Download Natural Resources Reader`s Theater

Natural Resources Reader’s Theater
1. Bill
2. Betty
3. Bob
4. Brooke
Bill: Hi, guys. What are you guys up to?
Betty: Oh hi, Bill! We just came outside to this big tree to do some studying for our
science test this afternoon.
Bob: We thought since our unit is on things you find out in nature, it made sense to
do our studying right here in the outdoors!
Brooke: We are soaking up the nature together as we soak up the information to do
well on our tests!
Bill: Cool! Well, I’d love to join you. What were you guys talking about before I
came up?
Betty: We were just getting started about how Virginia is rich in a wide variety of
natural resources.
Bill: Remind me again about what a natural resource is.
Bob: A natural resource is something we use that comes from nature.
Brooke: And a wide variety means that there are lots of different types of natural
resources we’ve got right here in our state.
Bill: But if I remember right, natural resources fall into one of two categories:
renewable resource and nonrenewable resources. What’s the difference between
these two?
Betty: Great question! Renewable resources can be replaced after they are used.
Bob: Remember that with good management, we can maintain an abundant supply
of renewable natural resources, like trees and fish.
Brooke: But once we have used up non-renewable resources like coal, minerals,
and oil, they are gone forever.
Bill: So what types of renewable resources do we have here in Virginia?
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Betty: Well, the main one I was thinking of was forests.
Bob: Hey, me too! Trees are a renewable resource, because they grow back after
they are harvested. This process is called regeneration.
Betty: Natural and man-made cultivated forests are a widespread resource all over
Virginia.
Brooke: What are some other natural resources?
Bill: I was thinking about arable land.
Betty: What is arable mean?
Bill: Arable land means land that can be farmed.
Betty: Oh, that’s right! Now, what about mineral resources? Which of those are
found in our state?
Brooke: Coal is a nonrenewable natural resource that is used for energy.
Bob: And don’t forget that it’s found in the Appalachian Plateau here in Virginia!
Betty: Good thinking! Sand is also a useful resource. It would mainly be found in
the Coastal Plain region, though, because that’s where all the beaches are located.
Bob: What is sand used for—other than building sand castles of course?
Betty: Sand is used to make the concrete used to make our sidewalks and even the
man-made building stone that make up the walls of our school!
Bill: That’s not all though! Sand is used to make glass and septic tanks!
Brooke: Septic tanks?
Bill: Yeah, the sewer.
Brooke: (holds her nose) Ewww!
Bill: Yeah, but think about it—without septic tanks, how else could we clean up that
stuff?
Betty: And remember that tough word: aggregates? They are natural resources
found in Virginia too.
Brooke: Yeah! Aggregates are just a big fancy words for rocks and sand!
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Bob: Limestone is a major aggregate here in our state. We make foundations of
houses with limestone, because it is strong.
Brooke: Some of our sidewalks and cement are made of limestone too!
Bill: I heard that sand is also used in the filling for the back of carpet.
Betty: Seriously? I’d never think of it being there!
Bob: Don’t forget limestone is found in reservoirs for groundwater and ore
deposits.
Betty: Groundwater and ore deposits? What’s that?
Bob: Groundwater is water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in
rock that people pump out with wells, so that we can use it.
Bill: Ore deposits, however, are something different.
Betty: I thought so. Help me out here.
Bill: An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements
including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to
extract valuable elements people can use as resources.
Bob: Think useful rocks!
Brooke: And then there’s gravel! Gravel is an aggregate too.
Bill: Gravel is the stuff that look like mini rocks on driveways and roads without
pavement.
Betty: Gravel is used for concrete and other masonry uses.
Bob: What’s masonry?
Bill: Masonry is stonework that builders put on buildings and make stuff with
stone.
Brooke: Think of all of the jobs that are created, because of these natural resources.
I mean, if Virginia did not have natural resources, our economy would definitely not
be as strong.
Bob: Wow, good point. I never thought of it that way! But think about the miners;
they have a job, because of the coal mines and the limestone quarries.
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Bill: But then you’ve got all of the builders using these mined rocks and materials to
build roads, sidewalks, houses, schools, and office buildings!
Betty: Not just that, but think of the jobs created to transport the resources from
the places they are found to the businesses that use them!
Bob: Yeah! Like trains and trucks! They both need drivers, so that definitely
creates a job right there.
Brooke: And all of that arable land gives jobs to farmers who plant crops that is
turned into food.
Betty: And then again, the people who drive the food to the grocery stores have
jobs because of the arable land resource too!
Bill: Wow, this is really helping me see how natural resources are so important to
Virginia’s economy. It’s really starting to connect in my mind.
Brooke: Isn’t wildlife part of Virginia’s natural resource collection too?
Betty: Yep, sure is! Fish, birds, deer! You name it! The Native Americans knew
how to use wildlife as a natural resource best of all! They were very resourceful
people and used even the bones to make tools out of!
Brooke: Clean water and clean air are also important natural resources!
Bob: Remember, keeping our water and air pollution-free is the way to save these
resources for future generations.
Betty: Yeah, that pollution experiment really made me think about all of the junk
and trash we dump into the creeks and rivers that we don’t even think about it.
Bill: Remember all of that water is flowing out to the Chesapeake Bay!
Brooke: Because we live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Bob: Remind me of what a watershed is.
Bill: A watershed is an area over which surface water flows into a single collection
place.
Betty: But it’s not just the water, it’s also whatever the water is carrying with it—
including minerals and sadly trash people who have polluted water systems have
put in it.
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Brooke: Doesn’t the Chesapeake Bay watershed cover over half of Virginia’s land
area?
Bob: Yeah, that’s right. But what about the other half of Virginia? Where does all of
that water drain to?
Bill: Well, remember the map on the back wall. It has it color coded to show us that
the other two major watershed systems are the Gulf of Mexico and the North
Carolina Sounds.
Betty: Ok, so let me get this straight: all of the area below the James River in
Virginia has its water flow down south towards the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
Brooke: Yeah, and then everything in the Appalachian Plateau and the very
southern tip of the Valley and Ridge regions flow into rivers that lead to the great
Mississippi River—that eventually lead out into the Gulf of Mexico way down south
near New Orleans!
Bob: Wow, the raindrops that fall in those regions have one very long journey!
Bill: Virginia has several types of water resources including groundwater, lakes,
reservoirs, rivers, bays, and the Atlantic Ocean.
Betty: Don’t forget that Virginia’s natural resources also give people the
opportunities to enjoy recreational activities outdoors!
Brooke: Yeah, with all of the beautiful scenery, it attracts lots of visitors to camp,
hike, fish, canoe, and lots more!
Bob: That reminds me of a farm I was driving past the other day. They were
advertising for their annual fall corn maze! Would that be considered a recreational
activity?
Betty: Absolutely! That arable land produced the corn, and now the farmer can
benefit from visitors enjoying his cornfield before the harvest, because of the maze!
Bill: Hey, let’s see if we can get a group together and go this Saturday!
Brooke: Oh yeah! That would be so much fun!
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