Build the key vocabulary of Energy Use and Environmental Effects with this printable picture flash card set for Grade 5 science, aligned to Virginia SOL 5.9. It covers 12 essential terms, from Energy use and Energy demand to Restoration. Each term comes as a picture-and-word card and as a picture card with a clear, full-sentence definition, and two labeling worksheets let students show what they know.

What students practice

• Energy use: Energy use is the use of energy to perform tasks such as heating, lighting, transportation, and powering devices in daily life.
• Energy demand: Energy demand is the amount of energy people need or choose to use, which changes with activities, weather, and population.
• Power station: A power station is a facility that transforms energy from a source into electrical energy, sometimes affecting nearby air, water, or habitats.
• Air pollution: Air pollution occurs when harmful substances enter the air, sometimes from burning fuels, and can affect living things and the environment.
• Exhaust: Exhaust is the mixture of gases and particles released by an engine after fuel burns, and it can contribute to air pollution.
• Water pollution: Water pollution occurs when harmful substances enter water, changing its quality and potentially harming organisms or making the water unsafe.
• Oil spill: An oil spill releases petroleum into the environment, where it can spread across water or land and harm organisms and habitats.
• Habitat loss: Habitat loss happens when an area no longer provides the conditions and resources organisms need, sometimes because land is cleared for energy projects.
• Land disturbance: Land disturbance changes soil, rocks, or vegetation, such as during construction or resource extraction, and can increase erosion or damage habitats.
• Mining: Mining removes useful materials such as coal from Earth, providing resources while also changing land and sometimes affecting air and water.
• Environmental impact: An environmental impact is a change in air, water, land, or living systems caused by an activity, including producing or using energy.
• Restoration: Restoration helps damaged land or habitats recover by actions such as planting vegetation, rebuilding soil, and improving water or habitat conditions.

Teaching notes from the key: Some pollutants are invisible. Visible smoke is not the same as carbon dioxide, and the appearance of water alone does not establish its safety. All energy sources have benefits and limitations. Renewable sources can also affect land, water, wildlife, and habitats; compare specific evidence for each choice.

What’s included (11 pages)

• 12 color picture-and-word cards
• 12 picture–term–definition cards (4 pages)
• 12 black-and-white picture-and-word cards for low-ink printing or coloring
• 2 picture-labeling worksheets: students write the matching term for each picture (with Name and Class lines)
• Answer key (1 page) for the labeling worksheets

How to use it in class

1. Print the color cards (or the black-and-white set to save ink), cut them apart and laminate them to reuse.
2. Introduce the words with the picture-and-word cards, then use the definition cards to talk about what each term means.
3. Play quick games: show a picture and ask for the term, read a definition and ask which card it matches, or sort the cards into groups.
4. Use the labeling worksheets as an exit ticket, homework or review, and check them with the answer key.
5. Put the cards in a word wall or science center for independent practice.

At a glance

• Grade: 5
• Subject: Science (Energy Use and Environmental Effects)
• Standard: Virginia SOL 5.9
• Pages: 11
• Format: Printable PDF; instant digital download after purchase