FireWorks Curriculum 

Featuring Ponderosa, Lodgepole, and 

Whitebark Pine Forests

Jane Kapler Smith and

 Nancy E. McMurray

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

Forest Service 

Rocky Mountain 

Research Station 

Fort Collins, CO 

General Technical 

Report RMRSGTR-65 

September 2000 

Revised Dec. 2002
Abstract 

Smith, Jane Kapler; McMurray, Nancy E. 2000. FireWorks curriculum featuring ponderosa, 

lodgepole, and whitebark pine forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-65. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 270 p. 

FireWorks is an educational program for students in grades 1-10. The program consists of the 

curriculum in this report and a trunk of laboratory materials, specimens, and reference materials. 

It provides interactive, hands-on activities for studying fire ecology, fire behavior, and the 

influences of people on three fire-dependent forest types—Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine), 

Pinus contorta var. latifolia (interior lodgepole pine), and Pinus albicaulis (whitebark pine). 

Wildland fire provides a rich context for education because it promotes understanding and 

integration of numerous concepts: properties of matter, ecosystem fluctuations and cycles, plant 

and animal habitat and survival, and human interactions with ecosystems. The curriculum links 

each activity to national and local educational standards; research has shown it increases student 

understanding of wildland fire. FireWorks is most appropriate for students in locations where the 

three featured tree species occur, and it may serve as a prototype for wildland fire education in 

other geographic areas. 

Keywords: fire ecology, fire behavior, education, habitat, lodgepole pine, management, 

ponderosa pine, succession, whitebark pine, wildlife

This curriculum is on-line, complete with color graphics, at 

http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr65.html

Cover photo—Eighth graders investigate convection and the effect of slope on fire spread. 

For assistance in implementing FireWorks: 

The Internet site www.firelab.org lists FireWorks workshops and locations where trunks 

are available for loan. A CD-ROM containing the curriculum, posters, booklets, and 

handouts used in the FireWorks trunk is available from the authors (Jane Kapler Smith, 

jsmith09@fs.fed.us; Nancy E. McMurray, nmcmurray@fs.fed.us). 

Fort Collins Service Center 

 Telephone (970) 498-1392 

 FAX (970) 498-1396 

 E-mail rschneider/rmrs@fs.fed.us

 Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/rm

 Mailing address Publications Distribution 

 Rocky Mountain Research Station 

 240 W. Prospect Road 

 Fort Collins, CO 80526-2098 
Contents 

 Page Levels1

Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 

FireWorks: Why? ...................................................................................... 1 

 Goals ......................................................................................... 2 

 Fire Ecology Background ........................................................................... 3 

 Fire in North America ..................................................................... 3 

 Fire in Forests Dominated by Ponderosa, Lodgepole, 

 and Whitebark Pines ......................................................... 4 

For Teachers ........................................................................................... 6 

 How to Select Lessons and Provide and Integrated Program ................. 6 

 Links to Educational Standards ....................................................... 8 

 Organization ................................................................................ 10 

 Safety ......................................................................................... 10 

Effectiveness ........................................................................................... 13 

 A Trunk of Your Own? ............................................................................... 13 

Chapter 2. Getting Acquainted with Fire ................................................................. 15 

 Activity 2-1. For Middle and High School: Visiting Wildland Fire .......................... 18 M,H 

 Activity 2-2. For Elementary: Visiting Wildland Fire .......................................... 20 E 

 Activity 2-3. Revisiting Wildland Fire ............................................................. 24 M 

Chapter 3. Burning Questions .............................................................................. 26

 Activity 3-1. For Primary and Elementary: Meeting the Fire Triangle .................... 27 P,E 

 Activity 3-2. For Middle School: Meeting the Fire Triangle ................................. 30 M 

 Activity 3-3. Testing the Fire Triangle ............................................................ 36 P,E,M 

 Activity 3-4. The Fire Triangle in Wildlands ..................................................... 43 M,H 

 Activity 3-5. Bucket Brigade ......................................................................... 49 E,M 

 Activity 3-6. Will It Burn? ............................................................................. 53 H 

 Activity 3-7. Tinker Tree Derby . ................................................................... 62 M,H 

Chapter 4. All in One House .................................................................................. 69 

 Activity 4-1. What’s a Community? ................................................................ 70 P,E 

 Activity 4-2. Tree Portrait, Plant Portrait .......................................................... 74 M 

 Activity 4-3. For Primary: Mystery Trees ......................................................... 79 P 

 Activity 4-4. For Elementary and Middle School: Mystery Trees ........................... 82 E,M 

Chapter 5. Fire History .......................................................................................... 90

 Activity 5-1. For Elementary: Tree Stories ........................................................ 91 E 

 Activity 5-2. For Middle and High School: Tree Stories ....................................... 98 M,H 

 Activity 5-3. Repeating the Story? ............................................................... 103 M,H 

Chapter 6. Tough Plants, Tough Animals ............................................................... 108 

 Activity 6-1. Dead or Alive! .......................................................................... 109 E 

 Activity 6-2. For Primary: Buried Treasure ...................................................... 113 P 

 Activity 6-3. For Elementary and Middle School: Buried Treasure ........................ 116 E,M 

 Activity 6-4. Tree Skin ................................................................................ 120 M,H 

 Activity 6-5. Recipe for a Lodgepole Pine Forest ............................................. 127 E,M 

 Activity 6-6. Designer Trees ......................................................................... 136 E 

Activity 6-7. Great Escape ........................................................................... 140 E 

Chapter 7. Communities in Action .......................................................................... 143 

 Activity 7-1. In the Web ............................................................................... 144 E 

 Activity 7-2. Always Changing ...................................................................... 150 M,H 

 Activity 7-3. Story Time ............................................................................... 157 P,E 

 Activity 7-4. Puzzling It Out .......................................................................... 162 M 

 

1 P=Primary, grades 1-2; E=Elementary, grades 3-5; M=Middle, grades 6-8; H=High, grades 9-12.
Chapter 8. People in Fire’s Homeland .................................................................... 166

 Activity 8-1. A Matter of Choice ................................................................... 167 M,H 

 Activity 8-2. Houses in the Woods ............................................................... 170 E,M,H 

 Activity 8-3. Living with Fire ........................................................................ 176 M,H 

 Activity 8-4. Smoke: In or Out? .................................................................... 181 M,H 

 Activity 8-5. You Decide! ............................................................................ 190 M,H 

 Activity 8-6. Value Choices ......................................................................... 195 H 

Chapter 9. In the Woods ....................................................................................... 199 

 Activity 9-1. Burned Area Scavenger Hunt .................................................... 200 E 

 Activity 9-2. Woods Hunt ........................................................................... 204 M 

Literature Cited .................................................................................................. 210 

Appendices ....................................................................................................... 211 

Appendix 1. Common and Scientific Names of Plants and Fungi ................................... 211 

Appendix 2. Common and Scientific Names of Animals ................................................ 212 

Appendix 3. Other Curricula on Wildland Fire ............................................................. 213 

Appendix 4. Links to Montana State Educational Standards .......................................... 214 

Appendix 5. Glossary ............................................................................................. 239 

Appendix 6. List of FireWorks Handouts.................................................................... 246 

Appendix 7. FireWorks Contents and Trunk Checklists ................................................ 247 

Appendix 8. Assembling a FireWorks Trunk .............................................................. 258 

Appendix 9. Blank Form for FireWorks Cookie Book ................................................... 270 

Acknowledgments 

We are grateful for the funding and support that have made FireWorks possible. The 

project has been supported by grants from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group and the 

U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station and Northern and Intermountain 

Regions. Support from the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project enabled us to 

assess the effectiveness of the program. Visualization software was developed by Bob 

McGaughey, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Teacher workshops 

were sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Stone Container Corporation. The 

staff at the Fire Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, provided constant help 

with logistics, computer challenges, supplies, and administration—as well as moral support. We 

thank Finlay Lumber and Craig Thomas for donated materials. We thank the U.S.D.I. National 

Park Service (Nez Perce National Historic Site) for use of historic photos. 

We have been astounded by the generosity and creativity of the many people who have 

helped us. Thank you! to Mike Ablutz, Ann Acheson, Steve Allison-Bunnell, Mike Anderson, 

Steve Arno, Susan Arthur, Dave Ashworth, Jeff Barney, Bobbi Bartlette, Jan Bixler, Larry 

Bradshaw, Jim Brown, Merlin Brown, Jeane Bruton, Dave Bunnell, Milo Burcham, Clint Carlson, 

Elaine Caton, Mike Chandler, Patti Chism, Michael Christensen, Dave Claman, Jann Clouse, 

Wayne Cook, Suzette Dailey, Mary Ann Davies, Jack deGolia, Mary Lou deRoulhac, Lara 

DeShazer, Terry Diamond, Carolyn Durgin, Maureen Edwards, Carl Fiedler, Rick Franke, Greg 

Fritz, Chelle Fry, D. C. Haas, Susan Hagle, Colin and Conor Hardy, Mick Harrington, Paul Harte, 

Roberta Hilbruner, Janet Howard, Keith Ivers, Ceci Johnson, Cam Johnston, Greg Jones, Bob 

Keane, Chuck Keegan, Robin Kent, Bob Kirkendal, Ed Kleiman, Rick Kline, Micha Krebs, Meg 

Langley, Richard Lasko, Gary Lynam, Anita Maxwell, B. Riley McClelland, Bob McGaughey, Tom 

McIsaac, Jane Micklus, Lisa Mills, Scott Mincemoyer, Bob Mutch, Jenni Newland, Tricia 

O’Connor, Charlie Palmer, Dean Pearson, Bill and Mavis Peterson, Jonell Prather, Linda Ries, 

Elizabeth Reinhardt, Vic Ronck, Frank Rutzke, Kevin Ryan, Joe Scott, Bob Schuette, Gordy 

Sanders, Tom Schilke, Kathy Scofield, Rob Seli, Elizabeth Sharkey, Dennis Simmerman, Amy 

and Garon and Kinnerly Smith, Helen Smith, John and Mariah and Natalie Smith, Linda Smith, 

Wanda Smith, Jane Solem, Paul Sopko, Dave Stalling, Cyndi Stemple, Cathy Stewart, Peter 

Stickney, MaryAlice Stoner, Matt and Will Taylor, Cari Templeton, Linda Thomas, Craig Thomas, 

Bonnie Thompson, Dave Tippets, Rudy Trujillo, Jim Walsh, Kalen Walther, John Waverek, Kelsey 

Wells, Dan Wichman, and Vita Wright.
1

 Chapter 1. 

 Introduction

FireWorks: Why? 

Change is an integral part of a healthy, enduring forest. FireWorks provides 

students with interactive, hands-on materials to study the forces that cause change in 

forests, particularly wildland fire. FireWorks provides teachers with a flexible curriculum 

linked to national and state educational standards. Teachers can use the curriculum for 

specific class levels; programs are suggested for the primary (K-2), elementary (3-5), 

middle (6-8), and high school (9-10) levels. An alternative program (K-8) focuses on 

wildland fire throughout the school and may be especially useful for small or rural 

schools. In addition, lessons can be selected individually or by theme (chapter) from the 

curriculum. The curriculum addresses seven topics in Chapters 2 through 8 and suggests 

field trips that will help students integrate learning (Chapter 9): 

Chapter Title Contents 

2 Getting Acquainted with Fire survey of three kinds of forest & fire patterns, “fire 

feelings” 

3 Burning Questions combustion & wildland fire behavior 

4 All in One House populations & communities, especially in forests 

5 Fire History tree rings, fire scars, fire intervals 

6 Tough Plants, Tough Animals adaptations to fire 

7 Communities in Action succession, fire effects on biological communities 

8 People in Fire’s Homeland fire prevention, home safety in wildlands, fire 

management 

9 In the Woods integrative field trips 

The science of wildland fire provides a context for learning about properties of 

matter, ecosystem fluctuations and cycles, habitat and survival, and human effects on 

ecosystems. These concepts are considered benchmarks for science literacy (American 

Association for the Advancement of Science 1993). Students using FireWorks ask 

questions about new subjects, gather information, analyze and interpret it, and 

communicate their discoveries. They often work in pairs or small groups. These are 

learning styles that enhance understanding, cognitive skills, and social skills (Moreno 

1999; National Research Council 1996). 

Students learn best about ecology when it is close to home—when they can study 

the plants, animals, and fire regimes typical of local ecosystems (Lindholdt 1999; North 

American Association for Environmental Education 1999). FireWorks uses hands-on 

materials to describe the fire ecology of three kinds of forest that grow in the western 

states: ponderosa pine1

/Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine/subalpine fir, and whitebark 

pine/subalpine fir. These forest types are widespread throughout the West (fig. 1); they 

co-occur mainly in the northern Rocky Mountains and the "intermountain" area, which 

lies between the Rockies and the North Cascades. 

 

1

 Common names are used for all species mentioned in the text; Appendix 1 lists scientific names for plant 

and fungus species; Appendix 2 lists scientific names for animal species. 
2

Several excellent programs are available for studying fire ecology throughout the 

U.S.2, and FireWorks draws upon 

many of them. Investigating the most 

interesting aspects of wildland fire, 

however, requires special materials. 

Fire-scarred tree “cookies” and 

collections of photos and essays about 

local plants, animals, and fungi are 

examples. Laboratory equipment is a 

third. Hoping to share the excitement 

of learning first-hand about fire, we 

have developed this educational trunk. 

For learning about the woods, 

however, there is nothing as good as 

being out there! We encourage you to 

go on a field trip after studying 

FireWorks. Two field trips are 

described in Chapter 9, and several 

Extension suggestions (at the end of 

activities) also describe field trips. Call 

someone at your local land 

management agency to see if a 

professional ecologist, biologist, or fire 

manager can provide a guided tour; the 

outdoor experience and contact with 

people who work in the field may 

capture the attention of your students 

and help them integrate what they have 

learned. 

Goals

FireWorks has been developed 

by the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

to increase student understanding 

• of the physical science of 

combustion, especially in wildland 

fuels 

• that a forest has many kinds of plants and animals, which change over time and 

influence one another 

• that fire is an important natural process in many forests 

• that native plants and animals have ways to survive fire or reproduce after fire, or 

both 

• that people influence fire-dependent wildlands in the areas where they live and 

• that people respond in different ways to fire-related questions. 

 

2

Appendix 3 lists other curricula for teaching about wildland fire. 

Figure 1—Map of the western United States showing the 

range of the kinds of forest featured in this curriculum. 

Ponderosa pine is widespread throughout the West. 

Whitebark pine occurs in the northern states. Lodgepole 

pine is widespread in the northern half of the West, but the 

kind of lodgepole featured in FireWorks (with a high rate of 

cone serotiny) is somewhat more limited. 
3

Meeting these goals contributes to implementation of the recommendation from the 

Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy and Program Review (U.S. Department of 

Interior and U.S. Department of Agriculture 1995) to “transmit a clear message about the 

important role of fire as a natural process.” 

To enhance scientific and literacy and critical thinking about science-related social 

issues among students, FireWorks aims to increase student skills in 

• making observations 

• classifying information 

• measuring, counting, and computing 

• stating and testing hypotheses 

• describing observations, both qualitatively and quantitatively 

• explaining reasoning 

• identifying and expressing responses to science-related questions 

• working in teams to solve problems and 

• critical listening and reading. 

These skills are crucial for developing an adult citizenry literate in science and attracting 

students to professional work in the sciences (National Research Council 1996). 

Fire Ecology Background 

Fire in North America 

For thousands of years, fires have shaped the wildlands of North America. But 

wildland fires are not all the same, and they never have been. For instance, fires burned 

some grasslands nearly every year, while some forests and wetlands escaped fire for 

centuries at a time. In forests, some fires burned only grass and low shrubs under the 

large trees, others killed nearly every tree, and still others produced a mosaic of firekilled trees and patches left unburned because of random changes in wind direction or 

other conditions (Brown and Smith 2000). Within large, severe burns, some patches 

remain unburned because of change changes in wind direction, weather, and other 

conditions. So the story of fire plays out differently in nearly every plant and animal 

community on the continent. 

 North American plants and animals persisted for thousands of years in the 

presence of fire. Many species thrived when their homelands burned at predictable 

intervals. Not surprisingly, some have developed traits that enable them to take advantage 

of fire to reproduce successfully or compete with other species (Miller 2000). You will 

investigate many of these traits in FireWorks activities. Some wild plants and animals are 

actually harmed if fire is excluded from their habitat, so land managers attempt to 

reintroduce fire and use naturally-occurring fires to benefit these landscapes. Professional 

work that includes preventing fires, putting them out where they are likely to produce 

damage, and using them to benefit the land is called fire management. Middle school and 

high school students using FireWorks have opportunities to try their hand at making fire 

management decisions. 

 The FireWorks Library and the Teacher Box (in the trunk) contain several 

references about fire ecology in North America. Here are general references: 

• "Teacher Background Information" in the Fire Ecology Resource Management 

Education Unit (in the Teacher Box) provides a clear summary of principles of 

fire ecology that apply throughout the United States. This curriculum contains a 
4

concise, 3-page folder of "Fire Facts—Student Background Information," a 

"Glossary of Fire Terms," and a list of "Fire References." 

• Fire - a Force of Nature (in the trunk’s FireWorks Library) contains beautiful 

photographs and simple text about fire ecology in North America. This book 

devotes sections to fire in the Everglades, the giant sequoias of California, the 

area in and around Yellowstone National Park, southern California, and Alaska. 

• Fire and Vegetative Trends in the Northern Rockies by George Gruell uses 

historic photos to show changes over time in forests, prairies, bogs, and other 

ecosystems. 

• Fire in Florida's Ecosystems Educator's Guide (in the FireWorks Library) 

describes fire ecology in a very different region of the U.S. (pp. 4-13). You may 

find that the fire ecology of Florida is, in many ways, similar to that of the 

western states. Background information on fire in Florida is on pp. 14-16. 

