K-12 Foresty Lesson Guide
FIELD ENHANCEMENT LESSONS
These field enhancement lessons are for use by educators in outdoor settings. Ideally, students participating in the activities will have been introduced to forest-related concepts in their classroom from the LEAF Wisconsin K-12 Forestry Lesson Guides.
The field lessons complement the classroom lessons in the guides. Subject areas addressed in the lessons may include Arts, Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. The Wisconsin Model Academic Standards and H. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory were referenced in the development of the lessons.
The 9-12 Field Enhancement lessons are in draft format at this point, pending a final review, but may be used as written.
Please let us know if providing the field enhancement lessons online was helpful to you: leaf@uwsp.edu
K-1st Grade Unit
2nd-3rd Grades Unit
4th Grade Unit
5th-6th Grades Unit
7th-8th Grades Unit
9th-12th Grades Unit
K-1st Grade Unit
Field Enhancement 1 - ALL ABOUT MY TREE
Students adopt a tree and record their observations to
create a class scrapbook.
Field Enhancement 2 - SENSING THE FOREST
Students use all of their senses to discover the living and
nonliving parts of a forest.
Field Enhancement 3 - SEARCHING FOR BASIC NEEDS
Students examine the needs of animals and evaluate if their
playground can support various critters.
2nd-3rd Grades
Unit
Field Enhancement 1 - I CAN BE A FORESTER
Students get a taste of what foresters do by collecting and
discussing data.
Field Enhancement 2 - OBSERVING FOREST INTERACTIONS
Students explore living and nonliving forest features on a hike and
spend time observing and drawing parts of a forest.
Field Enhancement 3 - FOREST ENERGY SCAVENGER HUNT
Students follow the flow of energy in a forest by going on a
scavenger hunt.
4th Grade Unit
Field
Enhancement 1 - UNLOCKING A FOREST'S PAST
Students uncover a forest's history by becoming detectives,
collecting data, and making predictions about a forest.
Field
Enhancement 2 - ARE FORESTS IMPORTANT TODAY?
Students find out why forests are ecologically, economically, and
socially valuable by searching a forest and playing scavenger hunt
bingo.
Field
Enhancement 3 - CARING FOR THE FUTURE OF FORESTS
Students learn what a tree needs to grow, how to choose an
appropriate site, and how to properly plant a tree by putting one in
their schoolyard.
5th-6th Grades Unit
Field Enhancement 1 - WOODS' WORTH
Students make their own tree scale stick and use it to calculate the
number of products that can be made from individual trees. They also
go on a scavenger hunt to explore many ways that forests are
valuable.
Field Enhancement 2 - STUDYING FOREST LAYERS
Students observe the structural layers of a forest and draw a
color-coded picture. They also embark on two exploration activities
to discover which animals can be found in each of the forest layers.
Field Enhancement 3 - COMPETITION IN A FOREST
Students learn how trees compete for their basic needs through
observation and a simulation.
7th-8th Grades
Unit
Field Enhancement 1 - TREE IDENTIFICATION
Students are introduced to dichotomous keys and tree identification
vocabulary to identify common Wisconsin trees.
Field Enhancement 2 - FOREST MAPPING
Students work in groups to map features of a forest plot using data
collection, tree identification, measurement, and ageing.
Field Enhancement 3 - FOREST DIVERSITY
Students study and collect data on three components of diversity
that can be found in Wisconsin forests.
9th-12th Grades Unit
9-12 FIELD ENHANCEMENT OVERVIEW
Field Enhancement 1: GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS)
Field Enhancement 1: Teacher Prep
In this lesson, students use a Geographic Information System
(GIS) to study the regional geography of their school
forest. Students use geography terms to describe aspects of
their community and region. They study Platt maps and county
records that illustrate the land use history of their school
forest and surrounding parcels. Students then use fGIS to
analyze geographic data and print a map of Wisconsin and
their school forest region.
Field Enhancement 2: SCHOOL FOREST RESEARCH PLOTS
In this lesson, students work together to plan and establish
research plots in their school forest. Students learn about
statistical sampling by using a sampling procedure to
estimate the numbers of colored poker chips from a large
population. They then use a school forest map and a sampling
procedure to locate research plot centers in their school
forest. In small groups, students work in the field to
establish the plots in their school forest. Students will
use the plots for a variety of research activities.
Field Enhancement 3: READING THE FOREST LANDSCAPE:
DISTURBANCE HISTORY
In this lesson, students learn how to interpret the
disturbance history of a forest by using evidence and
applying the ecological principles of change and
interconnectivity. Student use a narrative that explores
human physiology to visualize how the physical world is
interconnected and constantly changing. They discuss how
forests change and explore disturbances common in Wisconsin
forest ecosystems. They work in small groups to use evidence
present in the forest landscape to interpret the disturbance
history of their school forest. In conclusion, groups
present their findings and work as a class to form a
consensus view of their school forest disturbance history.
Field Enhancement 4: TIMBER CRUISE
Students conduct a timber cruise of their school forest to
identify the species of trees, volumes of timber, and basal
area on the property. Students work in small groups to
collect data and use Kruzer software to analyze the complete
class data set.
Field Enhancement 5: HABITAT ASSESSMENT
Students work in small groups and use wildlife habitat
requirements to assess potential animal habitat based on map
interpretation, plant and forest inventory information,
on-site forest composition and structure, and wildlife
habitat needs.
Field Enhancement 6: COMMUNITY ASSETS
In this lesson, students describe their community’s assets,
stakeholders, and critical issues. Students use an economic
flow diagram to understand the relationships between people
and valuable resources. They work as a group to identify
assets and stakeholders in their local community. Students
organize a community forum in which they interview local
leaders to identify important issues and the actions being
taken. They work individually to map community assets in the
context of a specific issue. In conclusion, students reflect
on their experience and identify opportunities to learn more
and become involved.