**CARING FOR OUR FORESTS - A Legacy of Stewardship**

**A Global Studies and English unit for 7th grade by Wanda Seeley
Stetson\
Woodstock Union Middle School, Woodstock, Vermont**

This is a Global Studies and English unit that is ideally designed as
part of a forest-focused, across the curriculum unit, which would
complement work being done in the subject specific areas of math,
science, and physical education of a typical middle school in Vermont.
This unit could also stand on its own in terms of a place-based unit
using forests as its focal point.

The lessons presented for implementation in Global Studies / Social
Studies and English classes have a two-pronged emphasis. First, is the
issue of grounding students in their awareness of the place in which
they live. Through trips into the field, discussing the natural and
cultural elements of their environment, nature journaling, and reading
the landscape, students will develop a deeper understanding and
appreciation for their immediate environment. A central goal is for them
to feel an emotional connectedness to their place and to shape a desire
to be stewards of that environment. Secondly, the students will acquire
the observational skills to read the changes that have taken place in
that environment in the past and strengthen their determination to
promote practices that will lead to the sustainability of forests for
the future.

Our culminating activity will be an orienteering activity, which is a
recreational use of the forest.

**The essential questions addressed in this unit:**\
How can we use our forests sustainably?\
What do forests mean to us?\
How have forests changed over time?\
How can we use our forests and ensure their long term health?\
What is forest stewardship?

**Unit Overview**

**Unit focus Question**: How can we use our forests sustainably?\
**Sub Questions:** What do forests mean to us?\
How have forests changed over time?\
How can we use our forests and ensure their long term health? What is
forest stewardship?

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    **Caring for our Forests - A Legacy of Stewardship**

  Lesson 1                                                                          Natural / Cultural Features & Mental Map home to school

  Lesson 2                                                                          Five Themes of Geography

  [Lesson                                                                           Nature Journal
  3](http://www.nps.gov/archive/mabi/mabi/education/forestclassroom/stetson3.htm)   

  Lesson 4                                                                          Forests: Past, Present, and Future - A Forester\'s
                                                                                    Presentation

  Lesson 5                                                                          Forests and People - Uses of the Forest

  [Lesson                                                                           Reading the Forested Landscape (Read aloud, Activity,
  6](http://www.nps.gov/archive/mabi/mabi/education/forestclassroom/stetson6.htm)   Slides)

  Lesson 7                                                                          Sustainable Forest Use (Field Trip)

  Lesson 8                                                                          Local Heroes: Marsh, Billings, Rockefellers

  Culminating event                                                                 ORIENTEERING ON MT. TOM

  Final Products                                                                    (Essay, Timeline, bookmark) and Unit Test

  Service Component                                                                 Sustainability Essays printed in the VERMONT STANDARD
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------

