Forester - Grade 5 CT

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Project Instructions

Note for CT Educators re Standards-Alignment: 

This engaging real-world project provides opportunities for students in grade 5 to meet the expectations of Connecticut's Science Standards. 

This project meets the following Science Standards in Connecticut: 

  • (NGSS.5-PS.) - PHYSICAL SCIENCE
  • (NGSS.5-LS.) - LIFE SCIENCE
  • (NGSS.5-ESS.) - EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE

Click on the green tabs below to see how this project can be implemented and all of the relevant resources that are available (career video, mini-lesson videos & more!).

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Forester
  • Performance Task
  • Created by Norwalk Admin
  • 27 Student Check-ins
  • 5 Products

Introduction

Forests are a very important resource in our world today. Forests are made up of different types of trees, plants and animals. The trees in forests are a renewable resource that people cut down to help make many of the things we use every day. Wood from trees is used to construct homes and buildings, as well as a lot of the furniture people use. Anything made from wood has come from a tree!

There are many other reasons that forests are important outside of making wood. Forests are important because of the ecosystems within them. When forests are healthy, plants and animals have a safe place to live. Forests can also help us regulate our climate and air quality. Additionally, forests are a beautiful, fun, relaxing places that people can visit to enjoy the scenery and the outdoors. In this task you will be taking on the role of a forester whose job it is to help keep our forests healthy today and into the future.

Driving Question

What makes a forest healthy?
  • What skills are needed to be a successful forester?
  • What does a forester do in their job?

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What skills are needed to be a successful forester?
What does a forester do in their job?

Big Idea

  • Living things depend on their habitat to meet their basic needs.
  • Sustainable use of natural resources is essential to provide for the needs and wants of all living things now and in the future.

Essential Questions

  • What makes a healthy ecosystem?
  • How do humans impact the environment?
  • Why is the sustainable use of natural resources necessary?

G.R.A.S.P.

Goal

Your goal is to create informational materials that will help people and businesses understand the importance of a forest in your region. You will need to help them understand what practices can be used to manage forests and how people can work to keep the forest ecosystem healthy.  

Role

You are a newly hired forester with your state department of natural resources. As part of your job responsibilities, you will be creating informational materials that help people understand their their local forest and how to keep it healthy with good forest management practices. 

Audience

You will present your product(s) to a board of directors from your state's department of natural resources. Though this is part of your job, the board needs to approve any materials that you create for the public before they can be given out to people in the region. 

Situation

As a forester, you are in charge of keeping the forest healthy and making sure it is around for years to come. Foresters work in outdoors in the forest collecting data and overseeing the practices people use to keep the forest healthy or to cut down trees for industry. They also work indoors, planning for what forest management practices will be used, planning hiking trails and other recreational activities for people in the forest, and providing information for people about the forest and its resources. In this task, you will need to do research to learn about a forest in your region. You will need to figure out what types of trees grow there. You will need to learn more about the ecosystem of the forest and about different management practices that should be used to balance people's needs and the needs of the plants and animals who live in forests. 

Some resources that may be useful for research include:

eschooltoday - What is forestry?

Discover the Forest

Flowchart (Foodweb)

You will create a flowchart that shows a typical forest food web. Your food web must include at least 20 different organisms. Be sure to describe how energy in animals' food, found in a forest, was once energy from the sun.

Map

Create a map of any forest in your state. You can draw your map by hand or use a free tool such as Animaps or Scribble Maps. Be sure to label your map with the types of trees in the area and other important geographic features like waterways or mountains. Also, give estimates for the area and perimeter of this forest. These measurements will help people in the region understand how large forests are and why they are a big, important part of your region.

Multimedia Presentation

You will create a presentation that explains the different types of trees found in a forest in your region (deciduous, coniferous, evergreen etc.). Your presentation should include labeled photos of some of the trees that live in your regional forest. Along with your photos, include a caption summarizing facts about each tree. Some things to include are life span, habitat location, how they spread their seeds etc. This will help the audience better understand the trees of the forest and how best to manage them.