Fire in Forests Dominated by Ponderosa, Lodgepole, and Whitebark Pine

This version of FireWorks tells the fire story of three kinds of Western forests—

those dominated by ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and whitebark pine. As you will see 

in the FireWorks activities, the three stories are quite different: In past centuries, 

ponderosa pine forests burned frequently in fires that consumed mainly grass and needles 

on the forest floor. Similar, “low-severity” fires burned occasionally in lodgepole pine 

forests, but every century or so, these forests were likely to burn with very severe fires 

that killed most of the trees. Whitebark pine forests at high elevations burned 

infrequently. Fires could be mild or severe, depending on the vegetation and weather; in 

fact, fires were so variable that we call them “rollercoaster fires.” Table 1 summarizes the 

fire ecology of these forest types and shows where FireWorks covers each topic. 

The FireWorks Library and the Teacher Box include many resources specific to 

the kinds of forest featured in the trunk. You can use them for background before 

teaching FireWorks, refer to them as questions arise, or have students use them as part of 

your instructional program. 

• About forests dominated by ponderosa pine: 

! "The Essential Element of Fire" by Michael Parfit, pages 116 through 139 in the 

September 1996 issue, Vol. 190 (3) of National Geographic, describes the 

ecology of dry North American forests, including ponderosa pine 

! Graced by Pines is a popular science book about ponderosa pine. 

• About forests dominated by lodgepole pine: 

! "The Great Yellowstone Fires" by David Jeffery, pages 252 to 273 in the 

February 1989 issue, Vol. 175 (2) describes the 1988 fires in the Greater 

Yellowstone Area, the fire suppression effort there, and the fires' effects on the 

ecosystem. 

! Fire in the Forest is a picture book about lodgepole pine. 

• About forests dominated by whitebark pine: 

! Made for Each Other is a popular science book about the special relationship 

between whitebark pine and the Clark’s nutcracker, the tree’s main seed disperser. 

The Background section, at the beginning of each chapter, lists further 

resources in the FireWorks Library and Teacher Box with information on the 

chapter theme. 
Table 1—Summary of ecology and "fire story" of forests at three elevations, dominated by ponderosa, lodgepole, and whitebark pine. Column at 

right lists activities in FireWorks where the information is available. 

 Low 

Elevation 

Middle 

Elevation 

High 

Elevation 

FireWorks 

Activities 

Pine species (grows well in 

sunny, open areas with bare soil) 

ponderosa pine lodgepole pine whitebark pine 2-1, 2-2, 4-3, 4-4, 

Chapter 7 

Shade-tolerant species (grows 

better than pine in shady places, on duff) 

Douglas-fir subalpine fir subalpine fir 4-3, 4-4, Chapter 7 

Pine traits for surviving or 

reproducing well after fire 

open forest thick buds thick bark open, high crown 

serotinous cones trees in clusters 

open, high crown seeds planted by 

nutcrackers 

2-1, 2-2, 3-4, 3-6, 3-

7, 4-3, 4-4, 7-2, 7-3 

Historic fire 

frequency 

Crown fire very infrequent every 100 yr or so every century or 2 2-1, 2-2, 3-4, Chapter 

5, 6-5, 6-6, Chapter 7 

 Surface fire every 5-30 yr 1-2 per century 1-2 per century 2-1, 2-2, 3-4, Chapter 

5, 6-4, 6-6, Chapter 7 

Some animals Pileated Woodpecker 

Flammulated Owl Elk (especially spring) 

Black-backed Woodpecker Mountain pine beetle Elk (hiding cover in fall) 

Clark's Nutcracker Grizzly bear Elk (summer) 

6-7, Chapter 7 

Traditional uses by Native 

Americans 

Peeled bark Tipi poles Pine nuts Chapter 7 

Disturbances besides fire Douglas-fir Dwarf 

mistletoe 

Mountain pine beetle White pine blister 

rust 

Chapter 7 

Management choices "You Decide" #1, #5 

“Living with Fire” 

"You Decide" #2, #4 "You Decide" #3 Chapter 8 
6

For Teachers 

How to Select Lessons and Present an Integrated Program

FireWorks contains activities appropriate for students in grades 1-10. How can 

you select activities for a particular grade level or a particular school so students can 

synthesize the complex aspects of fire ecology and apply their knowledge in evaluative 

activities? 

 First, recommended grade levels are identified for each FireWorks activity in the 

Table of Contents and at the start of each activity. The levels used are Primary (grades 1-

2), Elementary (grades 3-5), Middle (grades 6-8), and High (grades 9-10). Many 

activities can easily be used at more than one grade level; in those cases, adjustments for 

various levels are described in the “Procedures” section. 

Teachers are welcome to weave the FireWorks activities together in the best 

possible way to meet their students’ needs. Many FireWorks activities make sense by 

themselves, so they can be used in isolation from the others. However, use of isolated 

activities fails to take advantage of the interdisciplinary nature of fire ecology and the 

integrative nature of this curriculum, so it short-changes students and may not be very 

satisfying for teachers. We strongly recommend that teachers use FireWorks as an 

extensive, integrated program. We describe several such programs below, each 

program using several separate activities; these suggested programs take advantage of the 

potential for synthesis and integration provided by FireWorks. 

The program for primary grades (table 2) focuses on forests as communities. 

Students discuss the nature of human and wildland communities. They learn about some 

of the trees growing in their geographic area. They view and discuss demonstrations of 

combustion, focusing mainly on scientific and personal-safety aspects of fire. Finally, 

they learn about fire, other changes, and succession in forest communities from a 

storyteller using a feltboard. 

Table 2—Integrated program for using FireWorks in the primary grades (1-2). Activities are 

presented in a logical order for this age group. 

Activ. Title Subject Pag

e 

4-1 What’s a Community? Plants and animals in forest ecosystems 70 

4-3 For Primary: Mystery Trees Traits, life history of three pine species 79 

3-1 For Primary and Elementary: 

Meeting the Fire Triangle 

Fuel, oxygen, and heat source; safety 27 

3-3 Testing the Fire Triangle Fuel, oxygen, and heat source; convection 36 

6-2 For Primary: Buried Treasure Underground plant parts 113 

7-3 Story Time Feltboard stories of succession and fire 157 

 

The program for elementary grades (table 3) also begins with a focus on 

communities and the “stories” told by fire in forested wildlands, but it emphasizes 

individual plants and animals and the characteristics that let them persist in places that 

have burned regularly for thousands of years. The elementary program also demonstrates 

basic principles of combustion. Ways to prevent and extinguish fires are discussed, and 

students model food webs and present a feltboard story of fire and succession. 

The program for middle school students (table 4) uses laboratory experiments 

and physical models for investigating fire behavior. Students learn about fire history and 
7

Table 3—Integrated program for using FireWorks in the upper elementary grades (3-5). Activities 

are presented in a logical order for this age group. 

Act. Title Subject Pg. 

4-4 For Elementary and Middle School: 

Mystery Trees 

Identifying 9 tree species 82 

4-1 What’s a Community? Plants and animals in ecosystems 70 

5-1 For Elementary: Tree Stories Using tree rings to learn fire history 91 

2-2 For Elementary: Visiting Wildland Fire Survey of fire stories, fire feelings 20 

3-1 For Primary and Elementary: Meeting 

the Fire Triangle 

Fuel, oxygen, heat source; safety 27 

3-3 Testing the Fire Triangle Fuel, oxygen, heat source; convection 36 

3-5 Bucket Brigade Fuel size, shape, moisture, burning 49 

8-2 Houses in the Woods Safety around homes in forest areas 170 

6-1 Dead or Alive! Not all tissues in an organism have living cells 109 

6-3 For Elementary and Middle School: 

Buried Treasure 

Underground plant parts, survival 116 

6-5 Recipe for a Lodgepole Pine Forest Counting seed in serotinous cones 127 

6-6 Designer Trees Designing a fire-resistant tree 136 

6-7 Great Escape How do animals cope with fire? 140 

7-1 In the Web Food and energy web 144 

7-3 Story Time Feltboard stories of succession and fire 157 

9-1 Burned Area Scavenger Hunt Field trip to a recently burned forest 200 

Table 4—Integrated program for using FireWorks in the middle grades (6-8). Activities are 

presented in a logical order for this age group. 

Act. Title Subject Pg. 

2-1 For Middle and High School: Visiting 

Wildland Fire 

Survey of fire in three forest types 18 

3-2 For Middle School: Meeting the Fire Triangle Fuel, oxygen, heat 30 

3-3 Testing the Fire Triangle Fuel, oxygen, heat, convection 36 

3-4 The Fire Triangle in Wildlands Slope, tree density effects on fire 43 

8-2 Houses in the Woods Fire safety near homes in forested areas 170 

4-2 Tree Portrait, Plant Portrait Tissues and structure of trees 74 

4-4 For Elementary and Middle School: Mystery 

Trees 

Identify, classify 9 tree species 82 

6-3 For Elementary and Middle School: Buried 

Treasure 

Underground plant parts, survival 116 

3-5 Bucket Brigade Fuel size, moisture, arrangement 49 

6-4 Tree Skin Insulating properties of tree bark 120 

6-5 Recipe for a Lodgepole Pine Forest Counting seed from serotinous cones 127 

3-7 Tinker Tree Derby Vertical fire spread, ladder fuels 62 

5-2 For Middle and High School: Tree Stories Fire history from tree rings 98 

5-3 Repeating the Story? Fire regimes in 3 forest types 103 

7-2 Always Changing Succession and fire, 3 forest types 150 

7-4 Puzzling It Out Jigsaw puzzles of 3 forest types 162 

8-1 A Matter of Choice 12-minute videotape on fire management 167 

8-3 Living with Fire Computer game of fire management in 

ponderosa pine 

176 

8-4 Smoke: In or Out? Smoke production, management 181 

8-5 You Decide! Role playing as fire managers 190 

2-3 Revisiting Wildland Fire Looking again at fire feelings 24 

9-2 Woods Hunt Field review and/or test 204 
8

adaptations to fire. Students synthesize what they have learned in a drama that depicts 

fire and succession in forest communities. Then they apply their understanding by roleplaying as fire managers in several forest management scenarios. 

The high school program (table 5) emphasizes decision-making. A small number 

of FireWorks activities provide high school students with background information about 

fire; if teachers want more discovery-based learning, they can use the middle school 

program instead. High school students concentrate on issues and value choices regarding 

fire and forest management. 

Table 5—Integrated program for using FireWorks at the high school level (grades 9-10). 

Activities are presented in a logical order for this age group. 

Act. Title Subject Pg. 

3-4 The Fire Triangle in Wildlands Effects of slope, tree density on fire 

behavior 

43 

2-1 For Middle and High School: Visiting 

Wildland Fire 

Survey of fire ecology in 3 forest 

types 

18 

3-6 Will It Burn? Ease of ignition of various fuels 53 

8-4 Smoke: In or Out? Smoke production, management 181 

6-4 Tree Skin Insulating properties of tree bark 120 

3-7 Tinker Tree Derby Vertical fire spread, ladder fuels 62 

5-2 For Middle and High School: Tree Stories Fire history from tree rings 98 

5-3 Repeating the Story? Fire regimes in 3 forest types 103 

7-2 Always Changing Fire and succession, 3 forest types 150 

8-1 A Matter of Choice 12-min. videotape on fire 

management challenges 

167 

8-2 Houses in the Woods Fire safety around homes in forested 

areas 

170 

8-3 Living with Fire Computer game of fire management 

in ponderosa pine 

176 

8-5 You Decide! Role playing as fire managers 190 

8-6 Value Choices Hard choices regarding fire 

management 

195 

FireWorks also provides a school-wide integrated program (grades 1-8), in 

which a small number of activities are completed at each of four grade levels (table 6). In 

the school-wide program, activities for grades 1-2 focus on forest communities and a 

basic understanding of fire. Grades 3-4 focus on adaptations and food webs, grades 5-6 

on fire behavior and fire history, and grades 7-8 on fire behavior, succession, and fire 

management. 

 

Links to Educational Standards 

Classrooms are busy places, and teaching days are full of activities. How can 

teachers find room to teach a program like FireWorks? 

FireWorks does not compete with core curriculum for classroom time. Instead, it 

helps teachers cover core concepts and improve student skills with hands-on materials 

and discovery-based lessons. To help teachers identify the ways in which FireWorks can 

be used to meet their curriculum requirements, each activity is prefaced by a list of 

educational standards met by the activity (not including extensions to the activity, which 

may meet additional standards). Because FireWorks is fundamentally a science program, 

these “Links to Standards” sections list the national science standards (National Research 
9

Council 1996) and national environmental education standards (North American 

Association for Environmental Education 1999). Since 

Table 6—Integrated school-wide program for using FireWorks in grades 1-8. Activities are 

presented in a logical order for each age group. 

Lev. Act. Title Subject Pg. 

4-1 What’s a Community? Plants and animals in ecosystems 70 

3-1 For Primary and Elementary: 

Meeting the Fire Triangle 

Fuel, oxygen, and heat source; safety 27 

3-3 Testing the Fire Triangle Fuel, oxygen, and heat source; 

convection 

36 

1-2 

7-3 Story Time Feltboard stories of succession and 

fire 

157 

4-2 Tree Portrait, Plant Portrait Tissues and structure of trees 74 

4-4 For Elementary and Middle 

School: Mystery Trees 

Identifying 9 tree species 82 

6-1 Dead or Alive! Not all tissues in an organism are 

comprised of living cells 

109 

6-3 For Elementary and Middle 

School: Buried Treasure 

Underground plant parts, survival 116 

6-5 Recipe for a Lodgepole Pine 

Forest 

Counting seed in serotinous cones 127 

6-6 Designer Trees Designing a fire-resistant tree 136 

6-7 Great Escape How do animals cope with fire? 140 

3-4 

7-1 In the Web Food and energy web 144 

2-1 For Middle and High School: 

Visiting Wildland Fire 

Survey of fire in three forest types 18 

3-4 The Fire Triangle in Wildlands Effect of slope, tree density on fire 

behavior 

43 

3-5 Bucket Brigade Fuel size, shape, moisture, burning 49 

5-2 For Middle and High School: Tree 

Stories 

Fire history from tree rings 98 

5-3 Repeating the Story? Fire regimes in 3 forest types 103 

5-6 

7-4 Puzzling It Out Jigsaw puzzles of 3 forest types 162 

3-7 Tinker Tree Derby Vertical fire spread, ladder fuels 62 

7-2 Always Changing Succession and fire, 3 forest types 150 

8-2 Houses in the Woods Fire safety around homes in forested 

areas 

170 

8-1 A Matter of Choice 12-minute videotape on fire 

management challenges 

167 

8-4 Smoke: In or Out? Smoke production, management 181 

8-3 Living with Fire Computer game of fire management in 

ponderosa pine 

176 

7-8 

8-5 You Decide! Role playing as fire managers 190 

FireWorks is interdisciplinary, it should not be limited to use in science instruction; a list 

of subjects and skills is also included for each activity. 

Links to national standards are not commonly used in states where local standards 

are available, so local implementation of FireWorks requires links to state standards. To 

show how FireWorks meets state standards across disciplines, we have linked it to the 

educational standards of the state of Montana (Appendix 4). We chose Montana because 

the three forest types featured in the curriculum are widespread there (fig. 1), and 

educational standards are in place for all disciplines (Montana Office of Public 
10

Instruction [no date]). We recommend that implementation in other states include links to 

state standards.

Organization 

Each chapter of the curriculum begins with a brief description of the topic, 

background information and a list of resources for more information, educational goals 

(content and skills), and a list of activities. The activities provide ways for students to 

explore the chapter’s theme in different ways, for different grade levels; use tables 2 

through 6 to weave them together into a coherent, integrative program tailored for your 

particular students, facilities, and grade levels. Within the chapters, each activity is 

organized as follows: 

Section Content 

Grade level(s) Optimum grade levels for the activity 

What’s the Point? summary of concepts and survey of activity 

Teacher’s Map objective(s), subjects, duration 

Links to Standards National Science Teachers’ Association 

North American Association for Environmental Education 

Vocabulary terms, all defined in Appendix 5 and in the FireWorks Glossary in the 

Teacher Box 

Materials what’s in the trunk and what you must supply 

Preparation what you need to do before class 

Procedure steps in the activity 

Evaluation one or two students tasks that show objective is met 

Closure summarizing what has been learned, cleaning up 

Extension(s) additional activities relating to the main point of this activity 

We suggest you read “What’s the Point?” to review the activity and determine if 

it is a good fit for your program. Use “Materials” and “Preparation” to get ready, so 

the activity will go smoothly with students. Note that many FireWorks activities are 

designed for students to work in groups of various sizes. For most of the laboratory 

experiments, the trunk provides equipment for four teams of students. This information is 

provided in “What’s the Point?” and “Materials.” 

“Procedure” provides step-by-step instructions. Opportunities for integrating

FireWorks with your regular curriculum are identified in this section by frames like 

this: 

“Evaluation” suggests ways to monitor student learning. Sample test questions for the 

whole curriculum are available in the Evaluation Kit in the Teacher Box. Teachers should 

feel free to add copies of any quizzes or tests that they develop. 

FireWorks uses many student handouts, particularly at the upper grade levels. 

Masters for copying are provided in the FireWorks Teacher Box. Appendix 6 contains a 

complete list of handouts, which can be photocopied and used as an ordering form if your 

school does copying at a centralized location. 

 

Safety 

Safety is a big deal in FireWorks. Many of the experiments in this curriculum use 

fire and natural fuels in the classroom, providing a structured, well supervised 

INFO SPARKS: Interesting or integrative information, not essential for getting across the main 

point of the activity.
11

environment in which students can make discoveries about fire and improve their habits 

regarding fire safety. Use of fire in the classroom, however, does increase teacher and 

student responsibilities for safety. In addition, the idea that fires are not always 

destructive to ecosystems is novel and intriguing to most students. Students need to learn 

that professional skills and years of experience are needed to use fire safely in wildlands. 

How does FireWorks address these issues? How can the teacher address them? 

