Fire and Fire Suppression

Grade Level: 6-8

Summary: In this lesson, students will examine their assumptions about forest fires. They will learn about the conflicts involved with the forest service's new strategy, and they will study one case where a prescribed natural burn had a significant impact on a later, uncontrolled wildfire.

View the Lesson Plans for this Unit
View the Content Standards

Download Related Documents:
Student Instructions: Hash Rock Fire
Hash Rock Fire Map

Activity 1:
Only You Can Stop Forest Fires
Students will be introduced to the concept of fire management in ecosystems and learn about fire's role in maintaining diversity.

Featured video clips in this activity:

Lake Wales Ridge State Forest Lake Wales Ridge State Forest has started to introduce prescribed fires in order to re-create the natural ecosystem and discourage overgrowth.

Activity 2:

A Heated Debate
Students participate in a roll-playing activity to examine the different issues and interests surrounding the Forest Service's prescribed burning management strategies.

Featured video clips in this activity:

Fighting Fire with Fire The ways that forest fires have been depicted - and dealt with - have changed since the days of Smokey the Bear.

Activity 3:

The Hash Rock Fire: The Impact of Prescription Burns on an Ecosystem
Students will examine the results forest fire to determine the effectiveness of prescription burning.

Featured video clips in this activity:

Prescribed Natural Fires After fighting forest fires for nearly a century, the Forest Service is now experimenting with reintroducing natural fires into the ecosystem.