First Edition
PLSD Outdoor
Education
Forest Block
All content property of Papillion-La Vista School District
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PLSD Outdoor
Education Forest
Block
How do biotic and abiotic
factors impact populations
that respond to environmental
stimuli producing adaptations
and biodiversity in succession
to maintain the flow of energy
in an ecosystem?
PLS
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iBooks Author
Section 1
Forest Session
Overview
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Introduction:
!
The forest as a living community populated by birds, reptiles, insects, fungi, mosses, mites, bacteria, shrubs, wildflowers, snails, ferns, spiders, and other living things will be discovered by a study of an ecostrip. The happenings and occurrences which take place in this community at any given moment
reveal interdependencies and relationships.
• to demonstrate an awareness of the influences of topography
on plant growth by measurements of slope and plants.
• to evaluate the role of succession in the forest community by
the analysis of a rotten log micro-community.
• to observe that the diversity of species of plant life, influences
the survival of a diversity of animal life.
• *to recognize a tree as a micro-ecosystem within a natural
community.
• to identify and evaluate populations and successions influenced by environmental factors and topography.
• to interpret the impact of environmental factors on a tree's
growth pattern of annual rings.
• to appraise the role of decomposers in the life cycle of trees
as renewable natural resources
Objectives:
The student will be able:
• to compare the different levels and their inhabitants of the forest community.
• to discover the interrelationships and interdependencies by
an analysis of an ecostrip.
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Section 2
Sketching
2. Add other features that give the subject character -like the
texture of the bark, smaller limbs, vein patterns on leaves,
etc.
3. Next to the sketch put a short description of things you can
add later- like other branches, more leaves, color, etc.
4. Be sure to put your name, date, the place, and the time in
the artist's corner (lower right corner).
Continue adding sketches throughout the hike. By the time your
block is over, you should have at least 4 sketches in addition to the “Seeing Succession”.
Time:
12 minutes
Objective:
The students will increase their appreciation and enjoyment of
beauty through heightening their observations skills. The students will notice the colors, patterns, and textures in nature.
Materials:
• Journals
• Sharpened pencil
Procedure:
Quickly outline your subject. Then as time allows, add the following:
1. Put in major features such as seed heads, leaf patterns,
large limbs, knots, etc.
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Section 3
Tree Section Study
Concept: “Living things replace each other”- Succession
Materials: Fact List for a Tree Section in student journal
Click here for video
Time:
12 minutes
Objectives
•
The students will be able to identify the distinct regions
and specialized functions in photosynthesis of the structure of a tree: bark, cambium, sapwood, heartwood, and
pith in response to environmental stimuli.
•
The student will be able to identify the energy flow from
the sun influences the atmosphere (putting oxygen out during photosynthesis) transforming sunlight into chemical energy (sugar) for plant growth.
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Procedure:
Historical Events to Locate by Counting
Use the cottonwood tree cross-section display.
Identify: (Use the diagram in Teacher Information section).
Bark
Cambium
Sapwood
cork - outer covering
made of dead cells in
layer
For water-proofing,
protection against disease
and water loss
between bark and wood;
very thin slimy layer of
delicate tissue
forms new phloem tissue
on outer edge and new
wood tissue on inner
surface; growth causes
increase in tree diameter
outer area, light in color,
active, living tissue
Wood or Xylem tissues:
-vessels:
largest, thick walled
tubes
conduction of water and
minerals upward
-tracheids:
in between vessels but
smaller than vessels
conduction and
strengthening
-fibers:
smallest wood cells,
extremely thick walls, lithe
cell activity; oaks/maples
have large number
supporting tissues
1984
23rd Olympics -Mary Lou Retton 4 medals-gymnastics; Carl Lewis 4
golds track
1983
Sally Ride was the 1st woman in space
1980
Mt. St. Helens erupted; 500 times as powerful as Hiroshima atomic
bomb
1976
United States bicentennial
1974
President Nixon resigned
1969
Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11) 1st man to set foot on the moon, July 20
1963 President John Kennedy assassinated on November 22nd
1962
Lt. Col. John Glenn was the 1st American to orbit earth (3 times in
FRIENDSHIP)
1959
Alaska and Hawaii admitted as states
1941
December 7th Pearl Harbor attacked. World War II declared on
December 8th.