At the Primary and Elementary levels, FireWorks uses Smokey Bear. Nearly 

every child in the U.S. knows Smokey and has heard his message “Prevent Wildland 

Fire!” FireWorks takes advantage of this background by featuring “Smokeygrams” in 

several activities. Smokeygrams (fig. 2) are short messages that can be delivered, like 

telegrams, from the Principal, the Health and Safety teacher, an older student, or the 

teacher. They can also be delivered by Smokey himself, if you request someone from a 

local land management agency to visit your classroom. Smokeygrams greet the students, 

encourage them to learn more about fire, and caution them to continue doing their best to 

not begin a wildland fire. 

 One or two Smokeygrams can be included in the Middle and High School 

FireWorks programs, but repeated messages from Smokey are not likely to be effective at 

these levels. To introduce students to the use of fire by professional researchers and 

managers, use Activity 8-1 with its 12-minute videotape Managing Wildland Fire—a 

Matter of Choice. If you conduct burning demonstrations or experiments with your class, 

first discuss the information on the Fire Safety poster (in the trunk) presented in Activity 

3-3, “Testing the Fire Triangle.” Keep the poster up in your classroom and refer to it 

during other lessons as well. For each activity that uses fire, designate two “fire safety 

officers” from your class. Give them the spray bottles (from the Hardware Box), charged 

with water, and make it their job to “patrol” for unsafe practices during the burning 

portion of the activity. Most important, model and insist on safe laboratory procedures

in your classroom or laboratory. The following additional steps will help your activities 

run smoothly and help your students grow in responsibility and competence regarding 

fire and laboratory safety: 

• Inform your principal, local fire protection unit, and maintenance staff about 

activities in which you will use fire. 

• Choose your work space carefully, especially if you will not be using a 

laboratory. Schools are equipped with sensitive smoke alarms, which are 

connected in a direct line to fire stations. Even if you are working in a laboratory, 

you may set off the smoke alarm, so check it out ahead of time. Fire protection 

staff and equipment must respond to every alarm, even if you tell them it's "only" 

smoke from an experiment. If you are working outdoors, watch carefully to 

prevent smoldering material from igniting schoolyard vegetation. 

• Keep the FireWorks spray bottles filled with water. Have students use them to 

extinguish smoldering material at the end of each experiment; this will prevent 

trash-can fires. If you are working outdoors, keep a hose available and ready to 

use; have a bucket or two of water available as well. 

• Keep the FireWorks fire extinguisher—and any other extinguishers in your 

classroom--ready for use. Know how to use them. If you discharge a fire 

extinguisher, have it refilled as soon as possible, and find a replacement to use in 

the meantime. Don't conduct burning experiments without a charged fire 

extinguisher in the room. 
12

• If you or any of your students have asthma or respiratory problems, consider 

using a dust mask while working with fire. 
13

--------------------------------------------

Smokeygram #1

Dear Class, 

 Fire is really interesting, isn’t it? It is also very powerful, 

you know. In your experiments, you are learning about matches 

and fuels. Please don’t do any experiments in my homeland, our 

forests and grasslands. Don’t do them in your homes or yards 

either! I hope your studies help you be even more careful about 

preventing wildland fires. 

 Sincerely yours,

 

Figure 2—One of four “Smokeygrams” used in FireWorks to remind students about fire safety 

and fire prevention. This Smokeygram is introduced in Activity 3-3.
14

Fire is both powerful and dangerous. Learning more about it should increase our 

understanding of and respect for both its power and its danger. Careless use of fire, 

including unsupervised use of fire by children, can cause terrible injuries and property 

damage. Please encourage your students to use what they learn in FireWorks to increase 

their safety at home and in wildlands.

Effectiveness 

Researchers at the University of Montana have studied the effectiveness of the 

FireWorks curriculum used with 7th grade students in western Montana. Their results 

indicate that students who use FireWorks understood more about wildland fire than other 

students; they were able to transfer concepts learned in the classroom to a field setting; 

and they had more positive perceptions abut their teacher and classroom environment 

than students not using FireWorks (Thomas and others, in press). Field competencies and 

positive attitudes were still evident one year after using the curriculum (Thomas and 

Camp 2000). 

Research on the effectiveness of FireWorks activities with adult audiences is 

currently underway at the University of Idaho (Parkinson 2000). 

 

A Trunk of Your Own?

 Students generally obtain the most realistic and compelling information about 

environmental science when it is applicable to ecosystems that they are familiar with—

their own environmental and emotional “back yard” (Lindholdt 1999; North American 

Association for Environmental Education 1999). In addition, environmental education 

programs that incorporate field sites and support from local ecologists and managers are 

generally more successful than programs without links to the community (Knapp 2000, 

May 2000). The curriculum described here—featuring ponderosa, lodgepole, and 

whitebark pines—is likely to be most effective in areas where at least one of these tree 

species occurs. Educators or agency staff can produce the FireWorks trunk for use with 

this curriculum by using the list of supplies in Appendix 7 and the instructions in 

Appendix 8. We suggest consulting with local teachers and other environmental 

educators in your area before building a trunk, so you can develop a strategy for 

implementation. You may find it advisable to build a smaller version of FireWorks, 

focused on only one grade level and using just one of the programs suggested in tables 2 

through 5, for your area. A smaller version of the trunk would be less expensive to 

develop and would focus marketing and teacher training efforts to a single grade level; it 

might be able to complement other environmental education programs at other grade 

levels. However, it would eliminate the possibility of “saturating” all grade levels of an 

elementary rural schools during the course of a trunk loan, the kind of program suggested 

in table 6. 

Many activities in this curriculum could be used unchanged to teach about fire in 

any fire-adapted ecosystem in the world; the experiments testing the Fire Triangle and 

demonstrating smoke dispersion are examples. Activities that focus on particular species 

and ecosystems (for example, those in Chapters 2, 6, and 7) could be adapted to feature 

other fire-adapted ecosystems, using these activities as templates. The electronic files and 

examples of materials used in this trunk are available from the authors at the Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. 

A new version of FireWorks is most likely to be widely used if an implementation 

plan is developed along with the new curriculum and trunk. We suggest including 
15

partners (local agency staff and teachers, environmental educators, and curriculum 

experts) in this process to: 

• determine if the trunk should target a specific grade level 

• identify educational standards met in each state where implementation is planned 

• plan for copying, distributing, and maintaining trunks and 

• plan for contacting and training teachers when the trunk and curriculum are 

completed.
15

 Chapter 2. 

 Getting Acquainted with Fire

 Fire evokes strong feelings in all of us. It is also complex, particularly in regard to its role 

in ecosystems. The activities in this chapter provide an overview of the three “fire stories” that 

students explore throughout FireWorks—different species, ecology, adaptations, and fire history 

in forests dominated by ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and whitebark pine. These activities also 

provide a context for discussing students’ feelings about wildland fire, which can be revisited 

when students have completed the curriculum. 

Background 

All three activities in this chapter use the brief slide show Visiting Wildland Fire, in the 

FireWorks trunk (fig. 3). The slide show is used differently in the three activities. It is not 

necessary to “teach” the slide show using a detailed narrative, since all of the information in the 

slides is available to students through discovery-based activities in the curriculum. But 

information on the slides is provided, for your information, in table 7. 

For additional background on the three pine forests, see these resources in the FireWorks 

Library: 

• “The Great Yellowstone Fires” by David Jeffery, pages 252 to 273 in the February 1989 

issue, Vol. 175(2) of National Geographic, describes the 1988 fires in Yellowstone 

National Park, which were mostly in lodgepole pine forests. 

• “The Essential Element of Fire” by Michael Parfit, pages 116 through 139 in the 

September 1996 issue, Vol. 190(3) of National Geographic, describes the ecology of dry 

North American forests, including ponderosa pine forests. 

• The fascinating story of whitebark pine forests, and their 

relationship to the Clark’s Nutcracker and fire, is 

provided in Made for Each Other, a book by Dr. Ronald 

Lanner. 

Chapter Goals 

1. Increase students’ understanding 

• that wildland fire is complex and variable 

2. Increase students’ ability to 

• observe and record information from a visual image 

• identify and describe their feelings

• show respect for one another’s feelings 

Chapter Activities 

 2-1. For Middle and High School: 

Visiting Wildland Fire (M,H) 

 2-2. For Elementary: Visiting Wildland Fire (E) 

 2-3. Revisiting Wildland Fire (M) 

Figure 3—Smoldering tree 

trunk from slide show used in 

Chapter 2. 
16

Table 7--Detailed information about slides in the Visiting Wildland Fire slide show. This table is for 

reference rather than for explicit teaching, since information here is available in discovery-based activities 

throughout FireWorks. It can also be used for assessment if students prepare a narrative for the slide 

show, an extension suggested for Activity 2-3. 

Slide 

No. 

Topic Notes 

1 Flames, 

down log 

INTRODUCTION: This fire is burning in large woody debris during a prescribed 

fire in lodgepole pine forest. 

The first forest type is Ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir (PP/DF).

2 Surface fire, 

PP/DF 

In past centuries, ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests usually burned in lowseverity "understory" fires like this one. These were surface fires that kept the 

forests open and unlikely to burn with severe fire behavior. 

3 Catface, PP Large trees were not completely untouched by fire, however. Surface fires 

often killed the cambium part-way around the base of the tree, as occurred on 

this ponderosa pine. As the tree continued to grow, the damaged area showed 

as a triangular scar with living wood curving in from its sides. (Photo is from 

Onehorse Creek, Bitterroot National Forest, Montana.) 

4 PP 

branches 

We might say ponderosa pines have a “love-hate” relationship with fire. Typical 

historic fires, burning in surface fuels, killed many ponderosa pine saplings and 

some mature trees, and scarred the trunks of survivors. But without fire, 

ancient old trees like this one are likely to die prematurely. They can’t compete 

with dense Douglas-fir trees beneath them and may die of stress. They may be 

killed by fires that climb through the foliage of younger trees and burn their 

high, open crowns. 

5 Pileated 

woodpecker 

Each kind of forest in an ecosystem provides top-quality habitat for some 

animals. Pileated woodpeckers nest only in very large, old trees. The nest tree 

may be either living or dead, as long as it has a rotten center. This Pileated is 

feeding its family about 60 ft above the ground in a ponderosa pine. In historic 

forests, pines and western larches grew large and developed rotten centers. 

They were the woodpeckers' favorite nest trees. In many of today’s forests, 

however, Douglas-firs outnumber pines and larches, and few trees grow large 

because of competition for moisture and nutrients. 

6 Arrowleaf 

balsamroot 

Grasses and wildflowers are scorched and usually look dead the day after a 

surface fire, but the plants living in open ponderosa pine forests are perennials. 

This arrowleaf balsamroot grows back each year from a large, woody 

underground taproot. Surface fires provide a pulse of nutrients and reduce 

competition from young trees, so balsamroot often produces a lot of flowers a 

year or two after fire. 

The second forest type is Lodgepole Pine/Subalpine Fir (LPP/SF).

7 Lightning In past centuries, forest fires were started by lightning and by Native Americans. 

Lightning still ignites most wildland fires in the our area. 

8 Severe 

fire, 

lodgepole 

pine 

Lodgepole pines grow at middle and high elevations in our area. Here the 

winters seem longer than at low elevations because snow stays on the ground 

much later. Although surface fires occur once in awhile in these forests, crown 

fires also occur every hundred years or so. This photo shows a prescribed fire 

in a lodgepole pine forest. 

9 Postburn, 

lodgepole 

pine 

Immediately after a crown fire, the forest looks completely dead. The fire has 

killed nearly all the trees. The soil is covered with ash. No longer held in place 

by living tree roots, it may erode rapidly from steep slopes if there's heavy rain. 

This photo shows the aftermath of crown fire in Rocky Mountain National Park, 

Colorado. 
17

Table 7—cont’d. 

Slide 

No. 

Topic Notes 

10 Fireweed The treasure that you don't see after the crown fire is what's in the soil: roots and 

stems of perennial plants and millions of seeds. The severe Red Bench Fire in 

Glacier National Park, 1988, failed to kill roots of fireweed. This photo, taken a 

year later, shows “mass flowering” of fireweed that sprouted from underground 

stems after the fire. Fireweed also reproduces from seed after fire. Seedlings 

are likely to “mass flower” two or three years after the burn. 

11 Aspen 

sprout 

("sucker") 

Quaking aspens often grow in patches within pine forest. This aspen, in a stand 

surrounded by lodgepole pine forest, was top-killed by a prescribed fire. A year 

later, it is already sprouting back from its roots. 

12 Lodgepole 

pine 

seedlings 

Lodgepole pine stores some of its seeds in cones that are sealed by resin and 

opened by the heat of fire. These cones are called “serotinous.” After the 1988 

Red Bench Fire in Glacier National Park, MT, there were millions of lodgepole 

seedlings. This photo shows 10 to 20 seedlings per square foot four years after 

the fire. 

13 Elk in 

lodgepole 

Many animals use dense forests for warmth and to hide from predators and 

hunters. This elk is in a stand of lodgepole pine saplings that are just big 

enough to provide some hiding cover. 

14 Lodgepole 

burn 

mosaic 

Crown fires in lodgepole pine forests typically burn in a patchy pattern, called a 

“mosaic,” across the landscape. In this photo, burned patches look like black 

islands on the largely unburned slope. 

15 Lodgepole 

forest 

mosaic 

Decades after fire, the fire-caused mosaic is still visible. The lobe-shaped stand 

in the upper right, which has an almost moss-like texture when viewed from this 

distance, is dense lodgepole pine that became established after a severe fire. 

Surrounding it is a taller, older forest that did not burn in the fire. 

The third forest type is Whitebark Pine/Subalpine Fir (WBP/SF).

16 Mixed 

severity 

fire, 

whitebark 

Whitebark pine grows on dry sites at high elevations in our area, where the 

summers seem very short. Forest stands are interspersed with patches of rock 

and meadow, so fires spread unevenly and may even go out for lack of fuel. 

Where subalpine firs are growing beneath pines, however, foliage is continuous 

from the ground to the treetop, allowing fire to spread into the tree crowns. 

17 Whitebark 

fire scars 

Whitebark pines have thin bark, but these pines have survived at least one past 

fire. The same fire probably killed most of the subalpine firs here because they 

are very susceptible to fire damage. 

18 Clark’s 

Nutcracker 

In late summer, flocks of Clark’s Nutcrackers descend on groves of whitebark 

pine. They extract the large, nutritious seeds from the pine cones, then bury the 

seeds in the soil. Often they use open, windswept sites for these "caches." 

During much of the following year, Nutcrackers retrieve seeds from their caches 

to eat and feed to their young. 

19 Whitebark 

seedling 

cluster 

Nutcrackers don’t retrieve all of the seeds from their caches though. New trees 

grow from seeds left in the ground. This cluster of saplings shows that several 

seeds were left here and then germinated. 

20 Whitebark 

snags 

Whitebark pines are killed by many things. This cluster of pines was probably 

killed by mountain pine beetles. White pine blister rust, a fungus accidentally 

introduced to North America from Europe, has killed large numbers of the 

whitebark pines in our area. Dead trees may stand for decades on these dry 

sites, however, providing habitat for cavity nesters like the Mountain Bluebird. 

21 Fire inside 

pine bole 

CLOSING: Fire seems mysterious to humans—destructive yet creative, 

powerful but ephemeral, and fascinating to watch. Here a prescribed fire burns 

the rotten wood inside a lodgepole pine, leaving a shell of bark behind. 
18

Activity 2-1. For Middle and High School: 

Visiting Wildland Fire 

What’s the Point? Fire evokes strong feelings in all of us. This slide show gives students an opportunity to 

reflect on their thoughts and feelings about wildland fire. Students respond to photos of fire and 

its effects in each of three forest types: ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine/subalpine fir, 

and whitebark pine/subalpine fir. These three forest communities, selected from a wide variety of 

forest types, illustrate the variation in “fire stories” that characterizes ecosystems in North 

America. FireWorks focuses on these three forest types often. 

 Re-use this slide show at the end of your study of wildland fire (using Activity 2-3), so 

students can reflect on their feelings about fire in the light of what they have learned. 

For high school students, this slide show serves a somewhat different purpose; it is a 

survey of fire ecology, used as a part of an introduction to the challenges of fire management 

Chapter 8). 

 

Teacher’s Map: Objective: During or after viewing a slide show, students will describe their thoughts and 

feelings about wildland fire. 

Subjects: Science, Speaking and Listening 

Duration: 30 minutes 

Links to Standards3

: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

F6) Recognize difference between science questions and other questions 

G3) Recognize that uncertainty, debate... are part of science

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

C4) Recognize that energy flow underlies resource webs 

F3) Recognize extent, sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

2.3B) Understand cultural perspective on environment and influence of environment on culture 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12:

0B) Investigate short- and long-term environmental changes 

2.2C) Understand the living environment as comprised of interrelated, dynamic systems 

Vocabulary: species, wildland, wildland fire

 

3

See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8 and 9-12. 

Grade levels: 

 X Middle 

 X High
19

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?4 You must supply 

Visiting Wildland Fire slide carousel Main/C slide projector and screen 

flipchart paper and markers 

Procedure 

1. Explain that the class will be studying wildland fire in the coming week or two. Explain: Fire 

is a natural process in most wildlands of North America, and fires have occurred in the 

forests of the western states for tens of thousands of years. 

2. Explain: In this slide show, students will see photos of fire and of burned areas in forests of 

the Rocky Mountains, Cascade Mountains, and the area between. Similar fires occur in other 

forests all over North America. They will see fire in three different kinds of forest, which 

they will study more thoroughly with later activities. 

For Middle School Students: After viewing the slides, they will be asked to write down 

and discuss their observations and feelings about wildland fire. Explain that people 

respond differently to dangerous and emotional issues but should try to be informed 

about them. 

3. Start the slide show. Advance the slides every 8-10 seconds. 

For High School Students: At each slide, ask students to provide information on the 

kind of forest or severity of fire behavior. Supplement what they provide with 

information from table 7. It is not necessary to complete Steps 4 and 5; you can move on 

to the next activity. 