Virtual Field Trip

Create a virtual field trip about a healthy forest where good forest management practices are taking place. This might be a forest in your region, or it might be a forest somewhere else in the United States. Explain the practices that are used to manage this forest so that it is a healthy ecosystem and so that humans can enjoy it. In your virtual field trip, you may want to include information about the types of trees in that forest, the food web in that forest, and the way new and old trees affect the forest food web.


Forest Management Brochure

You will create a brochure that explains some good forest management practices that people can consider using. This brochure should be organized and easy to read. It should have pictures or other visuals like diagrams or charts that help show and explain the practices, including how trees get the materials they need for growth from the air and water. These practices should help the forest stay healthy for years to come. If the audience feels your brochure is a good explanation, it will be available to local landowners and to the public in state parks.

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Restate the problem in your own words.
Humans and Natural Resources

Humans and Natural Resources

Food Webs

Food Webs

Matter And Energy Moving Through A Plant System

Matter And Energy Moving Through A Plant System

Stability and Change

Stability and Change

Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect

Energy and Matter

Energy and Matter

Systems and System Models

Systems and System Models

Structure and Function

Structure and Function

Defined Learning Videos

Sustainable Forestry 1: Forestry & Replanting

Runtime: 1:19

A forester describes and shows replanting of many baby trees as one aspect of sustainable forestry.
A Wildlife Refuge: Indicator Species

Runtime: 1:51

Indicator species are used as an early warning of pollution or degradation in an ecosystem.
A Wildlife Refuge: The Salt Marsh Ecosystem

Runtime: 2:30

The Salt Marsh Ecosystem serve many important functions. They buffer stormy seas, slow shoreline erosion, and provide vital food and habitat for sea life, as well as offering shelter and nesting sites for several species of migratory birds.
Forest Rangers

Runtime: 1:44

Forest rangers describe some of the techniques used to keep hundreds of thousands of acres of trees healthy.
Maintaining Healthy Forests

Runtime: 5:10

For Tami Sabol, the forest is her office. As a Forester for Plum Creek Timber Company, she is responsible for the health of hundreds of thousands of acres of trees. Using math and science is a routine part of her work.

Defined Learning Resources

Tree Hole Homes

Constructed Response

Have you ever thought about where birds and animals live in the forest? Some animals live on the ground. Some animals and birds make nests in trees. Other animals and birds live in the holes of trees!

Tree Hole Homes

Constructed Response

Have you ever wondered how birds and animals that live in the forest make their homes? Some animals live on the ground. Some animals and birds make nests in trees. Other animals and birds make their homes in the holes of trees!

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Virtual Field Trip

  • Where in the US are good forest management practices being used?
  • How do these practices keep the forest healthy for people and animals to enjoy?
  • What is the difference between a healthy and unhealthy forest?

Map

  • What physical features are in your forest?
  • How will you estimate the area and perimeter of your forest?
  • What types of trees are in your forest?

Forest Management Brochure

  • What are examples of forest management practices?
  • How do healthy trees help gases cycle into and out of our atmosphere?
  • How do they help a forest stay healthy?

Multimedia Presentation

  • How do the types of trees in the forest affect the forest management practices you might suggest?
  • What types of trees are in your regional forest?
  • Why are healthy trees important to the cycling of gases into and out of our atmosphere?
  • What are important facts about these trees such as their life span or how they spread their seeds?

Flowchart (Foodweb)

  • What are some of the key animals and plants that live in your regional forest?
  • How do matter and energy move through a food web?
  • Where does a food web begin?

Process Video

Design Process

Design Process (Grades 3 - 5)

Brainstorm Ideas

It's time to think about product development. You will begin with ideation, which is the start of the creative process. During the ideation phase, you will brainstorm with your group about all the potential ways you could approach this product. Remember, the more creative and innovative your ideas are at this stage, the better! Your group will need to check and make sure that each of your initial ideas are meeting the requirements related to the goal, audience and product description. What are the directions or criteria that need to be followed? Who is your audience and what will they need from this product?

