Fire! The Renewal of a Forest

by Celia Godkin

Our new schoolyear is fast approaching!  Since forest fire season is here, for the first few weeks of school one of our focuses will be the study of forest fires.  Throughout planning this unit, I've been quite amazed at all I've learned.  The above book, Fire! The Renewal of a Forest, is a book that I stumbled upon quite by accident.  My son had picked it off the shelf at the library at the very last minute one day as we were leaving.  Before we had a chance to read it, he unexpectedly went into the hospital for two weeks.

The day after we got back home, he picked it up and asked me to read it to him as he was getting ready for bed that night.  By the time I was done with the last page, I was in tears!  The story is not only about forest fires, but also about the beneficial renewing process that comes as a result of the harsh fire.  This personally really hit home with me after going through such a trial in our lives.  After reading it, my son and I had one of the most wonderful talks about what had happened to him, and where was God when it happened.  This book is so beautifully written with rich engaging colorful illustrations.  This definitely qualified as a "living book" for me.  I couldn't wait to purchase it for ourselves.

Also that very night, while I was so inspired, I sat and wrote up some unit study ideas to use with the book.

If you would like to download these unit study ideas click Forest Fires Unit.  This is a Word file.

Literature Unit Study Ideas:

Fire! The Renewal of a Forest, by Celia Godkin

BIBLE:

~ The main theme through the book is the renewal and new birth of a forest after a fire.

Main Verse – 1 Peter 1:3-9

Verses about Renewal and New Birth –

2 Corinthians 4:16

Ephesians 4:22-24

John 3:1-16

1 Peter 1:23

1 Peter 3:12-14

Revelation 21:1-3

Verses about Beneficial Refining –

Isaiah 48:10

Daniel 11:35

Also discuss the two different types of Lodgepole Pinecones

– one which spreads it seeds normally and one which requires fire in order to

open and spread it’s seeds.

SCIENCE:

Ecosystems, Balance In

Boreal (or Taiga) Forests

Forest Fires

Fire: What is it?

Evergreen Trees – Spruce, Pine, Fir

Deciduous Trees – Aspen

Seedlings and Underground Roots and Stems

Wind-Bourne Seeds – Dandelion, Fireweed, Aspen, Birch

Lighting – Heat Lightning, Dangers Of

Drought

Animals – Black Bear, White-Tailed Deer, Coyote, Groundhog, Deer Mouse, Pileated Woodpecker,

Cedar Waxwing, Red-Tailed Hawk, Red Squirrel, Snowshoe Hare, Red Admiral Butterfly, Grasshopper, Bumblebee, Two-Spotted Ladybug, Spruce Grouse

Lodgepole Pine - Research this tree whose life cycle is dependent on fire. Examine the plant’s role in that particular ecosystem. Then illustrate the life cycle of this plant and the role that fire plays in helping it successfully complete the life cycle.

- Watch video (Lodgepole Pine) at: http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/insideyellowstone/videolist.htm

GEOGRAPHY:

Maps ~

Boreal Forests of North America

Occurrence of Forest Fires - http://www.smokeybear.com/wildfire-map.asp

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Vocabulary/Grammar/Spelling Word List ~

**identify the part of speech, look-up definition (act out if like), use in a sentence, spelling practice

            kindling                         nibbled

            ablaze                            greenery

            clearing                         scorched

            burrow                           shriveled

            raged                             soggy

            spattered                      shoots

            fizzled                            scurried

Creative Writing ~

- Pick an object in nature and bring it to life by using creative descriptive terms.

Examples from book:

                                    Raindrops hissed and spattered on the hot embers

                                    Breeze Whispered

                                    Leaf Stirred

                                    Lightning snapped and crackled

                                    Storm clouds gathered

Journal/Blog Ideas ~

                                    Book Review

                                    The two ways forest fires are started

                                    How does life return to a forest after a fire?

                                    Forest Fires – good or bad?

                                    Nature Topic

Dictation ~

- Choose a passage from book to dictate.

Narration ~

- Narrate story back

Author Highlight ~

- Celia Godkin – google search and check out some of her other books

ART:

Nature Journal Entry ~

            Drawing of forest animal

            Draw a picture of a scene from a boreal forest

            Use diagram at the back of book “View of a Wilderness Forest” to recreate in journal;

or choose one area of wilderness to illustrate and label characteristics.

Supplemental Books/Movies:

Forest Fire, by Mary Ann Fraser

The Charcoal Forest, by Peluso

Fire Storm, by Jean Craighead George

A Walk in the Boreal Forest, by Rebecca Johnson

Fire in the Forest: A Cycle of Growth and Renewal, by Pringle and Marshall

            (caution, a mention of “millions of years”)

Fire: Friend or Foe, by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

Bambi – Walt Disney

Fantasia 2000 – Walt Disney

            Watch the Firebird Suite:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTSSIzBxIwg

Websites:

http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/insideyellowstone/videolist.htm

- Yellowstone Park Video List (Watch Lodgepole Pine, and Wildland Fire Overview)

http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/slidefile/fire/index.htm

- Yellowstone Park Photo Digital Images from Wildfires

http://www.smokeybear.com/

- Smokey Bear

http://www.smokeybear.com/wildfire-map.asp

- Real-time wildfire map

http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm

- National Interagency Fire Center

http://www.fs.fed.us/

- U.S. Forest Service

http://www.nps.gov/fire/educational/edu_tea_lessonplans.cfm

- Fire Ecology Educator’s Lesson Plans

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/forestfires/#pro

- Discovery Education Forest Fires Lesson Plan