**Caring for Our Forests - A Legacy of Stewardship\
Grade 7 English and Global Studies Component**

**Essential Question: How can we use our forests sustainably?**

+---------------+--------------+------------+-----------+------------+
| **Standards** | **Criteria** | **Learning | *         | **As       |
|               |              | and        | *Products | sessment** |
|               |              | Teaching   | and       |            |
|               |              | Ac         | Perfo     |            |
|               |              | tivities** | rmances** |            |
+---------------+--------------+------------+-----------+------------+
| 1.5 Writing   | Define "Our  | \*In       |           |            |
| Dimensions:   | Place" based | troduction |           |            |
| Students      | on its       | to the     |           |            |
| draft,        | natural and  | unit:      |           |            |
| revise, edit, | cultural     | \"Forest   |           |            |
| and critique  | features and | Frolics\"  |           |            |
| written       | how each     | field trip |           |            |
| products      | shapes our   | to Mt.     |           |            |
|               | lives Lesson | Tom----    |           |            |
| 1.12 aa       | #1\          | part of    |           |            |
| Students      | \            | the        |           |            |
| relate        | Share        | Marsh-     |           |            |
| personal      | information  | Billings-R | Group     | Student    |
| experiences   | in a class   | ockefeller | work and  | and        |
| to concepts,  | presentation | National   | Mental    | teachers   |
| patterns, and | Lesson #2\   | Historical | Map of    | Rating     |
| ideas in a    | \            | Park in    | from Home | Assessment |
| personal      | Clearly      | Woodstock, | to School | sheet      |
| Nature        | write        | Vermont,   | with      |            |
| Journal\      | journal      | led by     | natural   |            |
| \             | entries      | park       | and       |            |
| 1.12 c        | based on\    | rangers.   | cultural  |            |
| Students      | concrete     |            | features  |            |
| establish a   | occasions    | Forest     |           | Rubric for |
| commonplace,  | (observing   | o          | Group     | Oral       |
| concrete      | nature) and  | bservation | work and  | Pre        |
| occasion      | reflections  | a          | oral      | sentations |
| (observing    | Lesson #3\   | ctivities: | pre       |            |
| nature) as a  | \            | color      | sentation |            |
| context for   | Understand   | paint chip | on a      |            |
| the           | how our      | match,     | theme\    |            |
| reflection    | forests have | favorite   | of        |            |
|               | changed over | tree       | geography | Nature     |
| 1.15 Students | time Lesson  | d          | as it     | Journal    |
| use verbal    | #4\          | iscussion, | relates   | Checklist  |
| and nonverbal | \            | bat and    | to Place  | and Nature |
| skills to     | Understand   | moth\      | (W        | Journal    |
| express       | continuity   | \          | oodstock, | and        |
| themselves    | and change   | Lesson #1: | VT)       | Reflection |
| effectively   | and the      | Defining   |           | Page       |
|               | implications | Natural/   | Nature    |            |
| 3.9 dd        | for the\     | Cultural   | Journal   | See        |
| Students      | future       | Features   | entries   | annotated  |
| demonstrate   | Lessons #5 & | in our     | over 6    | drawings   |
| an            | #6\          | en         | week      | of forest  |
| understanding | \            | vironment\ | period\   | succession |
| that natural  | Understand   | \* Field   | (perhaps  | checklist  |
| and human     | that forests | Trip       | more)     | in Lesson  |
| communities   | can be used  | around the |           | #6 and     |
| are part of   | sustainably  | school     | Pa        | unit test  |
| larger        | Lesson #7\   | property   | rticipate | at         |
| systems       | \            |            | in class  | conclusion |
| (e.g.,        | Site         | Lesson #2: | di        |            |
| forests as    | examples and | Exploring  | scussion; | Group      |
| part of our   | understand   | Our Place  | answer    | discussion |
| regional      | the value of | through    | questions | to fill in |
| economy) and  | forests and  | the Five   | related   | Class      |
| that the      | their        | Themes of  | to        | Graphic    |
| relationships | ecological,  | Geography\ | indicator | Organizer  |
| between all   | economic,    | \          | species   | on the     |
| systems       | and social   | Lesson #3: | of forest | E          |
| affect their  | value        | Writing    | s         | cological, |
| s             | Lessons #5 & | and        | uccession | Economic,  |
| ustainability | #8           | Drawing in | (info to  | and Social |
|               |              | the        | be used\  | Value of   |
| 4.5aa         |              | Field:\    | more      | Forests    |
| Students      |              | Keeping a  | ex        |            |
| understand    |              | Nature     | tensively | A          |
| continuity    |              | Journal\   | in Lesson | checklist  |
| and change    |              | \*         | #6)       | of         |
| and that      |              | F          |           | indicator  |
| perceptions   |              | reewriting | A Graphic | species    |
| of change are |              | and Nature | Organizer | for each   |
| based on      |              | O          | on the    | stage of   |
| personal      |              | bservation | Value of  | forest     |
| experiences,  |              | outdoors\  | Forests   | succession |
| historical    |              | \* Blind,  |           |            |
| and social    |              | modified,  | An        | Rubric for |
| conditions,   |              | and        | annotated | addressing |
| and the       |              | d          | drawing   | a timeline |
| implications  |              | iagramable | of the    |            |
| of the change |              | contour\   | five      | Checklist  |
| for the       |              | drawing    | stages of | for the    |
| future        |              |            | forest    | notations  |
|               |              | Lesson #4: | s         | at each    |
| 4.6 bb        |              | Forests:   | uccession | site       |
| Students      |              | Past,      |           |            |
| explore the   |              | Present,   | Group     |            |
| inte          |              | and        | work      |            |
| rrelationship |              | Future\    |           | Rubric for |
| between the   |              | \* Slide   | A         | Assessing  |
| local         |              | Pr         | h         | Essays and |
| environment   |              | esentation | istorical | Co         |
| and the local |              | by Gary    | timeline  | mpositions |
| community by  |              | Salmon,    | of        |            |
| identifying   |              | Vt.        | V         |            |
| natural and   |              | Department | ermont\'s |            |
| cultural      |              | of         | forest    | An         |
| features in   |              | Forests,   | loss and  | evaluative |
| the place     |              | Parks, and | recovery\ | checklist  |
|               |              | R          | \         | for        |
| 5.15 Students |              | ecreation\ | A site    | assessing  |
| design and    |              | \* Read,   | data      | and        |
| create media  |              | highlight, | sheet     | i          |
| products that |              | and        | i         | nformative |
| successfully  |              | discuss    | ndicating | bookmark   |
| communicate   |              | article    | forest    |            |
| information   |              | \"What are | s         |            |
|               |              | Forests?   | uccession |            |