1a) Fact List for a Tree Section
1. How old was the tree when it was felled in 1990? (110 years)
2. Hypothesize: Why do you think it was cut down or why did it
die?
3. Where, on-site, was the tree when it fell if it was a cottonwood? In what type of area was this tree growing? (lower, flat
area thatʼs wetter; down by the driveway as we came into
camp)
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4. How does the tree's growth vary each year? (annual rings
thinner/thicker) Why do you think it did? (more rain=thicker
rings, less rain= thinner rings; competition)
5. In which years did the tree make good growth? (wide rings=
younger years)
6. In which years did it make poor growth? (thinner rings)
7. Are there signs of injury to the tree when alive? (dark brown)
If so, what are they? (insect boring; knot= branch)
8. When, in relation to its age, did the injuries occur?
___________
9. Find and list signs of decay: (chunks out when sawed- sign it
was getting soft inside)
10.Discussion: Why does girdling (complete removal of a section of bark all around the tree) kill a tree? (no protection from
fungi, bacteria, insects, cambium layer injured and cut, too.)
11.Why could a weed wacker harm a young tree when it cuts
the saplingʼs bark? (see #10)
12.How does a tree affect the atmosphere? (transpiration- water cycle; takes carbon dioxide from air, puts out oxygenphotosynthesis; leaves decompose- nitrogen cycle)
Optional:
13. Locate important years on the stump by counting back
years of growth in the rings (the last ring being 1990): Scotts
Bluff park (1936); Challenger exploded (1986) Mark Spitz
won 7 golds in '72 Olympics
1b) BE A TREE
Click here for video
Time:
15 minutes
Objective:
The students will describe the parts of the tree and explain how
each part works in its role as a producer.
Procedure:
Heartwood:
1. The Heartwood provides the strength and support for the
tree. Ask who are
the strongest stuBe a Tree
dents in the class.
We need 1 of the
strongest students.
You will represent
the Heartwood or
the "pith of the tree".
Instruction: Stand
in the middle with
your arms crossed
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or muscle-builder stance. What sounds do "muscle builders"
make? (Grunts or groans). This is your role in the tree.
Xylem:
2. The xylem brings water and minerals from the roots of the
tree to the leaves of a tree. Ask for 2 other people to represent the xylem, the soft wood. Instruction: Make a circle
around the outside of the "pith". Now bend down as if you
take up water and minerals, and bring water to your leaves.
Your sound starts with a low note and goes up like "Do-o000-op." Let's practice.
Cambium:
3. The cambium represents the growth region of a tree. Say:
"The next circle is the cambium." Choose 3 students to form
a ring around the xylem. Instruction: Stand on your tip toes
and make a sound like you're stretching.
Phloem:
4. The phloem is the pipeline for the food supply from the
leaves to the rest of the tree. The phloem brings the sugar
(glucose) to the rest of the tree bringing sugar in the leaves is
called photosynthesis. Four people are needed to form a ring
facing the cambium. Instruction: Your sound will start on a
high pitched tone and go downward. "Wh000000p." Let's
practice; add arm movements beginning above your head
and end at your, feet, Repeat.
Bark:
5. Bark protects the tree from insects, disease, etc. Bark has to
stretch. That is why there are cracks. Five or more students
are to form the outer circle of the tree with out- stretched
arms making fingertips touch and "bark".
6. Anyone leftover? You are beetles, termites, or woodpeckers
trying to get in and out of the tree. Insects "buzz", Woodpeckers "tap". Termites "chomp".
7. Let's review each role one at a time. You are now a working
tree. Repeat steps 1-5 now.
8. When you hear the chain saw that is our signal to cut the tree
sounds.
9. Okay, Let's work together until we hear the chain saw which
cuts the tree down.
10.Now all is quiet, because the living tree ceases to exist.
