Part 1 - Logistics

Unit Title:​​ Forests and Trees Instructional Designer(s): Todd Zimmerman

Problem/Issue/Theme: Driving Question/ Inquiry Question:

Plants and our impact on their lives. What are humans impact on trees and forests.

Curriculum Areas/Topics:​​ Science Grade: 6

Rationale: Students are to learn about forests and different kind of trees. Duration:​​ 3​ weeks
What they do for us and the environment and our impact on them.

Part 2 – Desired Results

Learning Outcomes: (Literacy, Numeracy, subject areas)

General Outcome: 6-10

Describe characteristics of trees and the interaction of trees with other living things in the local environment.
Specific outcomes
1. Identify reasons why trees and forests are valued. Students meeting this expectation should be aware that forests serve as habitat for a variety of living things and are important to human
needs for recreation, for raw materials and for a life-supporting environment.

2. Describe kinds of plants and animals found living on, under and among trees; and identify how trees affect and are affected by those living things.

3. Describe the role of trees in nutrient cycles and in the production of oxygen.

4. Identify general characteristics that distinguish trees from other plants, and characteristics that distinguish deciduous from coniferous trees.
5. Identify characteristics of at least four trees found in the local environment. Students should be familiar with at least two deciduous trees and two coniferous trees. Examples should include
native species, such as spruce, birch, poplar, and pine and cultivated species, such as elm and crab apple.

6. Describe and classify leaf shapes, leaf arrangements, branching patterns and the overall form of a tree.

7. Interpret the growth pattern of a young tree, distinguishing this year’s growth from that of the previous year and from the year before that. Students meeting this expectation should recognize
differences in colouration and texture of new growth and old growth, and locate scars that separate old and new growth.

8. Identify human uses of forests, and compare modern and historical patterns of use.

9. Identify human actions that enhance or threaten the existence of forests.

10. Identify an issue regarding forest use, identify different perspectives on that issue, and identify actions that might be taken.

Knowledge: Skills:
What knowledge will students acquire as a result of this unit? What should students be able to do? What behaviors will they exhibit?
Think: Nouns! Ex: Vocabulary, definitions, facts, formulas, critical details, Think: Verbs! Ex: Thinking skills (compare, infer, analyze, interpret),
important events or people, sequence and timelines, etc

The students will know about the different types of forests and trees. They
will learn where each species is located at on the world as well as what type
it is by the leaf patterns. The students will also learn about the surrounding
environment that the forests have a large impact on and how the loss of
forests and trees can cause the extinction of animals as well as have
negative impacts on humans. The students will also learn about
deforestation in the brazilian rainforests and encouraged to look for other
sources of massive deforestation for profit.
Student will be able to critical think on hot topics within forestry from
around the world.
They will be able to analyze information and fill out diagrams to compare
data.
The students will be able to work cooperatively as well as independently.
The students will be able to interpret data whether it is enhancing the
forest or harming it,

The students will also be able to compare and contrast different forests
and what makes them unique.
 Part 3 – Assessment Evidence

Performance Task /Culminating Activity

What authentic, relevant task will allow students to show what they've learned during the unit? In the space below, include all elements of GRASPS,
including success criteria (based on learner outcomes). At the bottom of this section, describe the scenario or situation (in paragraph form) that will
require students to apply their knowledge and skills to demonstrate their learning in a real-life situation. Attach your performance task rubric to your unit
plan.

G - Goal : the goal of this project is to get the students to think about deforestation and the impact humanity has on forests whether it is good or bad.

R – Role :
The students will be taking a role as the environmentalist trying to get the word out about deforestation and man made harm to forests.

A – Audience:
The class will be able to present their poster to the school and help teach the other students about the forests.

S – Situation: The students will focus on mans harm to nature and the forest.

P – Product, Performance: Students will be creating their own tree from seed to sapling to watch and monitor a young tree grow throughout the term. They will also be creating a plan
on what we can do as a society or community to help protect endangered forests from large deforestation.

S – Success criteria :
Students will know the differences between deciduous trees and coniferous trees. They will also know the benefits and the harm of deforestation.