| 6.16 f        |              | Dynamic    | and       |            |
| Students\     |              | Ec         | evidence  |            |
| understand    |              | osystems\" | of past   |            |
| how choices   |              |            | land use  |            |
| within an     |              | Lesson #5: |           |            |
| economic      |              | Forests    | Using the |            |
| system affect |              | and        | Graphic   |            |
| the           |              | People\    | Organizer |            |
| environment   |              | \*         | on the    |            |
| in the local  |              | Pre-lesson | Value of  |            |
| community and |              | article\   | forests   |            |
| beyond        |              | \"Why Do   | to write  |            |
| (             |              | We Need    | a 3-5     |            |
| deforestation |              | Forests?"  | paragraph |            |
| vs.           |              | and        | essay     |            |
| sustainable   |              | "Threats\  | focusing  |            |
| use           |              | to our     | on        |            |
|               |              | Forests\"\ | susta     |            |
| 6.4 dd        |              | \* Lesson  | inability |            |
| Students      |              | Intro -    | and how   |            |
| identify      |              | Read aloud | its       |            |
| major         |              | Dr.        | practiced |            |
| historical    |              | Seuss\'    | by 2      |            |
| eras and      |              | The Lorax\ | local     |            |
| analyze       |              | \* Think!  | b         |            |
| periods of    |              | Pair/      | usinesses |            |
| transition in |              | Share      |           |            |
| various times |              | Graphic    | An        |            |
| in their      |              | Organizer  | in        |            |
| local         |              | on the     | formative |            |
| community and |              | e          | bookmark  |            |
| Vermont by    |              | cological, | that      |            |
| discovering   |              | economic,  | could be  |            |
| how changes   |              | and social | used as a |            |
| in farming    |              | value of   | souvenir  |            |
| affected      |              | forests\   | for a     |            |
| forest        |              | \*Model    | visitor   |            |
| patterns in   |              | and        | of        |            |
| Vermont\      |              | practice\  | Marsh-    |            |
| \             |              | writing a  | Billings- |            |
| 6.7 cc        |              | 3-5        | Ro        |            |
| Students      |              | paragraph  | ckefeller |            |
| create a      |              | essay      | National  |            |
| thematic,     |              |            | H         |            |
| mental /      |              | Lesson #6: | istorical |            |
| rep           |              | Reading    | Park      |            |
| resentational |              | the        |           |            |
| map for home  |              | Forested   |           |            |
| school that   |              | Landscape\ |           |            |
| includes      |              | \* Read    |           |            |
| spatial data  |              | aloud      |           |            |
| of major      |              | William    |           |            |
| natural and   |              | Jasper's   |           |            |
| cultural      |              | How the    |           |            |
| features      |              | Forest     |           |            |
| found along   |              | Grew\      |           |            |
| their route\  |              | \*         |           |            |
| \             |              | S          |           |            |
| 6.8 Students  |              | tonewalls, |           |            |
| analyze the   |              | Stumps,    |           |            |
| factors and   |              | and        |           |            |
| implications  |              | F          |           |            |
| associated    |              | oundations |           |            |
| with the      |              | activity\  |           |            |
| historical    |              | \* Slide   |           |            |
| and           |              | Pre        |           |            |
| contemporary  |              | sentation: |           |            |
| movements and |              | Reading    |           |            |
| settlements   |              | the        |           |            |
| of peoples    |              | Forested   |           |            |
| and group in  |              | Landscape\ |           |            |
| various times |              | \* Field   |           |            |
| in their      |              | Trip to    |           |            |
| local         |              | Grove Hill |           |            |
| community and |              | to read    |           |            |
| Vermont by    |              | the        |           |            |
| describing    |              | landscape  |           |            |
| the impact of |              | (see       |           |            |
| migration     |              | below)\    |           |            |
| physical      |              | \          |           |            |
| systems       |              | Lesson #7: |           |            |
| (forests)     |              | S          |           |            |
|               |              | ustainable |           |            |
|               |              | Forest     |           |            |
|               |              | Use\       |           |            |
|               |              | \* Field   |           |            |
|               |              | Trip to    |           |            |
|               |              | Maplecrest |           |            |
|               |              | Farm and   |           |            |
|               |              | Charles    |           |            |
|               |              | Shackleton |           |            |
|               |              | Furniture  |           |            |
|               |              | to         |           |            |
|               |              | understand |           |            |
|               |              | s          |           |            |
|               |              | ustainable |           |            |
|               |              | use of     |           |            |
|               |              | forests    |           |            |
|               |              | today\     |           |            |
|               |              | \          |           |            |
|               |              | Lesson #8: |           |            |
|               |              | Our Local  |           |            |
|               |              | Heroes:    |           |            |
|               |              | Marsh,     |           |            |
|               |              | Billings,  |           |            |
|               |              | and the    |           |            |
|               |              | Ro         |           |            |
|               |              | ckefellers |           |            |
|               |              | \* Reading |           |            |
|               |              | on Marsh,  |           |            |
|               |              | Billings,  |           |            |
|               |              | and        |           |            |
|               |              | Ro         |           |            |
|               |              | ckefellers |           |            |
|               |              | \* Video:  |           |            |
|               |              | A Place in |           |            |
|               |              | the Land   |           |            |
+---------------+--------------+------------+-----------+------------+

