity 3: Careers in Natural Resources

1. Explain that there are many careers available in natural resource management ranging from research and education to policy development and law enforcement.
2. Have students recall the career positions from the Planet Zorcon simulation (Project Director, Security Officer, Data Collector, Surveyor, Resource Specialist, and Government Inspector.) Explain that these are all careers in natural resource management.
3. View the Careers in Natural Resources YouTube playlist. Share a selection of career video clips with the class. This may be done as a class, in small groups, or individually. You can also refer to the Natural Resource Career Spotlights on the Ag Explorer website.

   Career Spotlight: Conservation Officer The "Project Director" in the Planet Zorcon simulation could be related to a career as a Conservation Officer. They work with conservationists to secure and protect natural resources. Explore the career profile for a Conservation Officer to discover job outlook, education requirements, and average salaries.