PreKinders
Forest Word Cards
Explore the animals of the forest with a set of vocabulary cards. Each half-page card features the name of an animal with a corresponding photograph, as well as a few plants.
KOG Ranger Program
Fantastic Forests
The forest is a wonderland of plants, animals, and flourishing life within the ecosystem. Use a crossword puzzle and an unscrambling activity to teach future rangers about the beauty and characteristics of the forest and its inhabitants.
Curated OER
School Forest
Sixth graders explore the concept of biodiversity. In this biodiversity instructional activity, 6th graders discover a variety of planets and animals that live in forests, and how a rotting log benefits that environment. Students also...
Curated OER
Forests Need People
In this forests and people instructional activity, 3rd graders brainstorm what forests are used for, discuss forest habitats, and how human interventions have affected trees and animals that depend on the forest environment. Students...
Curated OER
Forest In A Jar
Students conduct an experiment using soil, water, seeds, a plant, and a jar; and then draw a poster to represent their observations and findings. They make a poster showing what happened to their aquatic environment.
Curated OER
Glacier Bay - The Kelp Forest
Few people get to visit Alaska's Glacier Bay, and fewer yet go underwater to explore its kelp forest. Through this presentation, viewers get to do just that! In the process, they learn about the simple structure of kelp and the diverse...
Curated OER
Forest History for Kids
Students explore the Forest and the vocabulary associated with it. In this Forest instructional activity, students take the roles of photographer and reporter to examine an area of land for evidence of past life. Students take a close-up...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate and Forest Ecosystem Services
Forests, through sequestration, capture excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and store it, aiding in climate change. The third installment in a four-part series on how climate impacts forests explores carbon sequestration. Classes...
Rainforest Alliance
Who Takes Care of the Maya Forest Corridor?
Who keeps animals safe? Who keeps us safe? Discover the helpers that make learning and growing possible through a medley of activities that focus on habitats—ours and those in the rainforest. Scholars are asked to identify one helper who...
Curated OER
Deforestation: Can We See the Forest for the Trees?
Students examine the cause and effect of deforestation and investigate possible solutions. They read and discuss an article, write an essay, and conduct research for a project involving a forest management interview, or analyzing uses of...
Curated OER
Taking a Stand: Pros and Cons of Forest Fires
Students explain the components of fire, explain how forest fires impact man and the environment, analyze data in order to recognize areas that are at risk for forest fires, make recommendations based on research.
Curated OER
Layers of the Forest- Leaf Litter
Young scholars conduct an experiment. In this temperate forest lesson, students discuss what kind of animal life can be found in the forest. They read The Magic School Bus Meets the Rot Squad: A Book About Decomposition and complete an...
Curated OER
Marine & Aquatic Habitats Activities - Terrestrial Forests vs. Kelp Forests
Students discuss concept and specificity of habitats, both marine and terrestrial, list similarities and differences in the habitats of a kelp forest and a terrestrial forest, compare types of organisms that occupy corresponding types of...
Curated OER
The World's Forests
Students examine the world's forests. In this forest lesson, students gain knowledge about the sustainability of forests. Students break into groups and brainstorm why forests are so important to our world. Students discuss what can be...
Curated OER
Land Environments
In this land environments worksheet, students will complete a table by filling in the climate, dominant plants, and characteristic animals for 6 different habitats.
Curated OER
Tropical Forest Food Chain
Learners explore the interdependence of the animals and plants in tropical rainforests. They explore the importance of conserving biodiversity and tropical food chains. They create a tropical forest food chain and identify species that...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
American Indians and their Environment
People could take a page in ingenuity and survival from the Powhatans. Deer skins became clothes, and the members of the Native American group farmed the rich Virginia soil and hunted in its forests for food. Using images of artifacts...
Curated OER
Forest Canopies: View from the Top
Students examine the economic and ecological benefits of forest canopies. They read and discuss an article, answer questions, conduct research, draw field sketches of a canopy ecosystem, conduct a feasibility study, or prepare tourist...
Curated OER
The Community Forest
Fourth graders plant a tree. For this sustainable forestry lesson, 4th graders define community forest and brainstorm a location to plant a new tree on the school grounds. Students learn how to plant a tree and discuss choosing an...
Curated OER
Imagine a Kelp Forest
Students write a story based on their research of the kelp forest. In this ecosystem lesson, students view a video and research the kelp forest ecosystem. They write a short story imagining the discovery of a new species in the kelp forest.
Curated OER
Mangrove Loss Faster than Land-Based Forests
Middle schoolers explore the reasons Mangrove forests are in jeopardy. In this lesson, students read an article that discusses specific facts on Mangrove forests, then complete numerous activities that reinforce the information, such as...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Impacts of Climate on Forest Succession
Part two in a series of four explores the effects of climate on succession or the changing of plant species in a forest. Groups review how to identify trees and then spend a day in the field collecting extensive data on trees to...
Curated OER
Forest Fun
Students explore orienteering and how to use a compass. They explore the importance of forests and identify some of the trees in a local forest.
Curated OER
Animal Adaption to Environment
Students explore the concept of adaptation as a means of surviving in varied environments. They discuss human adaptations and then view slideshows and video that present animal adaptations in the following environments: cold regions,...