Responsible Forest Management to Keep our Forests Healthy
Lesson Plans
Grades5, 6, 7, 8Biology, Earth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by The Nature Conservancy
What it is
- In this seven-lesson unit by Nature Lab, students will learn about the importance of trees and biodiversity in our ecosystems and the deforestation and invasive species that threaten tree populations.
- Students will take a guided field trip to learn how much carbon trees sequester, go on a tree-identifying nature walk, learn the layers of the rainforest, participate in a modeling activity to understand how trees get what they need, draw food webs, and create dioramas of forest habitats.
- Students will also see a 360-degree view of the Amazon rainforest, learn about cocoa production in Pará, Brazil, look at at-risk trees in the Northeast, and hear about the importance of Ash trees to the Wabanaki people.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The mix of videos, texts, and hands-on activities will keep students of all learning styles engaged with the lessons.
- The final project leaves room for students to flex their creativity while giving enough guidance to keep students from feeling overwhelmed.
Additional Prerequisites
- The link for the Kahoot! game in the Digital Resources section is broken.
- Students should know the terms mitigate, biodiversity, riparian, and others that aren't on the vocabulary list.
Differentiation
- Teachers can create a word wall using the vocabulary words at the beginning of the lesson, using the wall to introduce new vocabulary ahead of time to English Language Learners.
- Older students can look into the exploitation of people in the production of chocolate and the meaning and importance of fair trade products.
- Math teachers can extend the tree-measuring activity by having students calculate the area of tree stumps around the school.
- Some students may benefit from slowing the playback speed for the "Forest Cocoa" video.
- After reading about at-risk trees, students can research invasive species and how climate change contributes to their increasing damage.
From the scientist review
This resource allows students to learn about the importance of forests as carbon sinks, and ways to restore and protect them from degradation. We reviewed the resource and it has passed our science credibility process.
Ready to use it?
Hosted on nature.org
Want this to fit your class?
Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.