Analyze & Decide

As you discuss the possibilities during your brainstorming, you will narrow the ideas down to those that seem like they would best solve the problem or address the challenge. Once you have narrowed down to two or three ideas, grab some paper and a pencil and make an outline or sketch a plan for each one. What will the product need to include? How will you best use the information that you found in your research to create it? What would the product look like based upon each idea?

After outlining your product ideas. Discuss with your group and decide on ONE that you would like to move forward with. When you have selected one idea, you will move on to the creation phase, keeping in mind that you may go through several rounds of creation and revision before you are ready to present.

Create & Revise

It is possible that while you are creating the first version of your product, you will develop more questions that need to be answered before you can continue. If so, you may need to do additional research. Reflect on how any new information affects your product and make revisions as needed.

Your group should also be looking at the rubric during the creation phase. Here, you can practice thinking critically and collaborating with your peers to understand what needs to be included in your product. Then, you should reflect on whether or not your initial work meets those criteria. If you realize that it does not, you may need to go back and make additional revisions.

As you work through the process of creating and revising your product, communication with your teacher and classmates will be very valuable. Asking for help and discussing your product with others can help you clarify whether or not your product meets the goal of the task and is appropriate for the audience.

Remember, creating this product is a fun opportunity to apply what you have learned about important topics in a more creative and independent way.

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Brainstorming: Based on your group's analysis of the research, brainstorm potential solutions, designs, and recommendations

Enter your brainstorming ideas below.

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Analyze/Decide: Based on your group's brainstorming - decide on the best ways to move forward and create a product that meets the needs of the target audience and addresses the goal of the task.

Write below what you or your team have decided to create.

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Flowchart (Foodweb)

You will create a flowchart that shows a typical forest food web. Your food web must include at least 20 different organisms. Be sure to describe how energy in animals' food, found in a forest, was once energy from the sun.

 

Online submission requires login. Log In

Map

Create a map of any forest in your state. You can draw your map by hand or use a free tool such as Animaps or Scribble Maps. Be sure to label your map with the types of trees in the area and other important geographic features like waterways or mountains. Also, give estimates for the area and perimeter of this forest. These measurements will help people in the region understand how large forests are and why they are a big, important part of your region.

 

Online submission requires login. Log In

Multimedia Presentation

You will create a presentation that explains the different types of trees found in a forest in your region (deciduous, coniferous, evergreen etc.). Your presentation should include labeled photos of some of the trees that live in your regional forest. Along with your photos, include a caption summarizing facts about each tree. Some things to include are life span, habitat location, how they spread their seeds etc. This will help the audience better understand the trees of the forest and how best to manage them.


 

Online submission requires login. Log In

Virtual Field Trip

Create a virtual field trip about a healthy forest where good forest management practices are taking place. This might be a forest in your region, or it might be a forest somewhere else in the United States. Explain the practices that are used to manage this forest so that it is a healthy ecosystem and so that humans can enjoy it. In your virtual field trip, you may want to include information about the types of trees in that forest, the food web in that forest, and the way new and old trees affect the forest food web.


 

Online submission requires login. Log In

Forest Management Brochure

You will create a brochure that explains some good forest management practices that people can consider using. This brochure should be organized and easy to read. It should have pictures or other visuals like diagrams or charts that help show and explain the practices, including how trees get the materials they need for growth from the air and water. These practices should help the forest stay healthy for years to come. If the audience feels your brochure is a good explanation, it will be available to local landowners and to the public in state parks.

 

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What did you learn were your greatest strengths? Your biggest areas for improvement?
How well did the group work together? How did you contribute to the group?
What classroom content did you use to create your products and solve the issue/challenge?
What skills did you use (21st century skills) to work through the task and finish the project?
What problems did you encounter while you were working on this task? How did you and your team solve them?
What part of your work are you most proud of? What would you do differently next time? Why?

This is the end of the project. Be sure all check-ins and products are completed!

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