GRASPS performance task:

Student will follow the following ​Rubric​​ to help guide their learning as well as identify positive and negative effects of forestry. They will also learn about the growth cycle of various
forests from around the world through different presentations. They will be able to take home their sapling if they want or they can plant it in a preapproved field to help grow a
forest of their own.

Other Evidence:
How will you gather evidence of learning through the unit? List your formative, summative and student self-assessment ideas. These may include work
samples, observations, quizzes, tests, journals or other means for students to demonstrate achievement of outcomes.
​Formative Assessment:​ ​LLQ​, as well as various worksheets students will be handing in.

Part 4 – Learning Plan

What teaching and learning experiences will you use to achieve the learning outcomes in Part 2 and prepare them for the assessment tasks in Part 3?
What will the sequence of instruction be for this unit? In the space below, indicate how you will grab student attention through an introductory activity
(anticipatory set for the unit).

Introductory Activity/Entry Event: ​Before this unit is done students will be introduced to their own small greenhouse container holding a seed that is
near germination. It will need to be planned ahead of time to plant the seed but students will be able to experience seeing the plant grow throughout the
unit and throughout the year. They will be able to bring their plants home at the end of the year if they want. There will be several different species of
forest or bush seeds that students will be able to see grow and hopefully be able to see the differences by the time the unit is over.

Lesson Learning Outcome Learning Activities A​​ssessment Resources / Materials

# (​​C​urriculum) (​​I​nstruction) (FOR/OF/AS) (equipment, textbooks,
(Include instructional strategy + what students will be doing) technology,
multimedia, etc.)

1. What is a Forest and a Tree For KWL

2 Describe kinds of plants and
animals found living on, under and
among trees; and identify how trees
affect and are affected by those
living things.
In this first lesson In the intro of this unit the students will be
introduced to what a forest and a tree is. They will fill out a ​KWL Rubric
sheet on what they already know about forests and trees and what
they would like to learn. They will then discuss their answers with
their table group to see if they know anything else to add. There will
be a question period after on what they would like to learn as well as

2. 6-10
2 Describe kinds of plants and
animals found living on, under and
among trees; and identify how trees
affect and are affected by those
living things.
4. Identify general characteristics
that distinguish trees from other
plants, and characteristics that
distinguish deciduous from
coniferous trees.
3. 6-10
2 Describe kinds of plants and
animals found living on, under and
among trees; and identify how trees
affect and are affected by those
living things.
a introduction into the assignments, the outcomes in the unit, as well
as the tasks they will be doing.
The students will also learn about the assignment for the unit which
is to start their own tree from seed to sprout. They will be able to
take their own small sapling home at the end of the year to grow.
The students will give their seedlings water every day for the first
two weeks then the following lessons every monday, wednesday, and
friday throughout the year until the tree is ready to take home.
In this lesson students will build on what they learned from the other As Worksheet
lesson and will also learn about perennials and annuals using their LLQ
chromebooks to research information on the species of plant
followed by determining what a tree is and how is it different from a
shrub. They will also learn about the changes that happen to forests
from fires, floods, storms, insects, disease and human activity.
Animals will also be included in this lesson and how the forest affects
them from the loss of habitat or land due to human impact.
Resources: Pen paper, teamwork
Building on the previous lesson the students will learn about the Forests
different forests and what makes them vary from one another. They
will learn the location of the forests through a puzzle activity with a Clues
map of the world showing what climate it is. The student will then
match the forests from boreal in he north, subalpine in the far north,
Temperate forests and tropical forests. There will be several
locations of the classroom labeled as to where its location is in the
world. Students will then be able to match which forest goes where
 by discovering clues at each station. Once they reach each station
they will be able to look up more on the forest and write more detail
about the inhabitants of it.

Resources: Worksheets, images from various forests

4. 6-10 Once students know the different types of forests and animals living LLQ
3. Describe the role of trees in in the forests the students will learn about levels of forest growth
nutrient cycles and in the production
of oxygen.
from the forest floor, the understory, the canopy and the emergent
layer. When they learn this they will also learn about what part of
level affects the life forms around it whether it be plant life, insects,
reptiles, to even mammals The students will be able to come out to
the schools forest or park and learn about oxygen production and
how everything is connected.