4. When the slide show is over, give students time to write down their thoughts and feelings. 

5. Gather student responses in a short brainstorming session. Encourage students to listen 

respectfully to others’ thoughts and feelings. Explain that people’s feelings about any one 

thing often differ without being “right” or “wrong.” Record students’ responses on flipchart 

paper. 

 

Evaluation: Briefly describe one picture you remember well from the slide show. Describe 

why it is memorable to you.

Closure: Save students' responses and the flipchart pages to refer to later, when you “revisit” 

wildland fire near the end of your FireWorks use (Activity 2-3). 

 

4

 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk. Entry to right 

of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
20

Activity 2-2. For Elementary: 

Visiting Wildland Fire

What’s the Point?

This slide show provides a survey of the three “fire stories” covered in FireWorks and 

asks students to reflect on their feelings about wildland fire. The three “fire stories” are those of 

forests dominated by ponderosa, lodgepole, and whitebark pine. Students observe and describe 

typical fire behavior in these forest types. Other kinds of forest in North America, and grasslands 

and shrublands as well, all have a fire story to tell; these three are just selected from our 

geographic area. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objectives: Given a series of photos and a sketch of three forest types, students can 

record the kind of flames typical of the three kinds of forest. They can also describe their feelings 

in response to photos that show wildlands and fire. 

Subjects: Science, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Arts 

Duration: 30 minutes 

Links to Standards5: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A1) Ask a question about the environment 

F4) Understand that changes in environments can be natural or influenced by people 

F5) Understand that changes in environments can be slow or rapid; rate of change has 

consequences 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

F6) Recognize difference between science questions and other questions 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0.A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

2.1A) Identify changes in physical environment 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

2.3B) Understand that experiences may be interpreted differently by different people 

2.4B) Understand that places differ in physical and human characteristics 

3.2A) Examine and express views on environmental issues 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8:

2.1A) Understand most physical processes that shape the earth 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment 

2.4B) Explore meaning of places 

3.2A) Understand range of environmental issues at local and global scales

Vocabulary: species, wildland, wildland fire 

 

5

 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade level:

 X Elementary
21

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?6 You must supply 

Visiting Wildland Fire 

slide carousel 

Main/C slide projector and screen 

flipchart paper and markers 

paper and art supplies 

copy of Student Page 1 for each student 

Procedure 

1. Explain that students will view a series of photos that describe the three kinds of forest they 

are learning about and the kinds of fires that occurred in these forests in the past. If you are 

following the suggested program in table 3 (see chapter 1), use the three feltboards and the 

fire history data from the last activity to remind students what these forests are and how they 

differ. 

2. Explain that you will tell the students which kind of forest is being shown in each part of the 

slide show. They should be prepared to observe and record the kind of fire they see in each 

forest type. 

3. Give a copy of Student Page 1 to each student. Explain that, when the photo of fire behavior 

is shown for each forest type, you will wait for a minute or two so students can look at it 

carefully and try to sketch or color it on their observation sheet. 

4. Start the slide show. Loosely follow the narrative in table 8. If you want more information 

about the slides, see table 7, in the introduction to this chapter. 

5. After viewing the slides, give students time to complete their sketches of fire behavior. 

6. After the sketches are completed, ask students to write down, along the side of the page, one 

or two words describing their feelings about fires like these. Did any—or all—of the photos 

seem scary? surprising? beautiful? terrible? 

7. Ask students to share their sketches, describing the three kinds of fire in words. Ask them to 

describe their feelings too. Encourage students to listen respectfully to others’ feelings. 

Explain that people’s feelings about any one thing often differ without being “right” or 

“wrong,” so it is important to learn about one another’s feelings. 

Evaluation:

1. Describe or sketch three kinds of fire behavior. 

2. List two different feelings from the class about wildland fire. 

Closure: Post the flipchart page and the students’ sketches in the classroom. 

 

6

 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk. Entry to right 

of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
22

Table 8—Narrative sketch for Visiting Wildland Fire slide show. To be used at elementary grade level. 

Slide 

No. 

Topic Notes 

1 Flames, down 

log 

INTRODUCTION: These slides show how fires burn in different kinds of 

forest. 

Here are photos from ponderosa pine forests.

2 Surface fire Look carefully at the fire. On your data sheet, write down the kind of forest. 

Then sketch or color the first diagram to show where the flames are burning 

and how high they reach on the trees. 

3 Catface, 

ponderosa pine 

This ponderosa pine tree has been scarred by many fires. 

4 PP branches Look up in the tree! It is very big, with many branches and needles. Fires 

have not killed it. 

5 Pileated 

woodpecker 

Here are some other things that live in ponderosa pine forests. We'll be 

learning more about them and how they can live in a place that burns often. 

6 Arrowleaf 

balsamroot 

Here are photos from lodgepole pine forests.

7 Lightning Lightning starts many fires in wildland forests. This lightning strike may start 

a fire in a lodgepole pine forest. 

8 Severe fire, 

lodgepole pine 

Here's one kind of fire that can occur in lodgepole pine forests. Look at it 

carefully. On your data sheet, write down the kind of forest. Then sketch or 

color the second diagram to show where the flames are burning and how 

high they reach on the trees. 

9 Postburn, 

lodgepole pine 

Here's a forest a few weeks after the kind of fire in the last slide. How can 

things live here ever again? 

10 Fireweed Here are some photos taken a few years after such a fire. 

11 Aspen sucker 

12 Young 

lodgepole 

13 Elk in 

lodgepole 

Here is another inhabitant of a lodgepole pine forest—about ten years after 

fire. 

14 Burn mosaic Here is a patchy pattern caused by fire in lodgepole pine. 

15 Lodgepole 

forest mosaic 

Can you still find a patchy pattern in this forest, 50 years after fire? 

Here are photos from whitebark pine forests.

16 Mixed severity 

fire, whitebark 

Here's a typical fire in a whitebark pine community. On your data sheet, 

write down the kind of forest. Then sketch or color the last diagram to show 

where the flames are burning and how high they reach on the trees. 

17 Whitebark fire 

scars 

The scars show that these whitebark pines have survived at least one fire. 

18 Clark’s 

Nutcracker 

We'll be learning about these inhabitants of whitebark pine forests and how 

they plant new trees... 

19 Seedling 

cluster 

... like these. 

20 Whitebark 

snags 

We'll learn about something very small that kills whitebark pines and is much 

more damaging than fire. 

21 Fire inside pine 

bole 

CLOSING: Fire is dangerous and powerful, and a part of these forest 

communities. Here a fire burns the rotten wood inside a lodgepole pine, 

leaving a shell of bark behind. 
 Name: ________________________ 

Draw and color a typical fire in each kind of forest. 

Ponderosa Pine

Lodgepole Pine

Whitebark Pine

Student Page 1 

23
24

Activity 2-3. Revisiting Wildland Fire 

What’s the Point?

Use this activity only if you did Activity 2-1 at the start of your FireWorks 

program. In that activity, students viewed and responded to a slide show with their 

observations and feelings about wildland fire. Now they can respond to the same photos 

again and consider whether their thoughts and feelings have changed in light of what 

they’ve learned. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: After viewing a slide show, students can describe their observations 

and feelings about wildland fire, and describe ways in which their thoughts and feelings 

have changed. 

Subjects: Science, Writing, Speaking and Listening 

Duration: 30 minutes 

Links to Standards7

:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

F6) Recognize difference between science questions and other questions 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

2.3B) Understand cultural perspective on environment and influence of environment on 

culture

Vocabulary: no new vocabulary 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?8 You must supply 

Visiting Wildland Fire slide 

carousel 

Main/C slide projector and screen 

student notes and flipchart from Activity 2-1 

Procedure 

1. Explain: This is the same slide show that students viewed at the start of FireWorks, 

containing photos of fire and burned areas. They can now look at their earlier 

responses and think about ways in which their thoughts may have changed (or not) 

after studying fire ecology. 

2. Start the slide show. Advance the slides every 2-4 seconds. 

 

7

 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8. 

8

 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk. 

Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 

Grade level:

 X Middle
25

3. Hand out the students' first responses to Visiting Wildland Fire and post the flipchart 

from Activity 2-1. Ask students to compare their current thoughts and feelings with 

the ones recorded earlier. Use the following questions: 

• What feelings are the same? 

• What feelings are different? 

• Pick one feeling that has changed. Can you explain why? If no feelings have 

changed, can you explain why? 

Evaluation: Write a paragraph comparing your thoughts or feelings now about wildland 

fire with your thoughts or feelings when you began studying this subject. 

Closure: Ask class members to describe an experience in their lives that caused them to 

change their beliefs or feelings about something. Ask them to describe why their beliefs 

or feelings changed. 

Extensions 

1. Write a narrative for the Visiting Wildland Fire slide show to be presented to first 

graders. Obtain specific information about the slides, if needed, from table 7. 

2. Read and compare the two National Geographic articles on fire in the FireWorks 

Library: 

• “The Great Yellowstone Fires” by David Jeffery in the Feb. 1989 issue, vol. 

175(2) 

• “The Essential Element of Fire” by Michael Parfit in the Sept. 1996 issue, vol. 

190(3) 

How do the themes of the two articles differ? How are the authors’ attitudes toward 

wildland fire the same and how are they different? 

3. Read the fire safety messages on pp. 76-77 in Exploring Wood (in the Teacher Box). 

Produce a different fire safety message for young children, a lesson that teaches about 

safety without teaching that all wildland fires are bad.
26

 Chapter 3. 

 Burning Questions

Fire can occur only if oxygen, fuel, and heat are available. These three components are 

called the "fire triangle." In this chapter’s activities, primary and elementary students learn about 

the three components of fire by making a physical model of the Fire Triangle. They investigate 

the geometric properties of a triangle and the nature of fire behavior by removing and adding 

legs of the triangle and observing the effects. 

This chapter provides several laboratory experiments for investigating fire behavior and 

modeling the behavior of fire in wildland fuels. Students build model forests and model trees to 

learn how fires spread horizontally and vertically. 

Background 

For a quick survey of fire behavior and fire spread in wildlands, preview the 3-minute 

videotape Kinds of Fire in the Teacher Box. The tape is used in Activity 3-3. For additional 

background, see the following resources in the FireWorks Library: 

• The Book of Fire by William Cottrell. This book provides detailed information and 

beautiful color diagrams about the chemistry and physics of wildland fire. 

• pages 62-63 in Wildfire for a description of the fire behavior that occurs in a campfire. 

Clear color diagrams accompany this "Campfire Story." 

• pages 8-13 in Jack deGolia's book Fire - a Force of Nature. This section describes the 

many ways a wildland fire can behave, depending on fuels, topography, and weather. 

• pages 15-55 in Yellowstone on Fire. As fires grow large, especially if the weather 

becomes very windy, fires seem to take on a life of their own. They become extremely 

powerful and unpredictable. This kind of fire behavior occurred in Yellowstone National 

Park during the summer of 1988, and it is described photographically in Yellowstone on 

Fire. 

Chapter Goals

1. Increase students’ understanding

• of chemical change 

• of combustion 

• of fire behavior in wildland fuels

2. Increase students’ ability to 

• use physical models & analogies 

• make observations 

• interpret observations 

• apply new knowledge 

• describe their discoveries 

• use new information to solve 

problems 

 

Chapter Activities 

Activity 3-1. For Primary and Elementary: 

Meeting the Fire Triangle (P,E) 

Activity 3-2. For Middle School: 

Meeting the Fire Triangle (M) 

Activity 3-3. Testing the Fire Triangle (P,E,M) 

Activity 3-4. The Fire Triangle 

 in Wildlands (M,H) 

Activity 3-5. Bucket Brigade (E,M) 

Activity 3-6. Will It Burn? (H) 

Activity 3-7. Tinker Tree Derby (M,H)
27

Activity 3-1. For Primary and Elementary: 

Meeting the Fire Triangle 

What’s the Point? 

In this activity, students make a physical model of the Fire Triangle as a geometric shape. 

They manipulate the model and discuss the components of the Fire Triangle in the context of 

things they are already familiar with—candle flames, campfires, and engines. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objective(s): Given toothpicks and gumdrops, students can construct a geometric 

triangle, name the components of the Fire Triangle, and explain that removal of one component 

of the Fire Triangle extinguishes the fire. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Speaking and Listening, Health, Workplace 

Competencies 

Duration: 30 minutes 

Links to Standards9

: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A1) Ask a question about the environment 

A2) Plan and conduct simple imvestigation 

A3) Use simple equipment and tools to gather information 

A5) Communicate investigations and explanations 

B1) Understand size, weight, shape, color, temperature; materials; states of matter 

F1) Understand and make choices for safety and preventing injury 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A1) Identify questions that can be answered scientifically 

A2) Design and conduct a scientific investigation 

A3) Develop explanations and predictions using evidence 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

B1) Understand properties of matter 

B2) Describe physical and chemical changes 

B4) Identify ways in which energy moves in and out of a system 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

1A) Develop questions to learn about environment 

1B) Design simple investigations 

1E) Describe data, organize information to search for patterns 

2.1C) Be aware of basic behavior of some forms of energy 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1A) Develop, focus and explain questions about environment 

1B) Design investigations to answer questions 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

2.1A) Understand most physical processes that shape the earth

 

9

 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade levels: 

 X Primary 

 X Elementary
28

 cont’d. 

2.1C) Be aware of basic behavior of some forms of energy 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment 

4D) Understand and accept personal responsibility for actions 

Vocabulary: Fire Triangle, fuel, heat, oxygen, triangle 

Materials: 

In this trunk... ...where?10 You must provide 

Fire Triangle poster Main/B gumdrops (12+ per student team) 

toothpicks (12 per student team) 

Procedure: 

1. Explain: In previous activities (if you are following one of the suggested curriculum 

programs described in table 2 or 3), students have learned about three forest communities. 

They have learned that fire has occurred in those forest communities for hundreds of years. 

How can the plants and animals in those communities survive fire? Students will soon do 

research on some amazing ways in which forest inhabitants "deal with fire." To understand 

better, they will first learn more about fire itself. 

2. Ask students to work in groups of three or four. 

3. Explain: Each student team should build three or four shapes out of gumdrops and 

toothpicks. Write them on the board: 3-sided (triangle), 4-sided (in this case, a square), 5-

sided (pentagon), and 6-sided (hexagon). Use the toothpicks for the sides and gumdrops for 

the corners. 

4. Ask students to find out which shape is the most "stable" one, that is, it keeps its shape even 

when you push on a side or a corner. Unless they eat all the gumdrops, it won't take long for 

them to decide that the triangle is the most stable. 

5. All students can convert their 

shapes to triangles. Ask students 

what happens when one leg of a 

triangle is removed. It collapses 

into a single line. 

6. Explain: Scientists use the idea of 

a "triangle" to describe fires 

because a fire needs three things 

to be stable, that is, to keep 

burning. Can they think of what is 

needed? List their thoughts on the 

board. Look for items relating to 

ignition sources, fuel, and oxygen. 

7. Display the Fire Triangle poster 

(fig. 4). Explain that these are the 

three things needed to start a fire 

and keep it going, and relate the 

 

10 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk. Entry to right 

of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 

Figure 4—Fire Triangle poster. 
29

components on the triangle to students' ideas on the board. 

8. Ask what happens when one of these components is removed from a fire. (It stops burning.) 

Ask: Burnable things surround us every day. Why aren't they on fire? (An external 

source of heat is usually needed to start a fire. Once a fire has started, it produces the heat 

needed to continue burning. A fire can be put out if fuel, oxygen, or heat is removed.) 

9. Ask how people can use this knowledge to stop a fire that occurs in their homes and in 

wildlands. (When you throw water on a fire, you cut off oxygen and remove heat. You can 

also cut off oxygen by throwing dirt on a fire. "Stop, drop, and roll" reduces the supply of 

oxygen to a fire. Running away would do the opposite—add more oxygen—so it is a bad 

idea. Fire extinguishers remove heat and deprive a fire of oxygen. Fire retardant dropped 

from airplanes removes heat and cuts off oxygen from wildland fires. When all the wax is 

gone from a candle or all the fuel is burned in a campfire, it goes out.) 

Evaluation:

1. Name the three things needed for a fire to occur. 

2. Explain to a partner and demonstrate how “stop, drop, and roll” removes something from the 

Fire Triangle and puts a fire out.

Closure: Collapse the triangles completely by eating the gumdrops and throwing the toothpicks 

away. 

Extensions: 

1. Play “Fire Tag” (in Ecosystem Matters in the Teacher Box, pp. 60-61) to learn about how 

fires spread in wildlands and how people can protect some areas from fire. 

2. Make and decorate your own paper fire triangles using Activity 3.2. 

3. Read about people’s feelings about fire in Legends of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. These 

stories would be fun to read to the whole class. 

4. Learn more about the Fire Triangle and home safety from Smokey Bear’s Internet site: 

www.smokeybear.com 
30

Activity 3-2. For Middle School: 

Meeting the Fire Triangle 

What’s the Point? 

This activity is a brief guided discussion that describes combustion and wildland fire in 

terms of science concepts and things that students already know about fire. It may be possible to 

proceed to Activity 3-3 without using this discussion, then challenge the students to construct the 

Fire Triangle from their own observations.

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: Given materials for a paper model, students can construct a model of the Fire 

Triangle and explain how extinguishing a fire is analogous to removing one leg of a triangle. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Health 

Duration: 30 minutes 

Links to Standards11: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

B1) Understand properties of matter 

B2) Describe physical and chemical changes 

B4) Identify ways in which energy moves in and out of systems 

F1) Identify potential for accidents, make choices to minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

2.1C) Understand energy transfer 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment

Vocabulary: Fire Triangle, fuel, heat, hypothesis, model, oxygen, prescribed fire, tree crown 

 

11 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8. 

Grade level:

 X Middle
31

Materials: 

In this trunk... ...where?12 You must provide

Fire Triangle poster Main/B Fire Triangle transparency (class page 1)—optional 

Tree Portrait poster Main/B For Middle-school level, provide each student a 

copy of Fire Triangle Kit (Student Page 2), three 

brads, and several hole punches for the class. 

