Natural and Synthetic Materials and their Impact on Society Reading and Worksheet

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High-interest informational text and analysis about synthetic and natural chemicals, how they differ, and how several specific examples have impacted society.

INCLUDES GOOGLE SLIDES VERSION!

NGSS Standard: NGSS MS-PS1-3

In this activity, students will:

• READ the article “Natural & Synthetic Chemicals: Good Guys & Bad Guys”. The reading is specifically designed to support MS-PS1-3, describing natural and synthetic chemicals, how synthetic chemicals can be made from natural resources, and many interesting examples of how chemicals have impacted society in both negative and positive ways.
• ANSWER analysis questions based on the text and their own ideas about the importance (and future) of chemicals.

The reading is middle school level, and suitable for a heterogeneous mix of student abilities. Students will find it engaging, and the examples listed are of high interest.

Standards:

• Utah SEEd 8.1.4
• NGSS MS-PS1-3
• Oklahoma OAS 7.PS1.3

Teacher Notes:

• To limit the number of copies I have to make, I only make one class set of the reading, then reuse it class-to-class and year-to-year.
• INCLUDES ANSWER KEY
• Please note: This resource is NOT editable.
• Check out more resources in the natural versus synthetic material section of our shop!