Lesson Plans: 9th-12th Grade

Lesson plans were submitted by teachers who have graduated from our Teacher Forestry Tours.

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The ideas and guidelines contained in the lesson plans do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Forestinfo.org. Lessons may be submissions from educators and have not been tested in classrooms by Forestinfo.org. They are published online as a service to help educators share ideas with other educators.

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A Closer Look at Wood

Grade Level: 9 - 10
Keywords: Hardwoods, coniferous trees, density, pressure-treated wood, pulpwood, engineered wood products, bole, extractives, silviculture, sustainable forestry

An Aspect of Forestry Stewardship

Grade Level: 7 - 12
Keywords: Competitive, favorable habitat, stress tolerance, resource limits, opportunistic, ruderal , taxonomic grouping, characteristics, adaptive strategy, global zonobiome, principle of constancy

Basic Tree and Forest Measurements

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Forest, stand, breast height, basal area, DBH-diameter at breast height, log rule, log scale, Scribner rule, merchantable height, silviculture, clinometers, calipers, diameter tape

Creating a Basal Area Measuring Tape

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Forest Plots, productivity, biomass, board foot calculations, diameter, circumference, basal area, diameter breast height (dbh)

Drawing for Design and Production

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: 2-D design, Advertising, Forest management, Forest products.

Elodea Lab

Grade Level: 9
Keywords: Photosynthesis, plants

The Exceptional Nature of Cellulose

Grade Level: 10 - 12
Keywords: The challenge of converting biomass to energy
Materials Needed:
• Eco-Link: "Biomass for Energy and Forest Fuel Reduction"

Finding the Basal Area of a Forest Plot to Determine Stocking Levels

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Basal Area, forests plots, diameter breast height, stocking levels, plotting, graphing, carrying capacity, competition, thinning, replanting

Flower Dissection

Grade Level: 7 - 10
Keywords: Plant reproduction, anatomy

Forest Management Techniques and Practices

Grade Level: 10 - 12
Keywords: All Aged or Uneven Aged Management, Clear Cut Harvest, Even Aged Management, Forest Management and Best Management Practices (BMP’s)

Forestry and Changing Feelings

Grade Level: K - 12
Keywords: See glossary of terms for the Teachers Forestry Terms.

Forestry Fun

Grade Level: 9 - 10
Keywords: Forests, lumber, forest awareness

How are Forests Managed in Our Region?

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Forestry, foresters, sustainability, best management practices, ecosystem services

How Does Preserving Wilderness Enhance Forestry?: The Art and Science of Managing Forests

(I.e. How can we develop and maintain healthy relationships to solve environmental issues that affect everyone?)
Grade Level: 10
Keywords: Friendship, common ground, natural environment, biodiversity, citizen participation, special interests, global issues, government, stewardship, cooperation

How Much Energy is Stored in Wood?

Grade Level: 8 - 12
Keywords: Energy, calorimetry, renewable resources

How to Figure Board Feet and Cost of a Board

Grade Level: 6 - 12
Keywords: Board feet vs. linear feet, length, width, thickness, grain direction, cubic inches, volume vs. area, solving equations

I Wood if I Could

Grade Level: 10
Keywords: Individual

Living With the Threat of Wildfire

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Science, Social Studies

Marbelizing Paper

Grade Level: 9
Keywords: Paper Recycling-an example of sustainability, pulp, flax, marbalizing technique, ecosystem, cellulose.

Moisture Content Activity

Grade Level: 6 - 12
Keywords: Moisture content, green wood, oven/kiln dry, air dried, shrinkage / swelling, dimensional changes

Nothing Goes to Waste Here

Grade Level: 9 - 10
Keywords: Lumber selection, debarker, bandsaw conveyers

Ownership of Lands

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Investigating land ownerships in the USA

Our Forest is Changing

Grade Level: 9 - 10
Keywords: Invasive species, canopy, fungus, insect, exit hole, Emerald Ash Borer, epicormic shoots, larvae, woodpecker, population, Beech Scale Disease, ecosystem, climax forest, opportunistic species, succession

Quadrate Lab

Grade Level: 7-9
Keywords: Ecology, environmental awareness, ecological succession

Replanting My House

Grade Level: 10 - 12
Keywords: Board feet, renewable

Soil Slope

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Soil slope

Sustainable Choices

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Sources of wood, wood use, and relationship to energy consumption in a household.

To Clear or Not to Clear

Grade Level: 10 - 12
Keywords: Ecology, environmental science, bioethics, environmental ethics, earth science, engineering

The Tree Detective—Basic Dendrology

Grade Level: 11 - 12
Keywords: Classification, dendrology, alternate, opposite, compound, simple, serrated, lobed, coniferous, deciduous

Tree Identification

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Industrial Arts

Tree ID Booklet

Grade Level: 7 - 12
Keywords: Conifer, deciduous

Using Pine Trees as a Record of Yearly Environmental Change

Grade Level: 10 - 12
Keywords: Ecology, biology, environmental science

Warming by Freezing!

Grade Level: 9
Keywords: Phase change, heat transfer

Water Quality and Pollution Web Quest

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Natural resources, water resources, water quality, water pollution, web quest

What Role Do Forests Play in Continuing or Renewing Our Planet's Resources?

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Ecology, photosynthesis, symbiosis, forestry, forest regeneration, mutualism, depletion of natural resources

What's in a Name?

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative)

What's in My Kitchen?

Grade Level: 7 - 9
Keywords: Wood, Kitchen

What’s In Our Woods?

Grade Level: K - 12
Keywords: Environment, forest, species, invasive species, conservation, steward, ecology, biodiversity, habitat, populations, edge effect, spatial dispersion, biotic, abiotic, animals, plants, fungi, protozoan, insects, birds, leaf & plant collections, insect collections

Where Does it All Come From?

Grade Level: 11 - 12
Keywords: Lumber, renewable resource
Materials Needed:
• DVD: "The Miracle Resource"
• DVD: "The Dynamic Forest"

Which Sides are You On? A Critical Issue Debate

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Economics, politics, public speaking, science areas (forestry, hydrology, biology, geology, etc.), sustainability, social responsibility, etc.

Wood: A Natural Renewable Resource

Grade Level: 9 - 12
Keywords: Wood, renewable, resource
Materials Needed:
• DVD: "The Miracle Resource"
• DVD: "The Dynamic Forest"