“Fuels... Tree & Soil 

Parts, and Fire Targets” 

kit 

Teacher/C Tape or sticky-tack to attach labels to Tree Portrait 

Procedure: Post the Fire Triangle poster in the classroom (fig. 4). Ask students what is needed for a 

fire. Write answers on the board. Then use the answers to discuss the three parts of the Fire 

Triangle: heat, fuel, and oxygen. This discussion can be brief and still prepare students 

adequately for the FireWorks activities. The Fire Triangle transparency (class page 1) can be 

used as a transparency to guide discussion, but may not be necessary. At the end of the 

discussion, ask students to construct a paper model of the Fire Triangle Kit (student page 2); use 

this as an evaluative tool. 

Discussion Points (also listed on class page 1): 

1. What is fire? Fire is a rapid chemical reaction that combines fuel and oxygen to produce 

heat and light. 

INFO SPARK—Integrating with physical science: You can use either of the formulas below to 

describe the chemical reaction for combustion. Information about photosynthesis and respiration 

or the oxygen and carbon cycles, presented in many science texts, can also be used here. 

carbohydrate + oxygen + heat carbon dioxide + water vapor + heat + light 

C6H12O6 + 6 O2 + heat 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + heat + light

2. Burnable things surround us every day. Why aren't they on fire? An external source of 

heat is usually needed to start combustion. Once a fire has started, it produces the heat 

needed to continue burning. A fire can be put out if fuel, oxygen, or heat is removed. This 

idea is often depicted using a triangle (refer to the Fire Triangle poster). Remove any one of 

the three legs of a triangle, and it will collapse; remove any one of the required components 

of fire, and it will go out. 

3. What is the fuel in fires we are familiar with? Most cars are fueled by gasoline, using an 

"internal combustion" engine; candles are fueled by melted wax, furnaces by natural gas or 

fuel oil, and campfires by wood. 

4. What fuels a wildland fire? In nature, fire's fuel is plant material. Use the Tree Portrait

poster to discuss nature's fuels. Tape the colored labels from the Fuel Labels envelope to the 

tree portrait to illustrate these points: 

• Tree crowns, high above the ground (red label), provide some fuel; these include tree 

branches, leaves (needles are a kind of leaf), and trunks. 

 

12 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
32

• Fuels that lie on or right above the surface of the ground (colored orange) include dead 

and fallen needles, leaves, grass, dead wood, stumps, and low shrubs. 

• The main ground fuel is duff, the layer of dead, decaying plant material that makes up the 

top layer of soil (colored purple). It contains decaying leaves, decaying wood, and roots. 

Sometimes it is mixed with mineral soil (very fine rock particles), which won't burn. 

5. Where does the oxygen for fire come from? Oxygen is plentiful in air. Students may be 

able to relate the "oxygen" part of the fire triangle to their fire-safety education: "Stop, drop, 

and roll" is one way to reduce the oxygen available to burning clothing. If a person runs with 

clothing on fire, the oxygen supply increases and the fire burns more intensely. 

INFO SPARK—Integrating with Life Science, Mathematics, and Physical Science: Oxygen 

comprises about 21 percent of the air we breathe. Nitrogen gas comprises 78%. Argon, carbon 

dioxide, and other gases comprise the remaining 1%. Oxygen is so plentiful that we use only 

about 20% of the oxygen in every breath we take. If we used it all, artificial resuscitation wouldn't 

work! Students can make a pie chart showing the chemical composition of air. This discussion 

point also provides an opportunity to refer to the oxygen and carbon cycles, photosynthesis, and 

respiration. 

6. What heat sources do we use to start fires? Spark plugs in cars, pilot lights in appliances, 

and matches are some examples. 

7. What provides heat for forest fires? In wildlands, nature provides heat in lightning and 

volcanoes. Matches, untended campfires, and cigarettes are the sources of heat for many 

human-caused wildland fires. During the thousands of years when Native Americans were 

the only people living in North America, they often started fires to change the plant 

communities that provided their food and shelter. They used fire to make their campgrounds 

safe from fire and enemies, to improve grazing and berry supplies, and for many other 

reasons. After they obtained horses, Native Americans used fire to improve forage for their 

herds. Today, we would call these prescribed fires.

8. How does wind influence fire? Wind influences fire in many ways. Think about starting a 

campfire. If you blow on it, you provide extra oxygen and blow the heat toward the fuels, 

getting the fire to burn more intensely. If you blow too hard, especially across a small flame 

like a candle, you scatter the heat so much that the fire goes out. Wind helps forest fires 

spread by drying out fuels and carrying burning embers ahead of the fire. 

9. Use the fire triangle to describe some ways to put out a fire. To slow down a fire or put it 

out, at least one of the three components of the fire triangle must be changed. Think about 

ways that both large and small fires are controlled. When all the wax is gone from a candle or 

all the fuel is burned in a campfire, it goes out. A fireline, used to control forest fires, is 

simply a path cut through all of a forest's fuels—down to mineral soil. When the fire gets to 

the fireline, it runs out of fuel. When you throw water on a fire, you cut off oxygen and 

remove heat. You can also cut off oxygen by throwing dirt on a fire. Fire extinguishers and 

fire retardant dropped from airplanes remove heat and cut off oxygen from wildland fires. 

Evaluation: Provide each student with a Fire Triangle Kit (Student Page 2). Ask students to 

construct a Fire Triangle and label the parts correctly. Ask them to write a paragraph in which 

they do the following: 

1. describe a fire (candle, engine, campfire, and forest fire are all possibilities) 

2. tell one way to put it out 

3. explain what part of the Fire Triangle is removed when that method is used to put it out 
33

Closure: Explain: this discussion has provided a model for how fires work. A model is like a 

hypothesis because it is an explanation for something observable, and it can be tested. Students 

will test the Fire Triangle model in activities to come. 

Extensions: 

1. Make a collage of familiar things that use combustion. Examples: Cars and gas appliances 

contain "burning chambers." Electrical appliances may rely on combustion of coal to produce 

power. Barbecues, lanterns, and candles use fire. So do “real” fireworks displays. Use the 

components of the Fire Triangle to describe how combustion is controlled in these items. 

2. Learn about causes of fires in your local area by doing the “Cause and Effect” activity at the 

top of p. 60 in Ecosystem Matters (in the Teacher Box). 
Fire Triangle 

1. What is fire? 

2. Burnable things surround us every day. Why aren't they on fire? 

3. What is the fuel in fires we are familiar with? 

4. What fuels a forest fire? 

5. Where does the oxygen for fire come from? 

6. What heat sources do we use to start fires? 

7. What provides heat for wildland fires? 

8. How does wind influence fire? 

9. Use the fire triangle to describe some ways to put out a fire.

Class Page 1 

34 
Fire Triangle Kit

1. Cut along the lines to make the three "legs" of your Fire triangle. 

2. Mark one leg "Fuel." Mark another "Oxygen." Mark another "Heat." 

Decorate the pieces. 

3. Punch holes on the X marks at the ends of each leg. 

4. Put brads or other connectors through the holes and connect the legs of the 

triangle. Write your name on the back. 

5. If you remove one leg of a paper triangle, what happens to it? 

6. If you remove one leg of the Fire Triangle, what happens to the fire? 

 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 

 X 

 X 

Student Page 2 

35
36

Activity 3-3. Testing the Fire Triangle 

What’s the Point? 

This activity uses fires that students are familiar with—a burning match and a 

candle—to see if fire can occur without the components of the Fire Triangle. For 

Primary and elementary students, conduct the activity as a demonstration. For 

students in the middle grades, assign students to four teams, set up four lab benches for 

them to work at, and ask them to follow the directions that you provide. 

This is the first of many activities that uses matches and fire. It is important to 

emphasize safety. Prepare the students the day before the experiments by going over 

safety procedures and using Smokeygram #1 

(see fig. 2, chapter 1), both described in 

Preparation below. 

In Demonstration/Experiment 1, a 

downward-pointing match and an upwardpointing match are burned (fig. 5). The 

downward-pointing match sustains fire until 

all of its fuel is burned to ash. (Ash is the 

mineral portion of wood, which doesn't 

burn.) Lack of fuel, then, is what puts the fire 

out. In contrast, the upward-pointing match 

goes out before its fuel is all consumed. The 

heat from the match disperses upward, so it 

heats the air above the flame but not the 

remaining fuel, which is beneath the flame. 

The upward-pointing match does not sustain 

fire as well as the downward-pointing one 

because of lack of heat. 

In Demonstration/Experiment 2,

students try to light a candle that is 

surrounded by carbon dioxide. The carbon 

dioxide is supplied by dry ice sublimating in 

a beaker; because it is cold and CO2 is denser 

than air, oxygen is displaced and the candle 

cannot be lit. 

Grade levels: 

 X Primary 

 X Elementary 

 X Middle

Figure 5—Eighth graders ask, “Where does 

the heat go?”
37

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: Given experimental materials, students can demonstrate and describe 

the effects of depriving a fire of heat, fuel, and oxygen. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Speaking and Listening for all grade levels. 

These additional subjects are included at the Middle School level: Reading, Writing, 

Health, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 20 minutes (Primary and Elementary); 40 minutes (Middle) 

Links to Standards13: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A1) Ask a question about the environment 

A2) Plan and conduct simple investigation 

A3) Use simple equipment and tools to gather information 

A4) Use data to construct an explanation 

A5) Communicate investigations and explanations 

B1) Understand size, weight, shape, color, temperature; materials; states of matter 

B3) Demonstrate production of heat, conduction and convection 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A1) Identify questions that can be answered scientifically 

A2) Design and conduct a scientific investigation 

A3) Develop explanations and predictions using evidence 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

A5) Communicate procedures and explanations 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

B1) Understand properties of matter 

B2) Describe physical and chemical changes 

B3) Identify ways in which energy moves in and out of a system 

F1) Identify potential for accidents, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

G1) Understand that scientists work alone and in teams 

G2) Understand that science results must be communicated 

G3) Recognize that uncertainty, debate, further investigation, and evaluation are part of 

science 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

1B) Design simple investigations 

1C) Collect information about environment 

1E) Describe data, organize information to search for patterns 

2.1B) Identify characteristics of and changes in matter 

2.1C) Be aware of basic behavior of some forms of energy 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

2.1C) Understand energy transfer 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment 

Vocabulary: carbon dioxide, chemist, combustion, condensation, convection, gas, 

liquid, solid, sublimation

 

13 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 
38

Materials

In this trunk... ... where?14 You must supply 

Fire Safety poster Main/B 

Smokeygram #1 Smokeygram kit,

Teacher/C 

Fire extinguisher Main/B 

Spray bottles with water (2) Hardware Box,

Main/A 

For Middle School level: 

Copy of Student Pages 3 

and 4 for each team 

Demonstration/Experiment 1:

Support stand post & base (1 for 

Elementary level, 4 for Middle 

School level) 

Main/A Wooden matches 

Paper towels for cleanup 

Clamp for support stand (1 or 4) 

Rod segment with alligator clip (1 or 4) 

Burning tray (cookie sheet) (1 or 4) 

Ashtray for burnt matches (1 or 4) 

15-cm rulers (Middle School level 

only) 

All in Hardware 

Box, Main/A 

Demonstration/Experiment 2:

Tongs for handling dry ice 

Votive candle (1 or 4) 

Ashtray for burnt matches (1 or 4) 

Beaker, 500 mL 1 or 4) 

Dry ice (1-2 pieces about 

ping-pong ball size for 

each group)—available in 

most supermarkets15

Votive candle (1 or 4) Wooden matches 

Ashtray for burnt matches (1 or 4) 

All in Hardware 

Box, Main/A 

Paper towels 

Preparation 

Because this activity uses fire, you’ll need to make some special preparations. 

Follow the precautions listed in Chapter 1. The day before doing this activity go over the 

rules on the Fire Safety poster, or follow the lab rules for your school. If students come to 

class unprepared (wearing loose sleeves or sandals, for instance), do not allow them to 

handle burning materials. Use Smokeygram #1 (see fig. 2, chapter 1) as a reminder just 

before students begin the experiments. Read it to the class and post it in the classroom, or 

have it “delivered” from another room by “special courier” (perhaps a student from 

another class). 

 

14 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by 

letter). 

15If you can’t find dry ice, do this experiment using baking soda and vinegar: Place the candle in a 1-qt 

freezer container (in the Hardware Box). Mix vinegar with baking soda. Immediately pour the resulting 

CO2 gas (not the foam or liquid) over the burning candle. 
39

Procedure 

1. For Demonstration (at Elementary level), set up a demonstration table with all 

materials on it. For Experiment (at Middle School level), set up 4 work stations. The 

following instructions are written for the Middle School level; elementary teachers 

can follow them for their demonstrations. 

2. Before having students start their own experiments, place some dry ice in an extra 

beaker and discuss it with the students. It is frozen carbon dioxide (one of the parts of 

air), and it’s very cold—much colder than ice. Then ask the students what is 

happening to the dry ice in the beaker. It doesn’t look like it is changing, but it is; the 

solid carbon dioxide is sublimating—going right from solid to gas form—in the 

beaker. In a few minutes, it will all have disappeared. The fog in the beaker is 

actually water vapor condensing out of the room’s air because the temperature is so 

cold next to the dry ice. 

INFO SPARK—Integrating with physical science: This would be a good time to 

discuss or review states of matter (solids, liquids, gases), physical changes (such as 

evaporation, condensation, and sublimation), and chemical changes with the class. 

3. Have the students set up their beaker and candle for Experiment 2 before beginning 

Experiment 1. Then they can set up Experiment 1. While they conduct Experiment 1, 

circulate to all stations, placing dry ice next to the votive candles inside the beakers. 

Use several pieces of dry ice (3-5) in each beaker, and caution the students not to 

touch it or disturb the beaker in any way while doing Experiment 1. 

4. Have students conduct Experiment 1, following the instructions and recording their 

observations on Student Page 3. 

5. Have students conduct Experiment 2, following the instructions and recording their 

observations on handout Student Page 4. 

6. After all experiments and data sheets are completed, ask students about their results. 

In particular, what component of the Fire Triangle was removed in each part of the 

experiments? The downward-pointing match goes out for lack of fuel. The upwardpointing match goes out because the heat produced by the flames is rising, so the fuel 

that is available is not heated (lack of heat). The candle can’t be lighted because 

oxygen is not available. (Ignition might be slowed by the cold conditions in the 

presence of dry ice “fog,” but it probably wouldn’t stop ignition altogether.) 

INFO SPARK—Integration with physical science at advanced Middle School or 

High School level: In Experiment 2, carbon dioxide stays in the beaker and does not 

disperse throughout the room. Why? One reason is that it is cold, and cold gases are 

more dense than warm gases. A second reason is that carbon dioxide is heavier than air. 

Students can check out the relative weights of the two gases by comparing the weight of 

a mole of the two molecules. Use the atomic weights below. 

 element atomic weight

 Carbon (C) 12 g 

 Oxygen (O) 16 g 

A mole of CO2 weighs 12 g + 2(16 g) = 44 g 

A mole of O2 weighs 2(16 g) = 32 g
40

Evaluation: 

1. Describe or draw a picture to show where the heat from a candle goes. 

2. What evidence do you have to show that a fire cannot burn without oxygen? 

Closure: Lots of things can happen when you blow on a fire. Here’s a chance to discuss 

some of them. You can blow a candle out, but you can also blow on a campfire to get it to 

burn better. What makes the difference? [When you blow on a candle, you add oxygen to 

it, but you also bend the flame and disperse the heat away from the wick. The result is to 

remove so much heat from the fuel that the fire goes out. When you blow on a campfire, 

you bend the flames and disperse the heat over the unburned fuel that is "downwind," 

spreading the fire. Most campfire builders can remember a few times when they blew too 

hard and put the fire out.] 

 Explain that research on combustion, like the experiments in this activity, is the 

work of chemists. 

Extensions 

1. In Step 6 above, we claim that the atmosphere around the dry ice is not dry enough to 

keep us from lighting a candle—that the candle will not light because oxygen is not 

available. Design an experiment that tests this claim. 

2. Use a different procedure to test the Fire Triangle, from Discovery Channel’s Internet 

site: 

pictures.discovery.com/dppages/wildfire/teacher/lesson4.html 

3. Apply what you’ve learned about the Fire Triangle to personal safety using Discovery 

Channel’s Internet site: 

pictures.discovery.com/dppages/wildfire/teacher/safety.html 

 
 Names: ________________________ 

Testing the Fire Triangle—Experiment 1. 

Organize your team. On a team of 4, one person should light matches and observe heat; one should measure time, 

one should measure flames, and one should record data. Change jobs if you repeat the experiment. 

Procedures:

1. Place the burning tray on a heat-resistant surface. Set the support stand in 

the center of the burning tray. Attach the clamp near the top of the ring 

stand. Attach the rod with alligator clips to the clamp, so it forms a "T" with 

the stand. 

2. Clip a wooden match to each alligator clip. Clip in one match so the 

ignitable tip points straight up. Clip in the other so the ignitable tip points 

down. 

3. Light a third match and use it to ignite the downward-pointing match. 

Record your observations in the first column below, lines 1 and 2. 

4. Use another match to ignite the upward-pointing match. Record your 

observations in the second column below, lines 1 and 2. 

5. Do the experiment with two fresh matches. Have one person on the team 

carefully place her or his hand above, below, and next to the flame to see if 

any areas are hot. Record observations in line 3 below, both columns. 

6. Do the experiment again, if necessary, so you can answer questions 3 and 4 

below.

Match is pointing... DOWN UP 

1. Without putting the ruler in the 

flame, estimate how long the 

flame is (cm). 

 

2. How long did the fire burn 

(seconds)? 

 

3. What direction did most of the 

heat go? 

 

4. Why do you think the match 

went out? What part of the Fire 

Triangle was removed? 

 

Student Page 3 

41
 Names: _________________________ 

Testing the Fire Triangle - Experiment 2. 

