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Please
share any forest activities
you have tried which support learning in natural sciences.
Forest in a Jar
Succession
is a term used to describe the ever-changing environment and the
gradual process by which one habitat is replaced by another.
Many habitats that appear to be stable are changing before us.
In this activity, students will be able to see in miniature how
a swampy area can be succeeded by a forest habitat. (Kindergarten,
Gr 1-6)
Click here
for an AskERIC lesson plan.
Deciduous and Coniferous Trees
A
lesson plan with a hands-on approach for distinguishing the
characteristics of deciduous and coniferous trees. (Grades
3-6)
Click here
for an AskERIC lesson plan.
Forest Food Webs
A
lesson plan for understanding the seasonal changes that affect a
temperate forest ecosystem.
Students will also learn about how forest organisms depend on
each other and affect each other. (Grades
6-8)
Click here
for a DiscoverySchool lesson plan.
Forest Fires
A
lesson plan for understanding the benefits
and problems associated with fire, as well as the role fire
plays in maintaining healthy forest ecosystems. (Grades
9-12)
Click here
for a DiscoverySchool lesson plan.
Forest
Soils
A
short activity for young learners to explore what makes up
forest topsoil.
A
Mini-Greenhouse
Set
up a mini greenhouse in the classroom to help learners
understand the 'greenhouse effect'.
Imaginary
Creatures
A
creative activity for exploring animal adaptations.
Herbarium:
Pressing & Recording Leaves
Teach
children to classify trees by pressing and recording leaves.
Tree
Passports
A
fun way for young children to learn about the identities of
different trees in order to compare them.
Forest
Soils
From:
Forest
Fun, Share-Net, South Africa
Grade: Primary
school
This
short activity helps young learners explore what makes up
forest top soil. First leat each child take a handful of
topsoil and examine it closely. Then disucss it under
the following features:
FEEL: texture of soil, soil moisture, lightness (air
spaces)
SMELL: richness
LOOK: colour, contents (sift through and look for seeds,
leaf litter, animals, etc.)
Now remove some topsoil (about 20cm deep) with a small
spade. Half fill a 2l plastic cool drink bottle (with
its top cut off) with soil. Take this back to the
classroom. Now fill the bottle with water, and with the
top covered, shake it vigorously. Allow the contents to
settle overnight and examine the layers that have
formed. A piece of white cardboard can be attached to
the side of the bottle and the respective layers recorded (see
picture below).
A Mini-Greenhouse
From:
Forest
Fun, Share-Net, South Africa
Grade: Primary
school
What is the greenhouse effect?
Our planet can be likened to a greenhouse. Carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases help to serve as a blanket that keeps
the earth warm enough to support life.
However, human activity such as excessive burning of fossil
fuels and deforestation, has led to an increase in the
greenhouse gases, thus allowing heat to escape.
This so-called greenhouse effect will lead to global warming of
the atmosphere, with far-reaching consequences such as changes
in climate, reduced crop production, a rise in sea levels and an
increase in diseases.
Set up a mini-greenhouse
Set up two large glass jars as shown below. Jar A contains
dry soil and no plants. Jar B contains moist soil and a
few plants. Place a thermometer in each one and screw the
lid on each jar. If the thermometers are too long then
drill a hole (slightly larger than the thermometer) in the
lids. Pack cotton wool in the small space between the
thermometer and the hole. Now place both bottles in the
sun and record their internal temperatures half-hourly as well
as the outside temperatures. Discuss reasons for the
temperature differences.
Imaginary Creatures
From:
Forest
Fun, Share-Net, South Africa
Grade: Primary
school
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Divide
pupils into small groups and give each group a lump of plasticine. They must create an imaginary creature
that they feel would be specially adapted to living in a
forest. The following points must be kept in mind
when the animal is created: locomotion, protection, size
and breathing. Each group must do a short
report-back describing their creatures' adaptations.
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Herbarium:
Pressing & Recording Leaves
From:
Forest
Fun, Share-Net, South Africa
Grade: Primary
school
Materials required: Sheets of 8mm hardboard (200 x
300mm); newspaper; weights
Sandwich leaves that have been collected between layers of
newspaper (2-3 sheets per layer) and place these between 2
sheets of hardboard such as masonite. Now place heavy
weights on your press. Change the newspaper after 2 days
and then leave for 2-3 weeks, or when the leaves feel dry and
brittle. For thicker leaves, change the newspaper a second
time.
Note: never press leaves in a book as the moisture from
the leaves will damage the pages. You could use heavy
books as weights above the hardboard.
Remove your pressed leaves and mount them as shown below with a
collector's label. Mount one leaf per page (cardboard) and
hold in place with sellotape or strips of gummed paper.
Store the sheets of cardboard in a folder and keep in a storage
box - a few moth balls will discourage insects.
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Common Name: Nana-berry
Scientific Name: Rhus
Dendata 381.1
Family: Anarcdiaceae
Location: Drakensberg
mountains at margin of evergreen forests
Ecological Notes: Heavy
clusters of bright red fruit - 4mm
Collector: S.
Green
Date: 25.8.2002
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Tree
Passports
From:
Michail
Lakatnick Primary School, Bourgas, Bulgaria
Grade: Primary
school
This is a fun way for young children to learn to compare
trees. Each child (or pair of children) should develop a
tree passport and then share this with the class (or another
pair). The leaf on the front can be drawn, or the actual
leaf could be stuck onto the passport, or the leaf could be
photostated (if the setting is light this can work well).
Details on the tree's characteristics need to be filled into a
'passport'. See an example of a passport below.
Cover:
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Class:
School:
Date:
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TREE
PASSPORT
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Inside:
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3. Place found:
4. Special Features:
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5.
Trunk:
Height
Diameter
Bark
6. Leaves:
Form
Size
7.
Flowers/Fruit:
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Sciences
