Unit 5 — Basic Needs of Humans
Description
Students develop understanding of what humans need to survive and the relationship between their needs and where they live. The crosscutting concept of cause and effect is called out as the organizing concept for the disciplinary core ideas. Students demonstrate grade-appropriate proficiency in asking questions and defining problems, and in obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. Students observe how people use natural resources to live comfortably, including plants and animals for food, materials for building, water for drinking and washing, energy for heating and electricity, and land for homes and communities. Students discuss how obtaining and using these resources affects the local environment. Students engage in the engineering design process to develop and communicate solutions for reducing human impact on land, water, air, and other living things. This unit is based on K-ESS3-3 and K-2-ETS1-1.
Essential Questions
- How can humans reduce their impact on the land, water, air, and other living things in the local environment?
- What do humans need to survive?
- How does using natural resources affect the environment?
Learning Objectives
- Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.
- Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Supplemental Resources
- Humans on Earth (NJ DEP video) - 3.5 minute narrated video on use of natural resources and solutions for preserving them
- The Clean Water Book: Choices for Resource Water Protection (NJ DEP)
- Recycling Manual for New Jersey Schools (NJ DEP) - Step-by-step guide for setting up school recycling programs
- NJ DEP Speakers Program - Classroom presentations on environmental topics
- Practice the 5 Rs Poster
- The USGS Water Science School - Interactive learning about water with pictures, data, maps, and quizzes
- Climate change activities from weareteachers.com
- Printed images showing human uses of natural resources
- Recycling bins or containers for classroom recycling program
- Markers and chart paper for documenting solutions
- Clipboards for recording observations about family resource use
- Sticky notes for brainstorming environmental impact solutions
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science
Earth and Space Sciences
Students engage in ELA literacy practices across all five science units. They ask and answer questions about key details in informational texts, participate in shared research and writing projects, compose informative and opinion pieces using drawing, dictating, and writing, add visual displays to descriptions, and use speaking and listening skills to seek information and clarify understanding in the context of science investigations.
Students apply mathematics practices and measurement standards throughout the science units. They reason abstractly and quantitatively, model with mathematics, use appropriate tools strategically, describe and compare measurable attributes of objects, classify and count objects into categories, and know number names and the count sequence to analyze and represent data from science investigations.
Formative Assessments
- Observe patterns in events generated due to cause-and-effect relationships.
- Communicate solutions with others in oral and/or written forms using models and/or drawings that provide detail about scientific ideas.
- Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.
- Ask questions based on observations to find more information about the natural and/or designed world.
- Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
- Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem.
Summative Assessment
Students develop and communicate solutions that demonstrate understanding of reducing human environmental impact on land, water, air, and other living things in the local environment, using sketches, drawings, diagrams, or physical models.
Benchmark Assessment
Students provide evidence to support a claim about preparing for hazardous weather and label a model that represents the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.
Alternative Assessment
Students tell a story about an animal living on Mars that addresses its needs, or conduct an experiment to determine the effects of sunlight on the temperature of ice water.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students benefit from visual supports such as picture cards and simple diagrams showing basic human needs and their connection to natural resources, helping them access unit concepts without relying on print. Oral responses, drawing, and dictation should be accepted as valid ways to communicate observations and solutions, reducing barriers related to emergent writing. Teachers may break the engineering design process into small, clearly sequenced steps — such as first observing a problem and then sketching a possible solution — with check-ins at each stage. Providing a model or visual example of what a completed solution drawing looks like can help students understand expectations before they begin.
Section 504
Students should be given extended time to complete observations and solution drawings, and may benefit from preferential seating near demonstrations or shared materials to reduce distraction during inquiry activities. Directions for multi-step tasks such as gathering observations or describing a problem should be given in short, simple chunks, with key words highlighted or paired with visuals to support focus and processing.
ELL / MLL
Visual cues such as photographs, labeled illustrations, and real objects connected to human needs — like water, food, and shelter — help make unit vocabulary concrete and accessible for multilingual learners. Key terms such as 'natural resources,' 'environment,' and 'solution' should be introduced with picture support and reinforced throughout the unit in both English and, where possible, the student's home language. Teachers should offer simplified sentence frames to support oral sharing of observations and design ideas, allowing students to participate meaningfully in discussions about environmental impact.
At Risk (RTI)
Connecting unit content to students' everyday experiences — such as where their food comes from or how their home uses water and energy — provides a meaningful entry point for learners who may need additional context before engaging with new concepts. Reducing the complexity of the design task by focusing on one specific problem in the local environment allows students to build confidence while still working toward the core learning goal. Frequent, brief check-ins during observation and drawing activities help teachers catch misunderstandings early and keep students engaged in the inquiry process.
Gifted & Talented
Students who demonstrate early understanding of basic human needs can be encouraged to investigate how environmental impact varies across different communities or regions, moving beyond local examples to consider broader patterns of resource use. They might explore multiple possible solutions to an environmental problem, comparing the trade-offs of each design rather than stopping at a single idea. Inviting these students to pose their own questions about cause-and-effect relationships between human activity and environmental change supports deeper scientific thinking and builds genuine inquiry skills.