Nothing Succeeds Like Succession
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Succession is a natural pattern of change that takes place over time in a forest or other ecosystem. Students read a story about succession and investigate the connections among plants, animals, and successional stages in a local ecosystem.
Objectives
Students will
- Explore basic relationships between species diversity and ecosystem changes.
- Identify successional stages in ecosystems based on the plant and animal species that are present.
- Draw conclusions about the process of succession based on study test plots that are in different stages of succession.
For the complete activity and more like this, purchase the Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide at Shop.PLT.org and/or attend a professional development training in your state.
Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide is a supplementary curriculum that is multi-disciplinary, with an emphasis on science, reading, writing, mathematics, and social studies.
Each activity displays explicit connections to practices and concepts expected by the following national academic standards so teachers can easily see where the materials will fit into their lesson plans:
- Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
- Common Core Toolkit, includes
- English Language Arts (CCSS.ELA)
- Mathematics (CCSS.MATH)
- College, Career, and Civic Life Framework for Social Studies (C3)
Our professional development further demonstrates these connections, as well as to state and local standards, contact your state coordinator.
The Memory Tree
Teaching young children about the loss of a loved one can be a difficult topic. In this picture book, a fox lives a long and happy life in the forest, but he is now ready to sleep and closes his eyes forever. As the fox’s friends begin to share memories and tell stories, a tree starts to grow taller and stronger with every memory.
The Walking Fish
The Walking Fish Grades 6-8 ISBN-13: 978-0990782933 Tumblehome Learning, Inc., 2015 Recommended Reading Imagine you are in 7th Grade and plan to spend the summer with your parents at a cabin on the lake. Imagine you pack all your new fishing gear, a gift from Grandpa, only to find out the lake water is... Read more »
EE Resources
Tree Tops Valley Story
Tree Tops Valley – For a Grades 3-5 variation to this activity, read aloud a fictional story told from the perspective of siblings who observe forest changes over several decades. Stop after each part of the story and have students draw a picture of the successional stage in a journal. After reading, discuss the changes... Read more »
Video: Wildlife Habitat
“Wildlife Habitat.” This 7:42-minute video describes how the habitat requirements for different animals are diverse and ever-changing, and how most Great Lakes States vertebrate species require or prefer at least one forest type for part of their lifecycle. It is one of a series of BeLeaf It or Not! videos by Michigan State University Extension,... Read more »
Foldable 3-D Fire Triangle Model
Simply print out and then fold this 3-Dimensional fire triangle model to help teach the 3 elements of the fire triangle, as well as to show the important connections between weather and how it influences fire behavior.
Forest Restoration Following Wildfire
Learn about the Tree and Forest restoration process after a wildfire with this comprehensive resource from Montana State University (MSU) Extension Forestry. In addition, MSU Extension has compiled multiple other resources that help students understand implications of wildfires. Students can read a about a 13-Year Case Study of Fire in the Northern Rockies, use a... Read more »
Living with Wildlife: Snags
What is a snag? How do dead and dying trees benefit the ecosystem? Learn how dead trees can actually provide more habitats for wildlife than when they are alive with Snags—The Wildlife Tree, published by Washington state Department of Fish & Wildlife. The article highlights species that use snag trees to survive, what kinds of... Read more »
Climate Change around the World
An article in BBC News that discusses impacts of global warming in countries around the world and in major sectors of society: health, water, food, ecosystems, coasts, and industry.
Ring of Fire
WildFIRE PIRE is a project of the Montana State University, involving an international team of scientists putting the past, present, and future of wildfire into global perspective. The group will use thousands of years’ worth of historical data on landscape vegetation, fire, human behavior, and climate to build a computer simulation to understand how future... Read more »
Fire Safety Website
Fire safety resources are available at www.firefacts.org. Teacher resources include a Jeopardy-style game on basic fire safety practices, fact sheets, family take-home activities, and links to additional fire safety resources and organizations. Student resources consist of online games and puzzles that teach fire safety rules.
Federal Registry for Educational Excellence – Fire Safety
Review fire safety practices with information and resources from the U.S. Fire Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Centers for Disease Control. You’ll find information about smoke alarms and fire extinguishers, kitchen safety, fire safety plans, and visits to a fire station. In addition, teachers can access online activities such as word searches,... Read more »
Create Your Own Book App
Be the author, illustrator, and editor of your own literary adventure with Book Creator, an app that can be downloaded for the iPad from the iTunes store. Book Creator allows anyone to create and share their own journals, text books, children’s picture books and photobooks that can be designed with a multitude of text and... Read more »
Digital Notebook Template
Want to go paperless in your classroom and experiment with digital note keeping? Read educator Nick Mitchell’s Scientific Teacher blog for ideas to transform the way you and your students take notes. This blog details using digital notebooks in the classroom, including basic information on why digital notebooks are useful and how to get started... Read more »
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