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A great opening maybe would be to give each group a bunch of pictures that consist of natural versus synthetic resources and have them classify them. The only involvement you'd have as a teacher is to tell them those instructions. Allow the groups to figure out the why and how they classify these items. You will have classfication of groups that are totally way off however, you might be surprised at how they are grouped as well. For example, you may have a picture of the car, sailboat and bicycle all in one group, versus the coconut tree, grass and dirt in another group, with students explaining to you that in the car group, these are things that take us places whereas in the coconut tree group, these things are stuff found outside. In any case, you can still find connections to natural versus synthetic resources and will be able to bring it to summation and closure by letting the students make scaffolded connections that yes, humans made the "things that take us places" which is not a natural resource versus the "things found outside" are more in the natural state. After finding several pictures, try grouping them yourself or having your own children (if relevant) group these pictures before doing them with your students. The "true" basis of inquiry learning is to have students explore themselves and to allow them to learn through hands-on, questioning, etc..where the teacher is simply a facilitator/guide. You'll find that you will be able to refer to this lesson and your students' misconceptions throughout the rest of your natural resources lesson. Especially for your special needs students, it will give them the opportunity to think on their own at higher levels - making connections on their own. I've struggled for years trying to incorporate inquiry lessons but am finding that the more I allow my students to make the mistakes, and to explore first on their own, the more relevant the lessons become and the more meaningful to them. Hope that helps...
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