NSES Content Standard D  Earth and Space Science: Properties of Earth materials  Grades K-4, page 134  Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water, and the gases of the atmosphere. These varied materials have different physical and chemical properties, which make them useful in different ways, for example, as building materials, as sources of fuel, or for growing the plants we use as food. Earth materials provide many of the resources that humans use.

 
Benchmark 4B The Physical Setting: The Earth
Grades 6-8, page 69
Fresh water, limited in supply, is essential for life and also for most industrial processes. Rivers, lakes, and groundwater can be depleted or polluted, becoming unavailable or unsuitable for life.

Benchmark 8B The Designed World: Materials and Manufacturing
Grades 6-8, page 190
The choice of materials for a job depends on their properties and on how they interact with other materials. Similarly, the usefulness of some manufactured parts of an object depends on how well they fit together with the other parts.

Benchmark 8C The Designed World: Energy Sources and Use
Grades K-2, page 193
People burn fuels such as wood, oil, coal, or natural gas, or use electricity to cook their food and warm their houses.