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Section 4
Succession
last, is a climax community. In the 1920s this area was a cornfield as part of the Schramm farm. Study the drawing below. Student's sketchings, "Seeing Succession", will be used during
follow-up activities in the classroom.
Click here for video
Time:
15-20 minutes
Succession Diagram
Predicting Community Change
Communities change with time. Scientists have observed many
of these changes and can use their observations to predict future changes. Communities develop/change over time. First,
the lichens and mosses grow on the surface of the soil. Next
the grasses appear. Following are large flowering plant seeds
that blow in and grow among the grasses. Then small shrubs
(coral berries) invade; larger shrubs (sumac and dogwood)
come soon after. The first trees able to survive are often the locust and cedar, because they are protected by sumac and dogwood. Finally, oak and hickory trees begin growing. This, at
Click to enlarge
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Seeing Succession Pages
Teacher page with suggested drawings
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Section 5
Entering the
Forest/Shelf
Fungus Question
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Scroll to 6:42 mark for shelf fungus question
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Section 6
Tree Apartment
House
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Video
Time:
20 minutes
Objectives:
The student will be able to compare and view the forest as the
habitat of various organisms at different levels resulting in biodiversity which is necessary for survival.
Procedure:
1. Stand around the tree and look at the forest from the view as
a rabbit, comparing the forest to an apartment house.
a. The basement - soil: This is where sewage, garbage disposal, plumbing, some storage, and the foundation are
found. The rest of the forest stands on this foundation.
Also some storage is found here. Dig into the soil with
your fingers. How does it feel? What are the counterparts
of the above in this forest?
Sewage - nature's trash (waste products)
Garbage - bacteria, mold, mildew, fungi
Plumbing - percolation, earthworm tunnels, roots
Storage - spaces between soil particles (air and water)
Foundation - layers of soil
b. The next level (to feed the visitors).
c. As you're going up in the apartment building , you find the
apartments where people live. So, who lives on the first
floor (lower branches) in the forest? (cardinal, mourning
dove, robin, brown thrasher, and bluejay) What do they
eat? (bugs, worms) Who lives in the next few stories up?
(Mid branches -Nut hatches, woodpeckers) What happens
whenever a non-dweller ventures into their apartment
house? (bluejay will warn with a cry or attack) What do
they eat? (bugs, spiders, etc. in the bark)
d. Now you come to the very top or penthouse . Who usually
lives there? Who, in the forest, uses this spectacular view?
(Hawks, great horned owl, orioles)
e. What covers an apartment at the very top? (Roof) What
does it do? What is the comparable part in this forest?
(Canopy) How are these the same? (they deflect rain into
droplets)
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f. Standing, take a look at the lobby. Notice what you can
see that isn't really on the ground but from 2 to 3 feet
above it and is blocking the view of the lobby. Where are
most of the seedlings? What effect do they have on the
floor? Why do they grow here? Compare its leaf with one
from a big tree. Why is it so much larger? (adaptation for
less light). What happens to other kinds of seeds blown or
carried in?(If it's a tree requiring lots of light, there is too
much shade for it to survive.) A climax forest forms a tight
canopy that shuts out light and closes out other kinds of
trees. Succession is the chain of events or stages that
lead to a climax forest community. Besides light, what
other factors influence tree growth that we already
learned? (precipitation and competition)
g. What differences have you noticed between the climax forest and a tree near the clearing? (In the forest they are
straighter, taller. In the clearing they are spreading and not
as tall.) Describe the difference in undergrowth.
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Section 7
Populations in an
Ecosystem Ecostrip
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Time:
45 minutes
Objective:
Students will observe and record the plant and animal inhabitants of an ecostrip discovering interrelationships and interdependencies.
Procedure:
1. Students may be grouped (3 to 6) at this time. Have 2 per
section,(on 1 meter by 10 meters on a slope.)
2. Walk the entire length of the ecostrip outside the boundary,
record 1st observations-using your senses.
3. Record any questions that your group is curious about on the
student record sheet.
