Key Stage 2 geography · Human and physical geography

KS2 natural resources: energy, food, minerals and water

Natural resources are the useful materials that come from the Earth, such as water, soil, wood, coal, oil, metals and the energy of wind and sun. In Key Stage 2, children learn that these resources are not spread evenly around the world, that places with plenty of one resource may have little of another, and that this affects where people live, work and trade.

Natural resources, explained

The curriculum names four kinds of natural resource for children to study: energy, food, minerals and water. Energy resources include coal, oil and natural gas, which are fossil fuels, and wind, sun and moving water, which are renewable. Food resources are the crops and animals that a place’s soil and climate can support. Minerals, in the everyday sense used at primary school, are materials mined or quarried from the ground, such as iron ore, tin, clay, salt, slate and stone. Water covers rivers, lakes, rain and underground supplies that people drink, farm with and use in industry. Children are not expected to memorise long lists, but they should be able to say where examples are found.

A key idea is that resources are distributed unevenly. Rain falls most heavily on the high ground in the west and north of the United Kingdom, while many people live in the south and east, so water has to be moved. Oil and gas fields lie under the North Sea, and wind farms are built where the wind is strong, often on hills and out at sea. Across the world, deserts have little water, tropical lands are often good for growing, and mineral-rich areas may have few people. Children locate some of these on maps and link them to the physical features they have already met, such as mountains, rivers, coasts and climate zones.

Another important distinction is between renewable and non-renewable resources. Fossil fuels took millions of years to form and cannot be replaced once used, so they are non-renewable. Wind, solar and hydro power are renewable because they are replaced naturally. Nuclear power uses mined uranium, which is a finite resource. At this age the aim is not to pick a winner but to ask why a mix of sources is useful and what the effects of each might be on people and the environment.

Finally, children link resources to people and trade. Because places have different resources, countries trade them, and settlements often grew up near coal fields, rivers or good farmland. The curriculum also asks children to learn the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features, so this topic is almost always taught with a world map in front of the class. Your child’s school chooses its examples, so they may have studied a particular fuel, crop or river.

Words your child will hear

Natural resource: Something useful found in nature that people use, such as water, wood, coal or wind.
Renewable: A resource that is replaced naturally and will not run out, such as wind or sunshine.
Non-renewable: A resource that cannot be replaced in a human lifetime, such as coal, oil and gas.
Fossil fuel: A fuel such as coal, oil or gas that formed over millions of years from the remains of plants and tiny sea creatures.
Mineral: A natural material dug from the ground, such as iron ore, salt or clay.
Reservoir: A lake, often made by building a dam across a river valley, where water is stored for people to use.
Distribution: How something is spread across an area; unevenly distributed means more in some places than others.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

Pupils should be taught to describe and understand key aspects of human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water
This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

A worked example: where should a wind farm go?

A council wants to build a wind farm in the United Kingdom. Which of these three places would be best: a sheltered valley with many homes, a windy hill top with few homes and a road and power line within reach, or a calm, low-lying field far from any road or power line? Use geography to decide.

State what the resource needs. Wind turbines need a strong and steady wind, so the first test is wind speed. Sheltered valleys are usually less windy because hills block the air.
Check the land. Open hills and coasts are exposed to the wind, and there are fewer buildings and fewer people to disturb, so a hill top scores well. A very remote site must also have a road and a power line near enough to be connected.
Think about the people. Turbines are tall and can be noisy and visible, so many people would rather they were not close to their homes. A site with few homes is better, but people still need to be asked.
Weigh the three sites. The valley is sheltered and crowded. The field has gentler winds and no road or power line nearby. The hill top is windy, has few homes and can be connected.
Say what it shows about distribution. Wind is not spread evenly: it is stronger on high ground and at the coast, so a wind farm has to go where the resource is. The same is true of oil, coal, water and good farmland.

The windy hill top is the best choice because that is where the wind resource is strongest and where there are fewer homes, and it can be connected to the electricity network. The example shows that renewable resources, like fossil fuels, are found in particular places and are not spread evenly.

Common mistakes and how to help

Renewable resources can never cause problems

The word “renewable” suggests something perfect and free. Children can miss that wind farms and reservoirs still change the landscape and the habitats around them.

What helps: Say that renewable means it is replaced naturally, not that it has no effects. Ask what each energy source changes and who is affected.

Water and food are equally available everywhere

In a country where taps run freely and shops are full, it feels as though water and food are always available. Children do not always see that supply depends on rainfall, soil and climate.

What helps: Use a world map to compare a wet region and a desert, and talk about how people in each place get water and grow food.

Resources will never run out

Children see petrol stations, taps and supermarkets that are always full, so supply seems endless. Non-renewable resources, however, are finite.

What helps: Explain that coal, oil and gas took millions of years to form. Link that to why people look for other sources and use less.

Resources are found where the people who use them live

Children assume the oil, metal or fruit they use comes from nearby. In fact many resources are moved across the world.

What helps: Pick a resource, such as petrol or tea, and find on a map where it might come from compared with where you use it.

How to help at home

Where does it come from? Pick a resource you use every day, such as water from the tap, gas or electricity, and find out where it begins. Information from your water or energy supplier, or a family member who knows, can help.
Sort the kitchen. Look at food items, a metal pan, a glass jar, a wooden spoon and a plastic bottle, and name the natural resource each came from. Notice how many started as minerals, plants or animals.
Spot the wind and sun. On a journey, look out for wind turbines, solar panels on roofs, reservoirs or pylons. Where are they, and why might they be there? A map afterwards can show the pattern.
Save a resource for a week. Choose water or electricity and find simple ways to use less, such as turning off a tap while brushing teeth. Talk about why it matters and where that water or electricity came from before it reached your home.

Builds on

Key Stage 1: Weather and seasons
Key Stage 1: Hot and cold places
Key Stage 1: Coasts, seas and oceans
Key Stage 1: Hills, rivers, forests and soil
Key Stage 1: Towns, villages, farms and ports

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Plate tectonics and geological time
Key Stage 3: Rocks, weathering and soils
Key Stage 3: Weather and climate
Key Stage 3: Climate change from the Ice Age
Key Stage 3: Glaciation and glacial landforms
Key Stage 3: Rivers and drainage basins
Key Stage 3: Coastal processes and landforms
Key Stage 3: Population
Key Stage 3: Urbanisation and the growth of cities
Key Stage 3: International development
Key Stage 3: The four sectors of economic activity
Key Stage 3: The use of natural resources
Key Stage 3: How people change landscapes and climate
Key Stage 3: How people depend on natural systems