Forest Fires

The objectives of this lesson plan are twofold: to have students understand the benefits and problems associated with fire and to understand the role that fire plays in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Emphasis throughout the lesson plan is placed on manager-ignited prescribed burns and natural fires, and their relevance and importance to various types of fire-adapted ecosystems such as chaparral, prairie grasslands, and lodgepole pine forests. The lesson entails initiating a discussion about the positive and negative powers of fire, introducing terms such as surface fire, crown fire, and fire triangle, and having the students produce a public service announcement, brochure, or television spot on both accidental forest fires and the benefits of prescribed burns. The web site includes a list of suggested materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, extension projects, an evaluation of student learning, suggested readings, relevant web links, a vocabulary list, and relevance to the academic standards set forth by Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education: Second Edition. Educational levels: High school