**LESSON #3: Writing and Drawing in the Field\
Keeping a Nature Journal**

**Focusing Question:** What do forests mean to us?\
\
**Vermont Standards addressed:**

1.12 aa Students relate personal experiences to concepts, patterns, and
ideas in a personal Nature Journal

1.12 c Students establish a commonplace, concrete occasion (observing
nature) as a context for the reflection

**Length of Lesson:** Two 40-minute class periods to introduce nature
journal writing and drawing. Ongoing journaling September-October.

**Resources/Materials:**

*Keeping a Nature Journal, a Naturalist\'s Sketchbook* by Clare Walker
Leslie

> *Into the Field* by Leslie, Tallmadge, and Wessels
>
> Clipboards, lined and unlined paper, pencils

**Procedure:** 

Day One:

1.  Read and discuss Robert Frost\'s \"*Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy
    Evening*.\" Students will have identified a special, wooded place
    within a 5 minute walk from their houses and drawn a mental map from
    their homes to the spot as previous night\'s homework. Discuss
    features that make these spots special to the students.

2.  Take the students outside and discuss writing in the wild and
    providing specific names for features, river, tree and plant names.
    Begin with some free writing activities as described by John
    Tallmadge in his essay *\'Writing as a Window into Nature*' in *Into
    the Field* pp. 8-9, encouraging students to use detail in their
    writing. Move on the Giving Voice to the Voiceless activity on pp.
    18-19 and have students volunteer to share their writing.

3.  Return to the classroom and go over Keeping a Nature Journal
    Requirements sheet for entries 1-6 of their own journals and show
    examples from Clare Walker Leslie\'s *Sketchbook*.

Day Two: Contour Line Drawing of a leaf

1.  See *Keeping a Nature Journal* pp. 141-143, exercises 1-5, using
    leaves that are randomly chosen.

2.  After four-five exercises collect leaves and hand out again, having
    each student identify the leaf they carefully drew.

3.  For homework students must include line drawings of three different
    leaves in their next journal entry.

**Assessment:**

Students will: Complete a Reflection Page after writing Entry 6 and
rereading all six entries.

Teacher will: Nature Journal Checklist as an assessment

**LESSON #6: Reading the Forested Landscape**

**Focusing Question:** How have forests changed over time?\
\
**Vermont Standards addressed:**

4.5 aa Students understand continuity and change and that perceptions of
change are based on personal experiences, historical and social
conditions, and the implications of the change for the future

6.4 dd Students identify major historical eras and analyze periods of
transition in various times in their local community and Vermont by
discovering how changes in farming affected forests patterns in Vermont

6.8 Students analyze the factors and implications associated with the
historical and contemporary movements and settlements of peoples and
groups in various times in their local community and in Vermont by
describing the impact of migration on physical systems (forests)

**Length of Lesson:** Two block periods of 70 - 80 minutes each, or four
40 minute class periods and follow-up activity during a field trip to
Grove Hill / Maplecrest Farm.

**Resources/Materials:**

William Jaspersohn\'s *How the Forest Grew*

> Slides: *Reading the Forested Landscape*, adapted from Tom Wessels
> (includes lecture on the history of deforestation / sheep farming /
> and forest recovery in Vermont)
>
> Stonewalls, Stumps, and Foundations adapted from Northern Forest
> Curriculum
>
> *Our Forested History -A Legacy of Stewardship*: a list of nearly 40
> dates / events of historical significance to make a timeline

**Procedure:**

Day One: 70 minute block: Teacher reads aloud William Jaspersohn\'s
story *How the Forest Grew*, students take notes regarding indicator
species and tree species as well as wildlife to emerge at each
successional stage in reforestation.

See outline for lecture and slide presentation

Students will use their notes on succession to prepare an annotated
drawing of each stage entitled *Nothing Succeeds Like Succession*.

Day Two: Lesson plan - Stonewalls, Stumps, and Foundations

**Assessment:**

Students will: 1. Produce annotated drawings of a landscape undergoing
the five stages of succession

2\. Create a vision drawing of how they would like to leave Vermont\'s
landscape in 50 years

3\. Create a timeline which indicates an understanding of the historical
time frame of forest use, deforestation, and reforestation in Vermont
(forest loss and recovery) within the wider view of national and
international historical events

Teacher will: 1. Evaluate the annotated drawings of forest succession
based on a checklist of indicator species for each stage

2\. Assess the timeline using a task specific Rubric