Organize your team. One person should set up the experiment. One should try to 

light the candle. One should record observations. Change jobs if you repeat the 

experiment.

Procedures:

1. Place the candle inside a beaker. 

2. Ask your teacher to place 1 or 2 pieces of dry ice into the beaker, next to the 

candle. 

3. Leave the beaker alone for a few minutes. Don’t bump or move or stir the 

beaker.

4. After 5 minutes, answer question 1 below. 

5. Try to light the candle. 

6. Answer questions 2 and 3. 

1. Describe any changes that 

occurred in the beaker during the 

minutes before you light the 

candle. 

2. Describe what you observe 

when you try to light the candle. 

3. Use the Fire Triangle to 

explain what you observe. 

Student Page 4 

42
43

Activity 3-4. The Fire Triangle in Wildlands 

 

 

What’s the Point? 

The Fire Triangle tries to capture the concepts underlying wildland fire behavior—a 

powerful, highly variable force of nature. When you're looking at a match or a candle, it looks 

simple. In wildlands, it usually isn't. Instead, it is complicated, intriguing, and dramatic. 

 In this activity, students construct and demonstrate some principles of fire behavior for 

the class. They use matches to model trees and a matrix of matches to model a forest. They 

compare fire behavior on different slopes and with different arrangements of trees. They also 

view a 3-minute videotape of wildland fires burning in three layers of the forest—surface, crown, 

and ground fuels. They interpret the fires in the videotape in terms of what they have learned 

about fire behavior and the Fire Triangle. 

 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objectives: Given a physical model of a forest stand, students can describe effects of 

slope and tree density of fire spread. After viewing a videotape, students can identify three kinds 

of fire behavior—surface, crown, and ground fire. 

Subjects: Science, Math., Writing, Speaking and Listening, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 50 minutes 

Links to Standards16: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A1) Identify questions that can be answered scientifically 

A2) Design and conduct a scientific investigation 

A3) Develop explanations and predictions using evidence 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

A5) Communicate procedures and explanations 

B2) Describe physical and chamical changes 

B3) Understand that energy is transferred in many way 

B4) Identify ways in which energy moves in and out of a system 

F1) Identify potential for accidents, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize extent, sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

A2) Design and conduct experiment, use models to explain results 

B3) Understand basic chemical reactions 

F1) Identify hazards, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize extent, sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1B) Design investigations to answer questions 

1D) Judge weaknesses and strengths of information being used 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations

 

16 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8 and 9-12. 

Grade levels:

 X Middle 

 X High
44

cont’d. 

2.1C) Understand energy transfer 

2.4A) Understand that human-caused changes affect environment 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

1B) Design investigations to answer particular questions

1D) Apply logic to assess completeness and reliability of information 

1G) Use evidence and logic to develop hypotheses 

2.2C) Understand the living environment as comprised of interrelated, dynamic systems

Vocabulary: chemist, crown fire, density, ecologist, firestorm, forester, ground fire, model, 

physicist, range manager, slope, spot fire, surface fire, wildlife biologist 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?17 You must supply 

Kinds of Fire videotape (3 min.) Teacher/C VCR and monitor 

Tree Portrait poster Main/B Wooden matches (lots) 

Fuels, Tree Parts...kit Teacher/C Metal trash can without liner

Matchstick forest kits (4) Hardware Box,

Main/A 

overhead projector 

Fire extinguisher Main/B 

Burning trays Main/A 

Class Page 2 (transparency in 

FireWorks Visual Aids/Handouts) 

Teacher/C 

spray bottles with water (2) Hardware Box,

Main/A 

Copy of Student Page 5 for 

each team 

Procedure

1. Set up the class with four student teams. Explain that this activity is similar to research done 

by chemists and physicists. Results from research like this are used by foresters, firefighters, 

range managers, wildlife biologists, and ecologists. 

2. Explain that each team will set up different experiments, but the whole class will observe 

every fire. So, in effect, the student teams are setting up demonstrations for the whole class. 

3. Review safety procedures in the laboratory; use the Fire Safety poster or other lab rules. 

4. Give each student team a matchstick forest model (drilled square of masonite, 2 bolts, 1 nutand-washer set, 1 nail) and 50-100 matches. Ask students to insert a match in every hole of 

the matchstick forest model, tips pointing up. 

5. Set these “matchstick forests” in burning trays on a heat-resistant surface. If you don’t have 

laboratory facilities, one really good surface to use is a trash-can lid filled with sand. Let the 

first "forest" be level; to the second and third, attach a short bolt so the slope is about 20 

degrees. To the fourth, attach the long bolt so slope is about 40 degrees. Have a spray bottle 

and fire extinguisher nearby. 

6. Explain to students that the individual matches represent trees that have flammable crowns, 

like the conifers in local forests. In this demonstration, students will observe how slope and 

 

17 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
45

Figure 6—Middle school students ignite their “matchstick forest” while 

younger students “patrol” for unsafe practices. 

tree density affect fire 

spread through tree 

crowns. Before 

lighting the matches, 

ask students for their 

guess (hypothesis) 

about how the fires 

will differ. 

7. Light the match tips 

along one edge of the 

flat "forest" and 

observe fire behavior. 

Then light the match 

tips along the top 

edge of a mediumslope forest and 

observe. Then 

light the bottom row 

of matches on the 

other medium-slope 

forest and observe. Finally, light the bottom row of matches on the steep forest and observe 

(fig. 6). Ask for descriptions of what the students observe and interpretations in terms of the 

Fire Triangle. (Heat travels upward, so the matches and trees uphill from a fire receive more 

heat than those below and are easier to ignite.) Optional: Ask students to answer Questions 

1-3 on Student Page 5. 

8. Ask students to remove whatever remains of the matches from each board. They can use the 

nail in the kit to poke the burned matches out, if necessary. 

9. Explain that the arrangement of "trees" in the matchstick forests studied so far resembles the 

arrangement in lodgepole pine/subalpine fir forests. Show Class Page 2 on the overhead 

projector. This table describes the number and arrangement of trees in ponderosa 

pine/Douglas-fir forests and whitebark pine/subalpine fir forests. Ask students to set up 

matchstick forests resembling these two forest types—using the long bolts to make "steep" 

forests. Ask how they expect fire behavior to differ. 

10. Light these matchstick forests, one at a time, and discuss or record observations on Student 

Page 5, lines 4 and 5. 

11. Ask each student team to construct a matchstick forest to solve a problem. Here are two 

possibilities: (1) Your matchstick forest is on a steep slope. You can remove 12 trees from it. 

Find the best arrangement of 12 fewer trees (a total of 37 remaining) to reduce the risk of fire 

spread. (2) You are in the timber business, and most of your land is on moderate slopes. You 

need to reduce the risk of fire spread on your land, but you want to raise as many trees as 

possible. What’s the best density and arrangement for your trees? 

12. Light these matchstick forests, one at a time, and discuss how well each team solved the 

problem. 

13. Ask the students to compare the model forests used in this experiment to real forests. What 

are the similarities? What are the differences? How would they expect wildland fires to differ 

from matchstick fires? 
46

14. Explain: Real wildland fires are much more complicated than model fires. Show the 3-minute 

videotape Kinds of Fire. Ask students which kind of fire (surface, crown, or ground) was 

modeled in their matchstick forests? (crown fire) 

15. Explain: Spot fires (mentioned in the videotape) can be started by small fires, including 

slash burns, as well as large, severe fires; the spot fires started by large fires, however, may 

start a long distance from the main fire. Any time there are several fires in an area, caused by 

numerous spot fires or lightning strikes or any other source, they can influence one another 

and even merge into a large, severe “firestorm.” 

Evaluation: 

1. Use a sketch to show how slope affects fire spread. 

2. If you double the number of trees in a forest, what happens to the fire danger? 

Closure: On the Tree Portrait (poster from the trunk), attach the laminated cards identifying 

the locations where fires can burn (ground, surface, and crown). 

Extensions 

1. Read and report to the class on the 1997 Discover article about lightning, in the FireWorks 

Library. 

2. View the videotape International Crown Fire Modeling Experiments (in the Teacher Box) to 

see what researchers are doing to learn more about very severe fires and safety measures. 

3. Learn about wildland fires on a national scale by consulting the U.S. “National Fire 

Occurrence Maps” on the Internet at 

www.fs.fed.us/fire/fuelman 

4. What’s going on right now in the firefighting business? To find out, visit the National 

Interagency Fire Center’s Internet site: 

www.nifc.gov 
Arranging Trees in the Forest 100 Years Ago

Three kinds of forest, three arrangements of trees. 

What kind of forest? How many trees in 

a matchstick 

model?

How are the trees 

arranged?

Lodgepole 

pine/subalpine fir

49 Trees are dense and 

quite evenly spaced.

Ponderosa 

pine/Douglas-fir

5 Trees occur singly, 

occasionally in pairs.

Whitebark 

pine/subalpine fir

13 Trees occur in 

clusters of 2 to 5.

The matchstick model represents 1/40 hectare (1/15 acre), 

a square 16 m (about 50 ft) on a side. 

Is this bigger than your classroom?

Class Page 2 

47
 Names: ____________________________ 

The Fire Triangle in Wildlands 

In this demonstration, you watch fires on three slopes--flat, medium, and steep. 

Answer questions 1-3 using the demonstration fires as examples.

1 How does the steepness of a 

hillside affect a fire's spread? 

2 How well do fires burn downhill? 

3 How does slope affect fire spread? 

Use the Fire Triangle to explain. 

Now you will burn two more "matchstick forests" to explore how the 

arrangement of trees affects fire spread. Answer the questions below.

Description of matchstick forest How well did this arrangement 

resist crown fire?

4 Ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forest 

100 years ago (5 large trees in area 

where lodgepole pine might have 

50 trees) 

5 Whitebark pine/subalpine fir forest 

(13 trees, growing in clusters of 2-5 

trees, in area where lodgepole pine 

might have 50 trees) 

6 Use the Fire Triangle to explain. 

Student Page 5 

48
49

Activity 3-5. Bucket Brigade18 

What’s the Point? 

Candles and matches, contained in clips 

and beakers, make tidy fires. Wildland fires are 

anything but tidy. In this activity, teams of 

students try to start a fire using branches, leaves, 

and needles (fig. 7)—some of which have been 

partially burned. Then they try to explain what 

happens in terms of the Fire Triangle. Finally, 

they view a short videotape that describes how 

fires burn in various layers of wildland fuels (tree 

crowns, forest floor surface, and ground).

This is an outdoor activity. Select a 

place far from dry grass, bark chips, and other 

fuels. Make sure a hose is available and ready to 

use. Because the students will be using matches, 

you may want to ask some parents or other 

volunteers to help. Also, please note that you 

have to gather the following fuels yourself for this experiment: green pine needles (it’s OK to 

leave them on small twigs), and charred material (from a fireplace or campfire). 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective(s): Students can select fuels that are likely to burn well and arrange them so 

they are most likely to burn. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Health, Workplace 

Competencies 

Duration: 50 minutes 

Links to Standards19:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A1) Ask a question about the environment 

A2) Plan and conduct simple investigation 

A3) Use simple equipment and tools to gather information 

A4) Use data to construct an explanation 

A5) Communicate investigations and explanations 

B1) Understand size, weight, shape, color, temperature; materials; states of matter 

B3) Demonstrate production of heat, conduction and convection 

E3) Communicate a problem, design and solution

 

18 Adapted from Getting to Know Wildland Fire (see Appendix 3 for more information). 

19 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade levels: 

 X Elementary 

 X Middle

Figure 7—Elementary students evaluate the 

flammability of their fuel recipe. 
50

 cont’d.

E4) Understand that scientists and engineers often work in teams to solve problems 

F1) Understand and make choices for safety and preventing injury 

F4) Understand that changes in environments can be natural or invluenced by people 

F5) Understand that change in environments can be slow or rapid, rate has consequences 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A2) Design and conduct a scientific investigation 

A3) Develop explanations and predictions using evidence 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

A5) Communicate procedures and explanations 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

B2) Describe physical and chemical changes 

B4) Identify ways in which energy moves in and out of a system 

F1) Identify potential for accidents, make choices that minimize risk of injury to self or others 

G1) Understand that scientists work alone and in teams 

G2) Understand that science results must be communicated 

G3) Recognize that uncertainty, debate, further investigation and evaluation are part of science 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

1B) Design simple investigations 

1C) Collect information about environment 

2.1B) Identify characteristics of and changes in matter 

2.1C) Be aware of basic behavior of some forms of energy 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1B) Design investigations to answer questions 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

2.1C) Understand energy transfer 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment 

2.4D) Understand ability to control environment as function of knowledge and technology 

Vocabulary: charred fuel, flammability, fuel, fuel moisture, surface area, volatile, volume 

Materials

In this Trunk... ... where?20 You must supply 

Fire extinguisher Main/B Aluminum pie tins (5) 

Spray bottles, filled with water 

(2) 

Hardware 

Box, Main/A 

Wooden matches 

Metal trash can without plastic liner 

“Bucket Brigade” Kit Teacher/C large bucket of water 

dead ponderosa pine needles21

dead & dry branches, small 

dead & dry branches, large 

Teacher/C Two grocery bags, one containing green 

pine needles & small branches, the other 

containing charred fuels from a fireplace 

or campfire 

Fuels Box,

Main/B 

Three grocery bags, each one containing 

one of the fuels listed at left (from the 

Fuels Box) 

 

20 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 21 This experiment doesn’t require a lot of fuel to make its point. The Fuels Box in the main FireWorks trunk 

contains small amounts of each of these fuels; you can supplement this supply if you want to use more. 
51

Preparation 

Collect green pine foliage (you can leave small branches attached) in the field (fig. 8). If 

you think you will need more of the fuels provided in the Fuels Box (dead pine needles, small 

and large branches), collect those as well. Store the green needles in a plastic bag in the 

refrigerator until the day you use them. They can be stored for a week or two. 

 Place fuels in five grocery bags and attach the fuel labels from the Bucket Brigade kit. 

Procedure 

1. Explain: Five teams of students will try to 

start small fires in the aluminum pie tins. 

It may not be easy! Each team will 

assemble a pie tin with a certain mixture 

of fuels, specified on their Fuel Recipe. 

They must carefully plan a strategy to get 

as much of their fuel as possible to burn 

within 15 minutes. Remind students that 

fires will not burn unless all three parts of 

the fire triangle are present. 

2. Divide the students into five teams. Give 

each team a Fuel Recipe card from the 

Bucket Brigade kit, plus an aluminum pie 

tin. 

3. Give seven matches to each team. Seven is all they get. 

4. Have the students follow the team’s recipe to place the right combination of fuels in their pie 

tin. The fuels have to fit inside the pie tin, not be hanging over the edges and spilling out. 

Here are the Fuel Recipes: 

• Recipe #1 green needles (attached to twigs) 

• Recipe #2 dead & dry branches, small diameter (< 0.5 cm), mixed with green needles 

• Recipe #3 small dead & dry branches, plus dry needles 

• Recipe #4 large dead & dry branches, mixed with small-diameter branches 

• Recipe #5 charred fuels from campfire or fireplace, mixed with small branches

5. Go over the following rules with the students: 

• Each team must work together. 

• The whole team is responsible for safety. If any student is injured, the experiment stops. 

• All fires must be built within the pie tin on the designated surface (pavement or gravel, 

away from cars, buildings, and dry vegetation). 

• Each team must stick to its recipe. No other fuels may be added. 

• Each team gets only 7 matches; no more may be used. 

• Each team MUST use a 2-minute group planning session before lighting any matches; 

they can arrange the fuels in the pie tin in any way they wish. 

6. Go outside to the location where students will build their fires. 

7. Tell students to begin planning 

8. After two minutes, tell students that they may begin lighting their fires. 

9. After 15 minutes, stop the activity. 

10. As a class, take a “tour” of the work sites. Discuss how successful each fire was and why it 

burned well or didn't. Here are some discussion points: 

Figure 8—Small branch of ponderosa pine, with 

bud at tip. Circles in photo are 2 cm across.
52

Green fuels have much more moisture than dead fuels, unless it’s been raining lately. 

Moisture affects the Fire Triangle in two ways: First, you have to evaporate the moisture 

before you can heat the fuel to the ignition point (about 600o Fahrenheit, 320o C). If things 

are really wet, the water also keeps oxygen from the fuel. 

Green fuels usually contain about as much water (by weight) as the plant tissue itself! 

The moisture of dead, dry vegetation depends on its environment but can be as low as 3 

percent of the material’s weight. So green fuels may be difficult to start on fire. 

Once green fuels start to burn, however, they may produce more heat than dead ones. 

Green pine needles contain more stored energy than dead ones because they contain oils and 

other “volatile” compounds that deteriorate after the needles die. 

Large particles, like the big twig, are much harder to ignite than small particles. 

That’s because the small pieces have much more surface area exposed to oxygen and to the 

heat of the match than the large pieces do. (Scientists call this the "surface-area-to-volume 

ratio; as this number increases, fires burn more readily.) 

Plant matter is a mixture of burnable “stuff” (carbon compounds that combine readily 

with oxygen in the presence of heat) and unburnable minerals such as silicon, which glass is 

made of. Charred wood from an old campfire has had much of its carbon burned off, 

especially from the surface of the fuel, so it is harder to ignite than unburned wood.

11. Ask the students what factors other than fuel condition came into play as they built their 

fires. What strategies did they use to try to get the fires to burn? 

Evaluation: Using the five kinds of fuels provided in this activity, write a recipe for a fire that 

would burn really well. Write a paragraph that uses the Fire Triangle to explain why you think 

your recipe is a good one. 

Closure: If time permits, let students assemble their own combination of fuels to make a really 

good fire. Give them seven matches again and see how well the new “fuel recipes” burn. 

For Elementary students: Students at the elementary level should take a few minutes to 

view the 3-minute Kinds of Fire videotape; older students have already seen it (Activity 3-4). 

 Ask students to clean up materials and put equipment away. 