4. Share your teacher-made topographical study of the ecostrip
5. Complete the topographical profile - note elevations of highest and lowest points.
6. Draw plants on your Vegetation Map, using symbols to represent what has been found. (Mapmaking)
7. Observe and record light amounts in ecostrip.
8. Survey ecostrip to count various types of plants and animals,
listing/drawing them and their location in the ecostrip. (Report
if blooming, dying, or dead).
Teacher Information:
• "Position" on Population Student Sheet refers to downslope,
mid, and upslope.
• Seedling - little trees; trunks less than 1 inch diameter
• Saplings -little trees; trunks 1 in. to 3 in. in diameter
• Shrubs -multi-stemmed woody plants
• Forbes - soft green stemmed plants
• Grasses - multi-stemmed, thin blades for leaves
Reconvene: Before leaving the Ecostrip Area.
9. Discuss findings as they are recorded to appraise them in relation to each other's recordings. Points to be considered and
discussed:
a. Does the direction of the slope of the land effect the
amount of light available? Give examples to prove your answer.
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b. How does the light effect where the various plants are
growing?
c. What is the relationship of the plants to the topography of
your ecostrip?
d. What are the dominant plants in your ecostrip?
e. Is there any evidence of change from one kind or community to another present? Describe. (tree seedlings or saplings- back to forest; more broad leaf plants than
grass show succession)
f. What is the relationship of the animals you found to the
plants present? (food and protection for animals)
Ecosystem Populations
Description
1. Use your senses (feeling, smelling, sight, hearing) to make
observations as you take your first walk through the Ecostrip.
2. Write at least two questions that have popped into your mind
as you walked the Ecostrip.
Procedure:
Divide your Ecostrip into regions among the members of your
group. Record your findings and share and discuss them with
other members of your group.
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Student Data Collection in Ecostrip
Light Check in Ecostrip
Student recording sheet example
Plant population in an ecostrip
• What evidence is there of human impact in the area? (outside
of ecostrip, fewer plants, worn away soil)
• Defend: "People hold the environment's future in their hands."
• What is the relationship between slope and the populations of
plants and animals, light and the environment (canopy) - how
do each influence each other?
Light Check of Ecostrip
Compare the amount present to that of an open field on a
sunny day. Use slightly less, moderately less, half as much,
much less, practically none, and dark.
Discuss:
• What changes can be seen from one end of the ecostrip to
the other?(refer to population charts)
• What, do you think, has influenced these changes? (amount
of light, rain that soaked in- depends on slope. The more
slope, the less water soaks in.)
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Section 8
Measurement of a
Slope
3. Place the second yardstick (B) perpendicular to the first yardstick at the 33 1/3 inch mark on the first yardstick (A). The
bottom (#1) of the second yardstick must be on the ground.
4. The number of inches on the second yardstick (where they
intersect) is then multiplied by three which will give the % of
the slope.
Time:
20 minutes
Objective:
The students will be able to measure slope of land to determine
the best usage of the land.
Materials:
• 2 yardsticks for each set of partners or group
• 1 oblong aspirin bottle or baby food jar half filled with colored
water (red, yellow, or blue)
Measuring the slope:
1. Place vertical ruler at 33 1/3 in.
mark on horizontal yardstick.
2. Record inches
Distance from ground to 1st yardstick,
____inches ______inches X 3 =
________% slope.
Best usage of this measured slope
0/0
of slope
0%-6%
Degree of slope
Level to gently sloping
Gently to strongly
sloping
Use of land
Ok to farm
Procedure:
6%-18%
Difficult to farm
1. Place one yardstick (A) flat on the ground on the top of
slope.
2. Raise the yardstick until itʼs level (use pen level until bubble
is centered).
18%-25%
Steep
Pasture, woodland, recreation
25%-over
Very Steep
No farming, used for forestry&
wildlife
<Character Tree Sketch page follows in student book>
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Section 9
Rotten Log
Procedure:
1. Anywhere on the current Deer Stalkers Trail locate a rotting
log.
2. Have students investigate the log and record findings. Give
the students time to discover by themselves. If need be,
point out: snail shells, spider, fungi, mycelium, etc.
