Settling Where the Resources Are
A 45-minute Grade 3 lesson on how the resources under and around a place decide what settles there.
Settling Where the Resources Are is a free 45-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D2.Geo.8.3-5 — explain how where people settle relates to the natural resources nearby. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 3 to Grade 5
- Length:
- 45 minutes
- Standard:
- D2.Geo.8.3-5
Grade 3 to Grade 5 · Geography
D2.Geo.8.3-5
Explain how human settlements and movements relate to the locations and use of various natural resources.
Objective
Students will be able to predict what kind of settlement grows around a given natural resource.
Students are successful when they can
- Links a resource to the settlement it produces.
- Names the work that settlement depends on.
- Says what happens when the resource runs out.
What you need
- A resource map: coal, limestone, clay, timber, water
- The trade directory, for the trades that follow
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — name the village
5 min- Show a limestone ridge and ask what village grows beneath it.
- Take the guesses and hold them.
Teach — resource, work, settlement
15 min- Coal seams: shafts, pit villages, and cottages for the miners.
- Limestone: a quarry and the houses of quarrymen.
- Clay: a brickworks and its kilns. Timber: sawpits and a yard of boat builders.
- Water: mills strung along a fast stream, and a spring where the first houses cluster.
- Say the chain: the resource makes work, and the work makes the settlement.
- Ask the hard question: what happens to the village when the seam is worked out?
“What work does this resource create, and who comes for it?”
Guided practice — match eight
13 min- Pairs match eight resources to the settlements they produced.
- For three, they name the work in between.
- Groups predict the fate of one village if its resource fails.
Independent practice
9 min- Students complete the 'Settling Where the Resources Are' page.
- Check the work is named, not just the resource and the village.
Close
3 min- Ask what resource the valley's boat builders depended on.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Skips the work in the middle.
Why: Resource and village are the two visible things.
Fix: Coal does not build houses. Miners do, once there is a wage. Name the work.
Thinks a resource guarantees a settlement.
Why: The chain looks automatic.
Fix: Ask whether the resource can be got at and carried away. Both are needed.
Assumes the village outlives the resource.
Why: Buildings remain.
Fix: Buildings remain; people leave. Ask what the trade directory would show fifty years on.
If they are not there yet
- Four resources rather than eight.
- Give the settlement and ask which resource made it.
If they finish early
- Find a settlement in the valley that a resource does not explain.
- Say what the canal did for resources that were hard to carry.
- Explain why timber villages moved and coal villages did not.
Exit ticket
A limestone ridge runs above a village. What settlement grows there, and what work links the two?
What to look for: A quarry village, with quarrying as the work between the stone and the houses. Missing the work means the chain is incomplete.
Printable practice for D2.Geo.8.3-5
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Settling Where the Resources AreDraw a line from each resource to the settlement it made.
Questions about Settling Where the Resources Are
How long does the Settling Where the Resources Are lesson take?
45 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 15 min, guided practice 13 min, independent practice 9 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Settling Where the Resources Are teach?
D2.Geo.8.3-5 — D2.Geo.8.3-5, Geography for Grade 3 to Grade 5: “Explain how human settlements and movements relate to the locations and use of various natural resources.” In plain terms, explain how where people settle relates to the natural resources nearby.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
A resource map: coal, limestone, clay, timber, water, the trade directory, for the trades that follow and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: skips the work in the middle; thinks a resource guarantees a settlement and assumes the village outlives the resource. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “A limestone ridge runs above a village. What settlement grows there, and what work links the two?.” A quarry village, with quarrying as the work between the stone and the houses. Missing the work means the chain is incomplete. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Settling Where the Resources Are?
Yes — 1 printable D2.Geo.8.3-5 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Settling Where the Resources Are free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D2.Geo.8.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.