Resources: Bus, or schoolyard with a forest or trees.

Safety: Students will be outside so proper outdoor gear required.
Tripping, or falling students will be encouraged to not run and stay
within a select radius. Teacher will walk through the trails to ensure
all students are in the select area.

5. 6-10 Building on knowledge from the previous class the students will LLQ
1. Identify reasons why trees and continue working on how everything is connected through grass,
forests are valued. Students
meeting this expectation should be
insects, mice, deer, then to humans.
aware that forests serve as habitat
for a variety of living things and are The key idea of this lesson:
important to human needs for
recreation, for raw materials and for
Is to learn about producers which produce their own food which is
a life-supporting environment. the plants within the forests that absorb nutrients from the sun and
soil.

6. 6-10
4. Identify general characteristics
that distinguish trees from other
plants, and characteristics that
distinguish deciduous from
coniferous trees.
5. Identify characteristics of at least
four trees found in the local
environment. Students should be
familiar with at least two deciduous
trees and two coniferous trees.
Examples should include native
species, such as spruce, birch,
poplar, and pine and cultivated
species, such as elm and crab
apple.
They will also learn about the Consumers: which are the animals that
live within the forest and eat the plant life or other animals within.
They will also learn about Decomposers - the bacteria and fungi that
eat at the dead or decaying matter within the forest which brings
nutrients back into the ground. This shows the students a repeating
cycle. The food chain will also be learned about alberta's ecosystem
and what effects what animal consumes what from plant to mouse,
to hawk.
This would also be a good time to mention the FNMI perspective of
the circle and how everything is interconnected.
Tree types LLQ
Today's lesson students will learn about different tree types. They
will learn that there are thousands of types of trees that are
seperated into 2 different classifications.
They will learn about coniferous trees and deciduous trees and what
makes each one different. This lesson can be taken outside into the
schools park if there are both tree types. Students will be able to
touch the coniferous trees seeing what a pine, fir, or evergreen is.
Within this they will also learn through a diagram about the several
species of Alberta Coniferous trees.
The students will also learn about Deciduous trees that have flat
leaves. They will also work on a worksheet while doing this being able
to take a leaf shading it in on the paper and being able to classify it to
what kind of tree it is. They will also learn that this tree hibernates in
the winter shedding its leaves to save energy and becomes inactive

7. 6-10
6. Describe and classify leaf
shapes, leaf arrangements,
branching patterns and the overall
form of a tree
8. 6-10
6. Describe and classify leaf
shapes, leaf arrangements,
branching patterns and the overall
form of a tree
until the thaw.
In this lesson students will be divided into groups each group will be
responsible for looking at different tree types coniferous and
deciduous. They will then present their findings to the class after
taking notes Teamwork will be evaluated as well as their
participation.
Resources: forest in the school grounds, or bus to go to rotary park.
Safety: Students will be outside so proper outdoor gear required.
Tripping, or falling students will be encouraged to not run and stay
within a select radius. Teacher will walk through the trails to ensure
all students are in the select area.
Falling Leaves and Growth LLQ
In this lesson the students will learn about why leaves fall branching
past information from the previous lesson. They will learn about the
light and how it affects the loss of leaves on deciduous trees. They
will also learn how the day cycle can affect the cells within the leaf.
This then affects the pigment loss as the temperature cools before
falling to the ground.
Leaf identification
Continuing on the previous lesson Students will learn to identify leaf LLQ
patterns and detect what kind of leaf it is. They will also be able to
shade in leaves and then make a diagram of it with labeling parts of it
from the blade, the base, the veins, the petiole(stem) , the margin
and lastly the apex. They will also label what venation it is from
Parallel, netted pinnate, and netted palmate. Through the margin
they will identify if their leif has an Entire, toothed, or lobed margin.
 Diagrams will be on the wall to help students fill in the piece. They
can then compare their leif to another table group to see the
difference.