3. Notice the size and type of trees in the area. At some locations on this trail there are very small trees indicating a previous clearing. Try to elicit the reason.
Click here for video
Time:
20 minutes
<Rotten log recording sheet on next page>
Objective:
Students will analyze a rotting log to record evidence of
its recycling role in the nitrogen cycle.
Concept:
"Living things replace each other" - Succession
Materials:
• Rotten log record sheet
• Hand lenses
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Rotten Log Record Sheet
1. List the living plants in or on the log: (see picture below for
student record sheet)
2. List evidence in or on the log of animals: (see picture below
for student record sheet)
3. How does this log help new plants to grow in this community?
4. What effect do the animals have on the log?
5. What will eventually become of this log?
6. Remember to sketch in your journals or on the paper provided.
Rotten Log Record Sheet
Click to enlarge
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Section 10
Measuring the
Value of a Natural
Resource
Materials:
• 6 yard or meter sticks
• students in pairs
Procedure: 11-1 Method
1. Start at the base of the object to be measured.
2. Walk eleven paces in a straight line away from the tree trunk.
3. First student places the yardstick perpendicular to the
ground. #1 at the ground.
4. Second student takes one more pace (same size as previous
11 paces) along the same straight line.
5. Then lie down on the ground upon your side. Use the yardstick to sight with your lower eye the tip of the tree against
the yard stick. HAVE YOUR EYE AS CLOSE TO THE
GROUND AS POSSIBLE.
Click here for video
Time:
15 minutes
Objective:
Students will be able to estimate the height of a tree using the
11-1 method for its board-feet sale value.
Teacher Information:
Trees in Nebraska are a valuable, renewable natural resource.
Commercial value of a tree is related to the number of board
feet of a tree. In order to obtain this, they measure the height,
diameter, and girth of the tree. This activity provides partial information, the height, to find the value of a tree.
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6. Using the imaginary line formed from the top of the tree to
your lower eye, note on the yardstick where that line crosses,
and you have the height of the tree.
7. The height read on the yardstick in inches is equal to the
height of the object in feet. (33 inches = 33 for board length)
Discuss:
Trees are a renewable natural resource because of their life
spans of about 70 years. Cottonwood trees in Nebraska are
sold as shipping palates.
Diagram - click to enlarge
How to set up your measurement.
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Section 11
Sneaky Feet
1. Pick one child to be a great horned owl. Explain that the owl
has been blinded and now it can only hunt by using his/her
hearing.
2. Then draw two lines about 20 yards apart and have all the
"rabbits" (students) stand behind one of the lines.
3. The owl is then placed half way between the two lines ; blindfolded. The "rabbits" are then told that to safely survive the
night they must walk to the other side. Once they are on the
other side, they are to make NO NOISE.
4. Explain that when the owl hears a noise, it will point to the
sound. If the sound is a "rabbit", it must go back to the start
and try again (teachers can regulate this by keeping an eye
on the activity and calling out the name of the caught rabbit),
5. Switch owls about every 2-3 rounds.
Click here for video
Time:
10 minutes
Objective:
The students will demonstrate an understanding of survival due
to behavioral adaptation.
Materials:
Discussion Questions:
• blindfold
1. How did you, the owl, know the rabbits were in a specific
place?
2. Which rabbits made it across easily and why?
3. Who had a tough time? Which rabbits were obviously spotted?
4. What did the owls learn?
Procedure:
Discuss the dominant human sense (sight). Other animals have
dominant senses (owls-hearing, raptors-sight, deer-smell,
shrews and moles-touch, toads-taste). How can we adapt when
sight is taken away? How do you feel without sight?
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5. Which would be easier for the prey to cross - a dirt trail or
one with dry leaves? Why?
NOTE:
As rabbits run they make more noise and are caught more easily. Explain that sneaking by and walking on toes is quieter. Rabbits who have made it past the owl will have their backs to the
owl and will not notice if they are being pointed to. Help owl by
calling the name of a rabbit if pointed to.
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