Grade by Grade
B. People and Environments · The Local Community

Natural and Built Features

B3.1 B1.1About 30 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can tell the difference between natural features and built features.
  • I can name natural and built features in my community.
  • I can explain how people use these features to meet their needs.
  • I can tell what might happen if a feature was not there.

Words to know

community
A place where people live, work and play together, like a town, a city, a First Nation or a neighbourhood.
natural feature
Something in nature that people did not make: a lake, river, hill, forest, tree, rock.
built feature
Something people made: a house, school, road, bridge, park, store, hospital.
needs
Things people must have to live: food, water, a home, clothes, safety, care.
wants
Things that are nice to have but we can live without, like toys or treats.

Look out the window!

What do you see? Maybe a tree, a road, some houses, a hill of snow, or a river.

Some of these things were made by nature. Some were made by people. Let's learn to sort them!

Natural featuresBuilt featureshilltreelakehouseschoolstreetlightroad
Natural features (left) were made by nature. Built features (right) were made by people.

Natural or built?

Natural features are made by nature. People did not make them.

  • lakes, rivers and streams
  • hills, rocks and cliffs
  • forests, trees and wetlands

Built features are made by people.

  • houses and apartment buildings
  • roads, sidewalks and bridges
  • schools, stores, hospitals and libraries
  • arenas, playgrounds and parking lots

A good question to ask: "Did people make it?" If yes, it is built. If no, it is natural.

A small town with houses and a road beside a river, with a stone bridge and a forested hill.
Natural features: the river, the trees and the hill. Built features: the houses, the road and the bridge. AI-generated image
Did people make it?noyesNATURALBUILThillrivertreebridgehouseroad
Ask one question: "Did people make it?" If no, it is natural. If yes, it is built.

Tricky ones

A park is a built feature, because people planned it and built the paths, benches and playground, even if it has natural trees in it.

A tree is natural, even if a person planted it, because the tree itself grew by nature. A pond is natural, but a swimming pool is built.

Features help meet our needs

We use natural and built features to meet our needs every day.

  • A lake gives many communities their drinking water.
  • Farmland (soil) helps farmers grow food.
  • A house or apartment gives us shelter.
  • A hospital gives us care when we are sick.
  • Roads and bridges help us get to school, work and the store.
FeatureNatural or built?How it helps people
rivernaturalwater, fishing, canoeing
bridgebuiltlets people cross the river
forestnaturalclean air, wood, a home for animals, walks
grocery storebuilta place to buy food
hillnaturaltobogganing in winter!
arenabuiltskating and hockey
Natural and built features in a Canadian community
Worked example

Example: Let's sort these features

Sort into natural and built: library, lake, sidewalk, rock, forest, fire station.

  1. Ask for each one: Did people make it?
  2. Library: people built it. Built. Lake: nature made it. Natural.
  3. Sidewalk: people poured the concrete. Built. Rock: nature made it. Natural.
  4. Forest: trees grew by nature. Natural. Fire station: people built it. Built.

Natural: lake, rock, forest. Built: library, sidewalk, fire station.

Worked example

Example: What if it wasn't there?

The town of Maple Creek has a river running through it, and one bridge. What might happen if the bridge was closed for repairs?

  1. Think: What is the bridge used for? It lets people cross the river.
  2. Without it, people could not cross there. They would have to go a long way around, or wait.
  3. Who would that affect? Children going to school, people driving to work, fire trucks and ambulances.

Trips would take much longer. This shows how much people need that built feature.

Just for fun

Riddle: What has a mouth but never eats, and a bed but never sleeps?

A river! (A natural feature, of course.)

Hands-on activity

Feature hunt walk

You need: paper folded in half, a pencil, and a grown-up for a walk around your neighbourhood (or look out the windows if it's too cold!).

  1. Label one side Natural 🌳 and the other side Built 🏠.
  2. On your walk, draw or write every feature you see on the correct side.
  3. When you get home, count each side. Which side has more?
  4. Circle one feature and tell how it helps people meet a need.

Winter idea: is a snowbank natural or built? (The snow is natural, but a snowbank made by a snowplow was piled up by people. Good thinking either way if you explain!)

Your turn

1

Is a lake natural or built?

2

Is a road natural or built?

3

Name two natural features in or near your community.

4

Name two built features in your community.

5

How does a hospital help people meet their needs?

6

Is a park natural or built? Tell why.

7

What might happen if your community had no grocery store?

More practice: warm-up

1

🌲 Natural or built?

2

🏫 Natural or built?

3

⛰️ Natural or built?

4

🌉 Natural or built?

5

Name one need that all people have.

More practice: on your own

1

Is a swimming pool natural or built? Is a pond?

2

How does a forest help people? Give two ways.

3

A new apartment building is built. Which need does it meet?

4

What might happen if a town's only road to the city was blocked by a big snowstorm?

5

Sort: bike path, creek, arena, cliff.

Challenge

1

A farmer's field has natural soil but the farmer plants the corn in rows. Is it natural, built, or a bit of both? Explain.

2

Why do you think many communities in Canada were started beside a lake or river?

3

Think of a natural feature near you. Tell one way people use it and one way people should take care of it.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is a natural feature?

2.

Which is a built feature?

3.

What question helps you sort features?

4.

A house helps meet which need?

5.

Which is a natural feature many people use for drinking water?

6.

Is a park natural or built?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Communities have natural features (made by nature) and built features (made by people). People use both to meet their needs, and we notice how important a feature is when it isn't available.

How to help at home:

  • On walks or drives, play "Natural or built?" with everything you pass.
  • Talk about where your water comes from (a lake, a river or a well) and where your food is grown.

Common difficulties:

  • Parks and planted trees. A park is built (people planned it), but a tree is natural (it grew). Accept good reasoning on borderline cases.
  • Needs versus wants. Ask, "Could you live without it?" A home is a need; a trampoline is a want.