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Grade 3 · Social Studies · Geography

3rd Grade Natural Resources and Communities worksheets

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Natural Resources and Communities

Grade 3 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the answer.

  1. A town uses its river for homes and farms. A new factory wants water too. What is the trade-off?

    • Farms will stop needing any water.
    • Everyone will get more water than before.
    • Less water may be left for homes and farms.
    • The river will grow bigger and deeper.
  2. Which plan protects a forest town's timber for the future?

    • stop planting new trees
    • cut all the trees in one year
    • cut only the youngest trees
    • cut some trees and plant new ones
  3. Why is wind a good resource for a plains town?

    • It makes the soil rich.
    • It is strong there and will not run out.
    • It can be dug up and sold.
    • It is only found in plains.
  4. Coal and sunlight can both make power. How are they different?

    • Sunlight can run out; coal cannot.
    • Neither one can make power.
    • Both will run out soon.
    • Coal can run out; sunlight cannot.
  5. Look at the picture. A town near A finds fewer fish each year. Which plan helps most?

    • limit how many fish boats can catch
    • catch fish all year long
    • fish closer to the shore
    • build more fishing boats
  6. A farm loses soil every time it rains hard. What is the most likely cause?

    • The rain falling there is too clean.
    • The soil has too many plants growing.
    • The farm is right next to a forest.
    • The fields have no plants to hold the soil.
  7. A desert town gets lots of sun but little rain. Which resource should it use for power?

    • river water, with a dam
    • coal from its farms
    • sunlight, with solar panels
    • ocean waves, with a pier
  8. Look at the picture. Snow on the land at A melts each spring. Which resource does this give towns below?

    • salt for food
    • fish from the sea
    • oil for cars
    • fresh water in rivers
  9. Which choice shows a town reusing a resource?

    • pouring used water into the street
    • using clean water for every job
    • filling pools twice a day
    • cleaning used water to water parks
  10. Why might a fishing town and a farm town trade?

    • Trading uses up all the fish.
    • Both have the same resources.
    • Each has a resource the other needs.
    • Neither town needs food.
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3rd Grade Natural Resources and Communities worksheet 1 – printable PDF
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About this worksheet

Natural resources and communities show how people use materials from the environment and make choices about conservation helps third graders connect civic, geographic, historical, economic, and cultural ideas to evidence from everyday communities. Students may name a resource but miss how it supports jobs, settlement, transportation, energy, or daily life in a specific region. This worksheet uses short, concrete situations instead of broad recall questions. Students identify natural resources, connect resources to community uses, explain conservation choices, and compare benefits with tradeoffs.

Support versions use familiar school and neighborhood examples. Standard and challenge versions add closer distractors and require more careful comparison. Encourage your child to read the situation first, name the social studies idea being tested, and then choose the answer that fits the evidence. If an answer sounds reasonable but does not match the title skill or the details in the prompt, it is a distractor. That habit builds stronger reasoning for maps, timelines, sources, communities, and economic choices.

What your child will learn

  • Identify natural resources
  • Connect resources to communities
  • Explain conservation
  • Recognize tradeoffs

C3 Framework standard: D2.Geo.4.3-5

Worked example

Fresh water can help a river town with drinking, farming, and transportation, so keeping it clean matters.

Common mistake

Treating resources as unlimited because they come from nature.

Helpful hint

Ask how the resource helps people and how the community can protect it.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with natural resources and communities?

Treating resources as unlimited because they come from nature.

How can I help my child with natural resources and communities?

Ask how the resource helps people and how the community can protect it.

Are these 3rd grade social studies worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions on this page are free to download and print, with no account needed.

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