Extensions 

1. The discussion points in #10 above mention that the moisture content of fuels is very 

important in determining how well they burn. Design an experiment to measure the moisture 

content of various fuels and express it as a percent of dry weight. If equipment is available 

(an oven for drying and a balance for weighing), do the experiment and report results to the 

class. 

2. The discussion points also mention that surface-area-to-volume ratio affects how well fuels 

burn. Design and carry out an experiment to determine whether high or low surface-area-tovolume ratios favor better burning. You will need to measure some large twigs and small 

twigs, estimate their total surface area and volume of each, calculate their surface-area-tovolume ratios, and attempt to burn them.

3. Read pp. 87-127 in Yellowstone on Fire (in the FireWorks Library), a photojournalist’s

description of fire behavior in the 1988 Yellowstone fires.
53

Activity 3-6. Will It Burn? 

 

What’s the Point? 

In four experiments, the class investigates 

the “burnability” of fuels that occur in wildlands. 

The class is divided into four teams. Each team 

conducts one experiment, then reports results and 

conclusions to the class. The four experiments 

investigate the effects of fire on four different parts 

of a tree: 

 Experiment 1 Needles 

 Experiment 2 Buds 

 Experiment 3 Branches 

 Experiment 4 Roots 

In each experiment, students try to burn two kinds 

of natural fuels; they decide which kind is harder to 

burn and explain why (fig. 9). Students use the Fire 

Triangle in their explanations. 

“Burnability” is related to the mixture of 

oxygen and fuel and the intensity of heat. In these 

experiments, roughly the same amount of heat is 

provided to each set of material—the flame from a 

single wooden match, applied to two or more layers 

of crumpled newspaper. The moisture content and “fluffiness” of the fuels determine how well 

they burn. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: Given experimental materials, students can demonstrate or describe the effects 

of fuel greenness, fuel particle size, and fuel “fluffiness” on how well a fuel burns. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Workplace 

Competencies 

Duration: 50 minutes 

Links to Standards22:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

A1) Formulate a testable hypothesis and obtain relevant knowledge 

A2) Design and conduct an experiment, using mathematics and models to explain results 

A3) Communicate and defend a scientific argument 

A4) Use technology, mathematics, logic and previous research in investigations

 

22 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 9-12. 

Grade level:

 X High

Figure 9— Do branches burn more readily 

than pine needles? These eighth graders 

are finding out. 
54

 cont’d. 

B3) Understand basic chemical reactions 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

0B) investigate short- and long-term environmental changes 

1B) Design investigations to answer particular questions 

1G) Use evidence and logic to develop hypotheses 

2.1B) Apply understanding of chemical reactions to explain environmental phenomena

2.2D) Use interaction of matter and energy to explain environmental characteristics 

Vocabulary: bud, duff, mineral soil, needle, soil, surface area, volume 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?23 You must supply 

Burning tray (4) Main/A Wooden matches 

Oven mitts (4) Metal trash can, without plastic liner 

Paper towels for cleanup 

Newspaper cut into sheets about 24 X 35 

cm (1/4 of unfolded, open “page”) 

Spray container, filled with 

 water (2) 

Rulers, 15-cm (4) 

Safety goggles (4) 

Ashtray for burned matches 

 (4) 

All in 

Hardware 

Box, Main/A 

Overhead projector 

Fire Extinguisher Main/B 

Transparency of Class Page 3 

in Visual Aids & Handouts 

Teacher/C 

Fuels Box24 Main/B 

1 copy of Student Pages 6-9 (Each team 

gets one Student Page & conducts one 

experiment 

Preparation 

Collect green conifer foliage in the field. You don’t need much; 10 to 15 needles will do 

for Experiment 1, and 3 to 5 buds for Experiment 2. Use fig. 8 (see Activity 3-5) and fig. 10 to 

help identify the needles and buds needed. We suggest using ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir, but 

if they are not available in your area, other pines and true firs will be interesting to investigate 

instead. 

FireWorks provides enough materials (dead pine needles, small and large branches) for 

two to four replications of these experiments. If you think you will need more, collect them. 

Store the green needles in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until the day you use them; they die 

and dry out rapidly after being picked. 

Please note that availability of tree buds depends on season. If it is spring and conifer 

leaves have just emerged, the brand-new tree buds may not be large enough to demonstrate the 

 

23 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 24 This experiment doesn’t require a lot of fuel to make its point. The Fuels Box in the main FireWorks trunk 

contains small amounts of dead pine needles, small twigs, and large twigs; you can supplement this supply if you 

want to use more. 
55

point made in Experiment 2 below. In the northern Rocky Mountains, for instance, ponderosa 

pine buds usually burst sometime in May, and new buds are not well developed until mid-July. 

 These experiments use fire. Prepare students the day before the activity by going over the 

FireWorks Safety poster. Conduct experiments on a working surface that cannot be damaged by 

heat or fire. Make sure that ventilation is sufficient for smoke. Keep the fire extinguisher nearby. 

Fill the spray bottles with water and place them in an accessible location. If you do the 

experiments outdoors, stay away from dry vegetation and bark chips. Be sure that burning 

embers do not reach flammable materials. Everyone working directly with fire should wear 

safety goggles (in the FireWorks supplies). 

Procedure 

1. Ask students to set up their work stations. Each team needs 

• at least one pair of goggles 

• one burning tray 

• one oven mitt 

• one ashtray 

• one ruler 

• one Student Page (6, 7, 8, or 9) 

• at least two sheets of newspaper, 24 X 35 cm 

• one of these sets of materials, to correspond with their Student Page: 

 Exp. 1—dead, dry pine needles AND green pine needles 

 Exp. 2—buds of fir tree AND buds of pine tree 

 Exp. 3—small twigs (<0.25 cm thick) AND thick twigs (> 2 cm) 

 Exp. 4—“duff” (peat) AND mineral soil (sand) 

 AND cotton string 

2. Show students how to crumple the layers of newspaper separately and lay them on the 

burning tray. Class Page 3, a transparency, illustrates this. Show them how to ignite the 

newspaper for their experiments (two corners on a "long" edge). 

3. Ask students to do their experiments and prepare to show/ report their results to the class. 

Procedures for the four experiments are written on Student Pages 6-9. 

4. After the experiments are completed, ask each team to report to the class. 

Figure 10—Pine and fir foliage to be collected. Left, green needles of ponderosa pine. Right, bud 

and branch tips of Douglas-fir. Circles in photos are 2 cm across. 
56

INFO SPARKS on the experiments: 

Experiment 1. Dead vs. Green Needles. Because a lot of heat is needed to dry fuels 

out before they can burn, we expect dry material to burn more easily than moist material. The 

dead needles in Experiment 1 will have about the same moisture as their surroundings. In your 

warm, dry classroom, this may be as little as 5% of their weight. In a forest after heavy rain, it 

may be much more. Green needles, on the other hand, usually contain moisture at least equal to 

their own weight because they are constantly using water to stay alive.

Experiment 2. Tree Buds. In general, the more fuel surface exposed to oxygen and 

heat, the more easily the fuels burn. That's why people use crumpled newspaper instead of piles 

of newspaper to start a campfire. This idea leads us to expect thick buds to burn less easily than 

narrow, tiny buds. 

 Experiment 3. Large vs. Small Twigs. As in Experiment 2, the more fuel surface 

exposed to oxygen and heat, the more easily the fuels burn, so we expect thick twigs to burn less 

easily than tiny, narrow twigs. 

Experiment 4. Pure mineral soil (including sand) does not burn because it contains no 

organic matter—that is, no fuel. When mineral particles are mixed with duff, however, the “soil” 

can burn. Roots growing deep in pure mineral soil are less likely to be damaged by fire than roots 

growing in dry duff or in a soil-duff mixture. 

Evaluation: Write instructions for an 8-year-old, explaining how to collect fuels and arrange 

them for a campfire that will be easy to start on fire. Include only wildland fuels, no petroleum 

products! If possible, “borrow” a child and go through your directions with him or her, then 

revise your first draft accordingly. 

Closure: Ask students to clean the laboratory and put materials and equipment away. 

Extensions 

1. Fire behavior is strongly influenced by how much surface area of the fuel is exposed to 

oxygen. Re-do Experiment 3 but come up with a way to measure the effects of surface area 

on combustion, then analyze and display your results. How will you measure the surface area 

and volume of each twig? How will you calculate surface area and volume? How will you 

estimate how completely the fuels burn? Can you account for the moisture content of the 

fuels? 

2. Find out how to calculate the surface area and volume of a cylinder. Calculate the surface 

area and volume of 10 cylinders with radii ranging from 0.2 cm to 40 cm in diameter. Show 

your results some kind of graph. Assuming that most fuel particles are roughly cylindrical in 

shape, explain how your graph can be used to explain some aspect of fire spread. 
Burning Tray Setup 

For Activities 3-6 and 3-7, 

“Will It Burn?” and “Tinker Trees” 

Class Page 3 

Two layers 

of crumpled 

newspaper 

Light these two corners! 

Cut here for 

placing around 

Tinker Tree trunk

Burning tray 

57
 Names: ________________________ 

Exp 1. Dead vs. Green Needles

1. Organize your team. Everyone should observe the fires. One person should record 

information on the data sheet AFTER the whole team has talked over what to write. 

2. Get your materials together and set up your work station. 

3. Use what you already know about fire, including the Fire Triangle, to guess which 

needles (green or dead) will be easier to burn. Write this hypothesis on line 1. 

4. Place the burning tray on a flame-retardant surface in a laboratory or on a paved surface 

outdoors with little wind. 

5. Crumple up two quarter-page sheets of newspaper. Flatten them out a bit, so some air 

gets between the layers. Place them, one on top of the other, on the burning tray (as 

shown on Class Page 3). 

6. Lightly spread the dead pine needles on top of the newspaper in the burning tray. Scatter 

them around on the paper; don't leave them in a single pile. 

7. Use a match to ignite two adjacent corners of newspaper. 

8. Observe the fire. 

9. Describe how well the dead needles burned on line 2. 

10. Shake the burned and partly burned materials into a metal trash can. Spray water on 

them, if necessary, to put out any smoldering. (Fire is not completely out until there is no 

smoke.) 

11. Repeat steps 3 through 8 with the live ponderosa pine needles. Record observations on 

line 3. 

12. Answer the questions on lines 4 and 5.

1. Hypothesis: Which needles do 

you think will be easier to burn? 

2. How well did the dead needles 

burn? 

3. How well did the live needles

burn? 

4. Was your hypothesis correct? 

5. Use the three legs of the Fire 

Triangle to explain your results. 

 

Student Page 6 

58
 Names: ________________________ 

Exp 2. Tree Buds—Pine vs. Fir 

1. Organize your team. Everyone should observe the fires. One person should record 

information on the data sheet AFTER the whole team has talked over what to write. 

2. Get your materials together and set up your work station. 

3. Use what you already know about fire to guess which bud will be easier to damage with 

fire. Write your hypothesis on line 1. 

4. Place the burning tray on a flame-retardant surface in a laboratory or on a paved surface 

outdoors with little wind. 

5. Crumple two quarter-page sheets of newspaper into two balls. Flatten them out on the 

tray but leave room so some air can get between the layers (as shown on Class Page 3). 

6. Place the two to four tree buds of each species on top of the newspaper. Don’t bunch 

them together; spread them out over the newspaper. 

7. Use a match to ignite two adjacent corners of the newspaper. 

8. Observe the fire. 

9. Look at the burned buds. Try to scrape away the burned outside. 10. Answer questions 2-5.

1. Hypothesis: Which bud do you 

think will be easier to damage with 

fire? 

2. Describe the burned Douglas-fir 

bud. Do you think the cells inside it 

survived? 

3. Describe the burned ponderosa 

pine bud. Do you think the cells 

inside it survived? 

4. Do you think your hypothesis was 

correct? 

5. Use the Fire Triangle to explain 

your results. 

Student Page 7 

59
 Names: ________________________ 

Exp 3. Large vs. Small Twigs 

1. Organize your team. Everyone should observe the fires. One person should record 

information on the data sheet AFTER the whole team has talked over what to write. 

2. Get your materials together and set up your work station. 

3. Use what you already know about fire, including the Fire Triangle, to guess which twigs 

will be easier to burn. Write this hypothesis on line 1. 

4. Place the burning tray on a flame-retardant surface in a laboratory or on a paved surface 

outdoors with little wind. 

5. Crumple two quarter-page sheets of newspaper into two balls. Flatten them out a bit on 

the burning tray, so some air gets between the layers (as shown on Class Page 3). 

6. Spread the small twigs on top of the newspaper. Spread the twigs around on the paper; 

don't leave them in a single pile. 

7. Use a match to ignite two adjacent corners of newspaper. 

8. Observe the fire. 

9. Describe how well the twigs burned on line 2. 

10. Shake the burned and partly burned materials into a metal trash can. Spray water on any 

smoldering materials. (Fire is not completely out until there is no smoke.) Then dry the 

tray. 

11. Repeat steps 4 through 10 with the large twigs. Record observations on line 3. 

12. Answer the questions on lines 4-5.

1. Hypothesis: Which twigs 

do you think will be easier to 

burn? 

2. How well did the small 

twigs burn? 

3. How well did the large 

twigs burn? 

4. Was your hypothesis 

correct? 

5. Explain your results using 

the Fire Triangle. 

Student Page 8 

60
 Names: ________________________ 

Exp 4. “Root Sandwich” 

1. Organize your team. Everyone should observe the fires. One person should record 

information on the data sheet AFTER the whole team has talked over what to write. 

2. Get your materials together and set up your work station. 

3. Use what you already know about fire, including the Fire Triangle, to guess which 

material (duff or mineral soil) will protect plant roots in the soil better. Write your 

hypothesis on line 1 below. 

4. Place the burning tray on a flame-retardant surface in a laboratory or on a paved surface 

outdoors with little wind. 

5. Crumple two quarter-page sheets of newspaper into balls. Flatten them out a bit on the 

burning tray but leave room so air can get between the layers (as shown on Class Page 3). 

6. Cut five pieces of cotton string about 10 cm long. The string represents plant roots. 

Place it on the newspaper. Sprinkle a handful of duff loosely around the string without 

covering it completely. 

7. Place three layers of newspaper on top of the duff and string. This makes a "root 

sandwich." 

8. Use a match to ignite two adjacent corners of newspaper. 

9. Observe the fire. 

10. After the fire goes out, describe the cotton string on line 2. 

11. Shake the burned and partly burned materials into a metal trash can. Spray water on any 

smoldering materials. (Fire is not completely out until there is no smoke.) Dry the tray. 

12. Repeat steps 4 through 11 with more strands of string and a handful of mineral soil rather 

than duff. Record observations on line 3. 

13. Answer the questions on lines 4-5. 

1. Hypothesis: Will duff or 

mineral soil protect plant 

roots better? 

2. How well did duff protect 

the "root"? 

3. How well did mineral 

soil protect the "root"? 

4. Was your hypothesis 

correct? 

5. Use the Fire Triangle to 

explain your results. 

Student Page 9 

61
62

Activity 3-7. Tinker Tree Derby 

What’s the Point? 

The arrangement of branches and needles on 

a tree and the arrangement of trees in a forest 

influence the way forest fires spread. Let’s call these 

arrangements the "architecture" of the forest. In the 

Tinker Tree Derby, students investigate forest 

architecture in relationship to fire. 

 The Tinker Tree Derby sets up a competition 

among student teams. Each team constructs a "tinker 

tree" from a chemistry support stand, wire rods, and 

newspaper. Their goal is to design a tree that can 

withstand fire passing beneath it (fig. 11). Such an 

"underburn" or low-severity surface fire was shown 

in the Kinds of Fire video in Activity 3-4. While 

attempting to make a fire-resistant tree, however, 

they must also make sure that their tinker tree has 

plenty of leaves to photosynthesize so the tree can 

grow and produce seed. A team’s success is tested 

by experimental burning. 

This activity should be done in an area 

with good ventilation. If you do not have a laboratory with good ventilation, you probably should 

ignite the Tinker Trees outdoors. Even if you do have a good laboratory, a student team may 

choose to build a Tinker Tree with very heavy fuels (thus forfeiting the Tinker Tree victory but 

getting to see a really “hot” fire). In this case, you should also ignite it outdoors. 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective: Given equipment and supplies, students can describe features of a tree that 

enable it to survive surface fire. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Technology, 

Library Media, Arts, Media Literacy, Health, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 40 minutes 

Links to Standards25:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

 

25 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8, 9-12. 

Grade levels:

 X Middle 

 X High

Figure 11—Middle school students 

observe surface fire approaching their 

tinker tree. 
63

cont’d. 

A2) Design and conduct a scientific investigation 

A3) Develop explanations and predictions using evidence 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

B1) Understand properties of matter 

E3) Demonstrate risks and tradeoffs in technological design 

F1) Identify potential for accidents, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize extent, sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

G3) Recognize that uncertainty, debate, further investigation, and evaluation are part of science 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

A2) Design and conduct experiment, use mathematics and models to explain results 

A4) Use technology, mathematics, logic and previous research in investigations 

F1) Identify hazards, make choices that minimize risk of injury to self and others 

F3) Recognize extent, sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1B) Design investigations to answer questions 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

2.1C) Understand energy transfer 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

1D) Apply logic to assess completeness and reliability of information 

2.2D) Use interaction of matter and energy to explain environmental characteristics 

Vocabulary: crown fire, foliage, ladder fuels, sapling, succession, surface fire 

Materials 

In this trunk... ...where?26 You must supply 

Burning tray (4) Main/A Metal trash can without liner

Spray containers, filled with water (2) Newspaper cut into sheets about 

25 X 35 cm (1/4 of unfolded, 

open “page”) 

Safety goggles (4) Scissors 

Ashtray (1) Wooden matches 

Measuring tape Hole punches (4) 

Oven mitts (4) 

All in Hardware 

Box, Main/A 

One copy of Student Page 10, 

“Derby Rules” for each team 

Fire extinguisher Main/B Paper towels for cleanup 

“Tinker Trees” kit (has badges, 

rosettes) 

Teacher/C Overhead projector & markers 

Support stands (4)—each has post, 

base, & several rod segments 

Main/A 

Class Page 3 (see Activity 3-6) 

illustrating newspaper setup 

Class Page 4, "Derby Results" 

transparency 

Both in Visual 

Aids & Handouts, 

Teacher/C 

One copy of Student Page 11, 

“Perfect Ten?” 

