take care of earth

People, animals, and plants all live on Earth.. These living things need and use natural resources.. Natural resources are important to all living things.. I observe the plants, trees,

Take Care of

Earth! A Persuasive Text

by Allison K Lim

Write About Land and Water

Take Care of

Earth!

A Persuasive Text

by Allison K Lim

Earth is home to

many living things

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People, animals, and plants all live

on Earth These living things need

and use natural resources So we

must protect Earth’s resources We

must take care of Earth!

Some of Earth’s natural resources might run out!

Trees, water, plants, and animals can be replaced in a short time But soil, rocks, and minerals take

a long time to be replaced If we use too many of these natural

resources, they may run out

4

Think about natural resources

and how you use them Make a

list of the natural resources you

use every day

Can Do

We must keep

our water clean.

All living things need water Many

living things drink water Some live

in water Sometimes water gets dirty,

or polluted Polluted water can harm plants, animals, and people

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Join a club to help clean up a nearby beach or lake And remember,

don’t litter!

Can Do

Polluted water

We must take

care of our soil.

Many animals and plants live in soil People and many animals eat plants for food But much of our soil is being destroyed Soil can be replaced, but it takes a long time!

8

Make a compost pile! Mix food

scraps with soil Add water Soon

the food will break down and add

nutrients to the soil.

Can Do

Water washed away this soil.

We must protect

our trees.

Trees clean the air They give shelter

to animals They also keep soil from

washing away But people use trees for many things About 4 billion trees are made into paper every year!

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Plant a tree! Be sure to water it

Save a tree! Reduce the amount

of paper you use You can

reuse paper, too.

Can Do

Used paper

We must use rocks

and minerals wisely.

Some animals use rocks for shelter People use rocks and minerals to

make things But rocks and minerals are being used up quickly Most rocks and minerals take thousands

of years to form

12

Recycle aluminum cans

Aluminum is made

from a mineral

Recycling helps

save natural

resources

Can Do

We must not

waste energy

We get energy from coal and oil We need energy to live

Energy helps us heat and

cool our homes and cook

our food Turning on lights,

watching TV, and playing

video games zaps energy

14

Turn off the lights

when you leave a room!

Turn off the computer and

the TV, too.

Can Do

Natural resources are important to all living things We must protect

these resources so they don’t run out

Taking care of Earth can be fun! What will you do to take care of Earth today?

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Author’s Note

I love walking through the forest near my home

I observe the plants, trees, rocks, soil, and animals I find there Earth is full of natural resources But I worry about whether they will still be here in the future.

Taking care of Earth’s natural resources is important But it takes teamwork! That’s why I wrote this book I wanted

to persuade you to do your part to take care of Earth

I had to do a lot of research before writing this book

I read books and searched the Web I learned all about natural resources I also thought of ways to protect them Read the “What You Can Do” sections Then choose something you can

do to care for Earth today

Acknowledgments

Grateful acknowledgment is given to the authors, artists, photographers, museums, publishers,

and agents for permission to reprint copyrighted material Every effort has been made to secure

the appropriate permission If any omissions have been made or if corrections are required,

please contact the Publisher

Photographic Credits

Cover (bg) Carmen Martínez Banús/iStockphoto; Title (bg) Leland Bobbé/Corbis; 2-3 David Fischer/

Digital Vision/Alamy Images; 4-5 (bg) Eyewire; 4 (inset) Bruce Heinemann/PhotoDisc/Getty Images;

5 (inset) John Foxx Images/Imagestate; 6-7 (bg) DigitalStock/Corbis; 6 (inset) Digital Vision/Getty

Images; 7 (inset) Martin Benjamin/The Image Works, Inc.; 8-9 (bg) Yoshio Sawargai/Dex Image/

Jupiterimages; 8 (inset) Digital Vision/Getty Images; 9 (inset) Simon Price/Alamy Images; 10-11 (bg)

Taras Vyshnya/Shutterstock; 10 (inset) Michael Nichols/National Geographic Image Collection;

11 (t) Lourens Smak/Alamy Images, (c) George F Mobley/National Geographic Image Collection;

12-13 (bg) Danish Khan/iStockphoto; 12 (inset) Jason Edwards/National Geographic Image

Collection; 13 (inset) Radius Images/Alamy Images; 14-15 (bg) PhotoAlto/Alamy Images; 14 (inset)

Joel Sartore/National Geographic Image Collection; 15 (inset) Ken Chiu/iStockphoto

Illustrator Credits

Tuesday Mourning

Neither the Publisher nor the authors shall be liable for any damage that may be caused or

sustained or result from conducting any of the activities in this publication without specifically

following instructions, undertaking the activities without proper supervision, or failing to comply

with the cautions contained herein

Program Authors

Kathy Cabe Trundle, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Early Childhood Science Education, The Ohio

State University, Columbus, Ohio; Randy Bell, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Science Education,

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia; Malcolm B Butler, Ph.D., Associate Professor

of Science Education, University of South Florida, St Petersburg, Florida; Nell K Duke, Ed.D.,

Co-Director of the Literacy Achievement Research Center and Professor of Teacher Education

and Educational Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; Judith Sweeney

Lederman, Ph.D., Director of Teacher Education and Associate Professor of Science Education,

Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago,

Illinois; David W Moore, Ph.D., Professor of Education, College of Teacher Education and

Leadership, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

The National Geographic Society

John M Fahey, Jr., President & Chief Executive Officer

Gilbert M Grosvenor, Chairman of the Board

Copyright © 2011 The Hampton-Brown Company, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the National

Geographic Society, publishing under the imprints National Geographic School Publishing and

Hampton-Brown

All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by

any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information

storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher

National Geographic and the Yellow Border are registered trademarks of the National

Geographic Society

National Geographic School Publishing

Hampton-Brown

www.NGSP.com

Printed in the USA

RR Donnelley, Johnson City, TN

ISBN 978-0-7362-7662-7

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Writing Persuasive

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