Resources needed for this lesson will be:

Leaves from different trees, Wax paper, pencils,

9. 6-10 Following on the leaf patterns Students will learn about the parts of
7. Interpret the growth pattern of a the tree from the crown, bark and what helps the individual
young tree, distinguishing this year’s
growth from that of the previous
determine the age of the tree. Trunk samples will be brought in for
year and from the year before that. this lesson so students can predict how long a tree has been alive for
Students meeting this expectation and they can write up what possibly has happened with the tree from
should recognize differences in
colouration and texture of new
fire, damage(manmade or natural), and what affects it might of had
growth and old growth, and locate on the surrounding forests.
scars that separate old and new
growth.

Resources needed for this lesson will have to be prepared ahead of

time.

Resources:
Tree trunk cuttings from fallen trees, Various kinds and different sizes
would be best, Ruler to measure differences in size,

10. 6-10 Now that students know about aging of trees, leaf patterns and why Forests website
8. Identify human uses of forests, they fall. They also know about the animals that are connected to
and compare modern and historical
patterns of use.
forests. The students will now work on a Venn diagram in this lesson Venn Diagram
with a computer. They will write what modern uses for forests are
and why we still cut trees down. The students then will use the LLQ
chromebooks and find past uses for forests and compare them to our

11. 6-10
9. Identify human actions that
enhance or threaten the existence
of forests
12. 6-10
​10. Identify an issue regarding
forest use, identify different
perspectives on that issue, and
identify actions that might be taken.
current uses and see what is similar and what is different now and
reflect on what has changed and why. Students can use the website
provided or find other resources on their own.
Once knowing the historic and modern uses for forestry students will Historic/modern table
then use a chromebook and look for human actions that enhance or
threaten forests. Each table group will find one that is different from
another table group and they will be able to fill in information on the
forest from where it is on the world map, what type of forest it is,
what kind of trees inhabit the forest, as well as what animals are
impacted or enhanced by the forest, and lastly they will write why
the human action enhances of threatens the forest.
Human impact Rubric
Students will be learning about human impact today. They will look
at situations that can enhance trees from science, fertilizers, and
growing conditions and comparing it to things that threaten. They
will create a Venn diagram as a table group and think of their own
that would fit in each side and what would fit in the middle.
Examples would be
Enhance - planting new trees, controlled fires, national parks.
Threaten - recreation activities, logging, deforestation for population
growth.
Students will learn about the Brazilian rainforest and the massive
deforestation and animals threatened by extinction because of
human threat to the rainforest.
Students will be reminded about the rubric and their project and be
able to work on it if there is time in class.
13. 6-10
. interactions with forests. Students will be studying further on the
10. Identify an issue regarding
forest use, identify different
perspectives on that issue, and
identify actions that might be taken.
Students will learn about Perspectives when dealing with human LLQ
impacts of humanity on forests. Through this lesson students in their
table groups will be acting as environmentalists trying to find solution
to a world problem within deforestation. This project will be on for
the next few days were they work on possible solutions to fix
problems from around the world. They will also learn about
government policy and how it can negatively affect or benefit forests.

14. 6-10 Students will be able to spend the day working on their poster
Work day making sure it is prepared.

15. 6-10 The students will be presenting their posters to the school. Students Rubric
Presentation day will be able to bring their tree home if they want at the end of the
presentation to help further their knowledge of tree growth. They
will be able to follow the rubric to help guide their learning

Appendix

What resources could you potentially use to enhance the unit and broaden the student experience and understanding about your
topic? Consider audio, visual, technology, literature and community. Use APA formatting for your resources.

Visual Students will be able to experience seeing their own sapling growing from seed to sprout seeing
what effects growth has on a tree or plant. Students will also be able to visit forests as well as
fields to learn about various growth and tree types. They will also be working hands on with
leaves and tree trunks.
Technology Students will be able to access chromebooks or use their phones to look up information they need.

References
Alberta Government. Alberta Education. (2002). ​https://education.alberta.ca/media/159711/elemsci.pdf

(n.d.). Retrieved from ​http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/forestry/forest.htm