 

26 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
64

Preparation 

This activity uses fire. Prepare the students in the same way you have done for other 

burning activities. Get student helpers to set up four work stations. Each station should have 

• safety goggles 

• ashtray 

• oven mitt 

• a burning tray with a support stand on it 

• 10-20 segments of wire rod 

• 4 half-sheets of newspaper 25 x 35 cm 

• about 20 strips of newspaper—cut into strips about 50 cm long and 5 cm wide 

Fold the newspaper strips accordion-style, then punch so a hole goes through all 

layers. (See the newspaper pieces in the Tinker Tree kit for examples.) WARNING: 

This step is quite time consuming. You may wish to set up an activity center and get 

student volunteers to work on this 2-3 days ahead of time. 

• Student Page 10, Derby Rules 

Equip the demonstration area with a water-filled spray container and fire extinguisher. Have the 

measuring tape handy. Set up an overhead projector with the Class Page 4 transparency on it. 

Procedure 

The Tinker Tree Derby has two phases. 

In Phase 1, the Qualifying Round, every team underburns a tinker tree to see which 

design withstands surface fire with the most “foliage” (accordion-folded newspaper) left intact. It 

would be most logical to determine the most foliage by weight. However, that’s slow and very 

messy, so we recommend instead that you measure the total length of branch that has foliage 

remaining after the fire. 

In Phase 2, the Grand Championship, "surviving" tinker trees from the Qualifying 

Round are tested to see if they can survive fire even if "tinker saplings" are growing under them. 

This is what typically happens in forests after many years without surface fire. 

PHASE 1—QUALIFYING ROUND: 

1. Explain the objective of the Tinker Tree Derby: Design a tree with foliage high enough to 

withstand surface fire and at the same time maximize the length of branch covered by 

foliage. Ask each team to follow the Derby Rules (Student Page 10) to construct a tinker tree. 

Give them 10-15 minutes to construct their trees. 

2. On the Class Page 4 transparency, write each team’s name. 

3. Burn the Tinker Trees one at a time, either by moving the class from station to station or by 

bringing them all to a central location. Ask a team member to light two adjacent corners of 

newspaper along the “long” edge (as shown on Class Page 3, shown in Activity 3-6). 

4. If the tree's foliage burns completely, erase the team’s name from the transparency; they 

didn’t qualify. If the tree has some unburned foliage, measure and record the length of branch 

still covered by unburned newspaper (cm) on the Class Page 4 transparency, first column. 

The entry with the greatest total branch length with foliage wins the Qualifying Round. 

5. Award Tinker Tree Derby Champion badges to the winning team. 
65

PHASE 2—GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND: 

1. This phase is only for teams whose tinker trees that survived the Qualifying Round. 

Assign other work to teams whose trees have burned. Instructions for the Qualifying 

teams: 

2. Have students leave the surviving foliage intact but remove the ash of the burned surface 

fuels and replace it with four new layers of surface fuel. Explain that this accumulation of 

surface fuel is typical in forests after 50 or more years without surface fire. 

3. Have each team cut two pieces of newspaper about 20 X 20 cm, crumple them up, and place 

one on each side of their tinker tree trunk, under the branches. These are “tinker saplings,” 

young trees that grow up under the old survivor. Explain that this, too, is typical of forests 

after many years without surface fire. It is part of the process of change after disturbance 

known as succession.

4. Have the class go to each work station and observe these finalist trees being underburned. If 

a tree has some unburned foliage after the fire, measure and record the length of branch still 

covered in the second column of the Class Page 4 transparency. The tree that survives this 

fire with the greatest length of leafy branch wins the grand championship.

5. Award Tinker Tree Grand Champion badges to the winning team.

Evaluation: 

Middle School level: If you were starting the Tinker Tree Derby over again, how would 

you design your tree differently? Why? 

High School level: Use Student Page 11 (“Perfect Ten?”) to rank ten Western tree 

species according to their fire resistance. Is any species a “Perfect Ten”?

Closure: Ask the class how people living in wildlands might use information from this activity 

to increase safety around their homes. 

Clean up work areas and equipment, put things away. 

Extension 

1. Design and carry out experiments for measuring and analyzing the features that make a tinker 

tree resistant to damage from surface fire. Are any of the pre-fire measurements helpful in 

predicting how well the tree will survive surface fire? 

2. Find out what professional fire scientists are up to. Visit the Internet site 

firelab.org 

3. Go to one of the three “projects” there (fire behavior, fire effects, and fire chemistry). Select 

one researcher, read about his or her work, and make a poster describing it. 
Derby Results 

Tinker Team Length of Branch 

with Unburned Foliage (cm) 

 Qualifying Round Finals Round 

 

 

 

 

Class Page 4 

66
 Derby Rules 

A tinker tree is a two-dimensional model of a tree. Its trunk is a lab support stand. Its branches 

are rods stuck through holes in the trunk. Its leaves are strips of newspaper.

Your Goal:

Design and build a tinker tree that does not burn when a fire passes under it. Your job could be 

easy—just put together a tree with no leaves. But your tree must have foliage to win the Tinker 

Tree Derby. You have to figure out how much foliage to use, and how to arrange it on the tree, 

so the tree will still survive surface fire. 

Student Page 10 

Procedure:

1. Place a support stand in the 

center of the burning tray. 

2. Crumple up two quarterpages of newspaper. Flatten 

them out a bit, but make sure 

that some air can bet 

between the layers, as shown 

on Class Page 3. 

3. Cut a line from one edge of 

the newspaper to the middle, 

then place both layers on the 

support stand base, with the 

“tinker tree” at the center. 

4. Slide wire “branches” 

through the holes in the 

support stand (tree trunk). 

5. Cut strips of newspaper 50 

cm long and 5 cm wide. 

Fold them accordion-style 

and punch a hole through all 

layers of each strip. This is 

your tinker tree foliage. 

(This step may already be 

done for you.) 

6. Slide a foliage strip onto 

each tinker tree branch. for 

short branches, you may 

shorten the newspaper strip. 

If you use any water on your tinker 

tree or experimental setup before it 

is burned, it will be disqualified.

67
 

 Perfect Ten? 

This table lists traits of trees that affect their ability to survive a fire. Study the traits of each 

species. Then, in the column at right, assign 1 to 10 points for the species’ ability to survive a 

fire. 

Species Bark on 

old trees

Architecture

 

Roots

Tree's 

Branches

Kind of 

Forest

Foliage: 

How 

Flammable?

Survival 

Score 

(1-10)

Black 

cottonwood 

thick shallow open open, shrubby low 

Douglas-fir very thick deep open moderate to 

dense 

high 

Engelmann 

spruce 

thin shallow low, 

dense 

dense medium 

Grand fir thick shallow low, 

dense 

dense high 

Lodgepole pine very thin deep high, open open to dense medium 

Quaking aspen very thin shallow open open low 

Ponderosa pine very thick deep high, open open high 

Subalpine fir very thin shallow very low, 

dense 

moderate to 

dense 

high 

Western larch very thick deep high, very 

open 

open low 

Whitebark pine thin deep high, open open medium 

 

Is your most fire-resistant tree a “perfect ten”? 

If not, what traits would make it “perfect”? 

Look up your most fire-resistant tree species in the FireWorks Notebook or on the Internet at 

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis. 

Does it have any ways to protect its seed from fire? Explain. 

If a fire kills the crown of the tree, can it grow back? Explain. 

Student Page 11 

68
69

 Chapter 4. 

 All in One House

 A biological community is "where it's at" for the science of ecology. A biological 

community consists of the living things in an ecosystem. Like people living together in one 

house (or village or town), the organisms in a community depend on one another sometimes, and 

sometimes compete with or even harm one another. In this topic, students learn about the nature 

of communities, both human and in forests. They also learn some details about one particular 

kind of organism, a tree; and they learn to describe and identify some Western trees. 

Background 

As mentioned in Chapter 1, FireWorks focuses on three different kinds of forest that 

occur in the Rocky Mountains, the Cascade Mountains, and the area between (see chapter 1, fig. 

1). Each of these forest types is a community of living things that need each other to survive or 

compete with and eliminate each other. Three books in the FireWorks Library describe these 

kinds of forest in detail. Fire in the Forest, a picture book with beautiful paintings, describes the 

story of fire and lodgepole pine. Graced by Pines is a popular science book about the huge, 

ancient ponderosa pines that used to dominate forests all over the West in centuries past. Made 

for Each Other, another popular science book, describes the fascinating relationship between 

whitebark pine ecosystems and Clark’s nutcrackers, the birds that feed on and plant its seeds. 

Chapter Goals 

1. Increase students’ understanding 

• of the nature of human and biological communities 

• that there are many kinds of living things in an ecosystem

• that observations can be used to identify organisms 

2. Increase students’ ability to 

• make observations 

• classify information 

• apply new information 

• work together to solve problems 

• describe a concept they are familiar with 

• use a familiar concept in a new way 

Chapter Activities 

 Activity 4-1. What’s a Community? (P,E) 

 Activity 4-2. Tree Portrait, Plant Portrait (M) 

 Activity 4-3. For Primary: Mystery Trees (P) 

 Activity 4-4. For Elementary and Middle School: Mystery Trees (E,M)
70

Activity 4-1. What’s a Community?

What’s the Point? 

Students describe what they know about human communities and use this knowledge to 

explore the concept of a biological community. A biological community consists of all the 

organisms in a particular area that are bound together by food webs and other relationships. A 

community differs from an ecosystem because an ecosystem contains non-living things as well. 

Here is a definition of an ecosystem: a biological community and its non-living environment. 

 After the discussion, students decorate the classroom to depict three different forest 

communities (dominated by ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and whitebark pine) and some of 

their inhabitants. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objective(s): Students can list members of human and biological communities, and 

describe energy relationships in these communities 

Subjects: Science, Reading, Speaking and Listening, Library Media 

Duration: 30 minutes 

Links to Standards27: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A1) Ask a question about the environment 

A4) Use data to construct an explanation 

C1) Identify needs of various organisms 

D1) Identify properties of earth materials 

D3) Understand that the sun provides light and heat to earth 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

B3) Understand that energy is transferred in many ways 

C4) Recognize that ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce... are essential for life 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

0B) Produce images of the area at the beginning of European settlement 

1C) Collect information about environment 

2.2A) Understand similarities and differences among variety of organisms, habitat concept 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

2.2D) Know that living things need energy to live and grow 

2.3E) Recognize that change is a normal part of individual and societal life.... 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

0A) Classify local ecosystems. Create food webs 

1E) Classify and order data, organize and display information 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment

 

27 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade levels: 

 X Primary 

 X Elementary
71

Vocabulary: animal, community, ecologist, ecosystem, energy, plant, species 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?28 You must supply

Feltboard Backgrounds (3) Teacher/C Tacks or tape to hang up feltboard 

backgrounds 

Feltboard Notebooks (3): 

 Roaring Tree-Top Fires 

 Creepy Crawly Fires 

 Rollercoaster Fires 

Teacher/C 

FireWorks Library Main/B 

Art materials & supplies 

Preparation 

Remove the background displays for the feltboards from the Teacher Box. Hang them up 

in your classroom, preferably where they can be on display while you use FireWorks. The three 

forest types that you will study occur at progressively higher elevations. Ponderosa pine is at the 

lowest elevations, along valley bottoms and on warm lower slopes. Whitebark pine occurs on 

ridges and near mountain tops. Lodgepole pine grows in the middle but overlaps with both of the 

other species. Try to depict that in your displays by locating the three feltboards next to each 

other, with lodgepole slightly higher than ponderosa and whitebark even higher. Another way to 

do it would be to have a student volunteer sketch a mountain slope and label the drawing to show 

where the different kinds of forest occur. 

 Plan student work teams and assignments. Three teams (2 or more students each) will 

assemble the feltboards. If you wish to display some of the books in the FireWorks Library in 

your classroom and have students borrow them while you are using the curriculum, ask another 

team to "assemble" the Library. If this leaves some students without tasks, assign them to 

examine one book from the FireWorks Library and prepare a poster for the classroom depicting 

something they learn in it. 

Procedure 

1. Give each feltboard team a feltboard notebook (either Roaring Tree-Top Fires, Creepy 

Crawly Fires, or Rollercoaster Fires) and show them which feltboard background to work 

on. Ask them to assemble the feltboards to look like the photo near the front of each 

notebook. Ask them to label each feltboard with the laminated sign in the looseleaf notebook 

and to find out, by reading or by asking someone who can read, what the name of the forest 

is and where it occurs (high in the mountains, near valley bottoms, or in between). 

2. Ask the Library team, if you are using one, to arrange the FireWorks Library books. 

3. If some students are making posters, arrange for them to borrow books from the Library. 

4. Assign some seat work for teams who finish while others are still working. 

5. When the classroom is decorated, ask students to be seated for discussion. 

 

28 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
72

GUIDED DISCUSSION—What’s a Community?

6. For Primary Students, hold this discussion as a “circle time” or “storytelling time.” For 

Elementary Students, record information from students in a chart on the board or on a 

flipchart: Make three columns—"Community," "Human Community," and "Forest 

Community." During the discussion, fill in this chart with concepts like those in table 9. 

7. Ask if anyone can explain what a community of people is. You could ask a student to find a 

definition in the dictionary. 

8. Ask for descriptions and examples of human communities. Write community-related 

concepts, such as inhabitants, place, birth, death, having babies, obtain energy, change, in 

the left column of the blackboard chart. Write students’ examples from human communities 

in the middle column. 

9. Ask what a forest community might be. As the discussion develops, write examples in the 

right column. 

10. Explain that the study of living things and their environment is the work of ecologists.

Evaluation: Name one plant and one animal that lives in a forest community. Where does each 

of them get energy for life? 

Closure: Ask each feltboard team to tell the class the name of their forest and where it occurs. 

For Elementary Students: Point out that forests are much more complicated than the feltboards 

show. Moist places, for instance (in creek beds and on north slopes), have different kinds of trees 

and wildlife. Examine and discuss the moist sites shown on the feltboards. 

Table 9—Similarities between human communities and forest communities. Use for guided discussion in 

Activity 4-1. 

Community Human Community Forest Community 

Where? a particular 

place—any size, shape 

city, town, school, church, club, 

family, class 

mountainside, valley, meadow, huge 

wilderness 

Who lives there? people hundreds of kinds of plants, animals, 

fungi, and other organisms 

 In both human communities and forests, members get into the community 

through birth and moving in; they leave it by dying or by moving out. 

All need energy. How do 

they live? 

They have to have food. Most 

adults grow their own food or work 

for food. Human communities also 

use fossil fuels, water, wind, and 

sunlight for energy. 

Plants use sunlight energy directly. 

Animals obtain energy from plants or 

by eating other animals. Hundreds of 

species, including many fungi, 

decompose ("recycle") dead material 

so its nutrients can be used again. 

 

Change Human communities change 

constantly—people are born, grow 

up, and die. Buildings are built and 

torn down. Roads and businesses 

change. Storms, fires, and floods 

change the community. 

Forests too change constantly. Plants 

grow and die, animals come and go. 

Storms, floods, and fires cause some 

dramatic changes. Other changes are 

so slow that it is hard for humans to 

notice them. 
73

Extensions 

1. All of us use products from forest communities. Try making “Sawdust Clay,” one of the 

Carpentry Art projects described in Exploring Wood (in the Teacher Box), p. 17. 

2. Make “Arm Tree Prints” or “Paper Trees,” both described in Exploring Wood (in the Teacher 

Box), pp. 24-25.

3. Go on a “Tree Safari,” observing trees in the neighborhood of your school. Ideas about 

preparing for your safari, what to do on the way, and what to do when you return are in 

Exploring Wood (in the Teacher Box), p. 30. 
74

Activity 4-2. Tree Portrait, Plant Portrait 

What’s the Point? 

This activity uses a poster (fig. 

12), a glossary (Student Page 12), and a 

role-playing exercise to help students 

learn about a tree's structure and living 

parts. Students identify parts of trees, 

especially those that are vulnerable to 

injury from fire. The tree characteristics 

studied in this activity are the subject of 

the experiments in Chapter 6. Tough 

Plants, Tough Animals. 

 For Elementary Students, it may 

not be necessary to use the poster and 

reading tasks in this activity. You can go 

immediately to the construction of the 

living tree model described under 

Conclusion.

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: Given a drawing of a tree, students can identify where its growing points are 

and what areas contain mostly dead cells 

Subjects: Science, Reading, Speaking and Listening, Arts 

Duration: 25 minutes 

Links to Standards29: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

C1) Identify needs of various organisms 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

B4) Identify ways in which energy moves in and out of a system 

C1) Describe structure and function in a living system 

C2) understand cell functions 

C4) Recognize that ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce... are essential for life 

D3) Describe interaction of organisms with atmosphere 

 

29 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4 and 5-8. 

Grade levels:

 X Middle

Figure 12—Tree Portrait. 
75

cont’d. 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

2.2B) Understand that plants and animals have different characteristics, and many are inherited 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

2.2D) Know that living things need energy to live and grow 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

2.1C) Understand energy transfer 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in the environment

Vocabulary: botanist, bud, cambium, growing point, phloem, root, xylem, and other terms in 

the Tree Parts Glossary (Student Page 12) 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?30 You must supply 

Tree Portrait poster Main/B Sticky-tack or tape 

Ancient Tree poster Main/B 

“Fuels... Tree & Soil 

Parts, and Fire Targets 

(arrows)” kit 

Teacher/C 

Copy of Tree Parts Glossary, Student Page 12, for 

each student 

Procedure 

1. Display the Tree Portrait (a composite photo of ponderosa pine) at the front of the 

classroom. Explain: Conifers, like this one, have needle-like leaves rather than broad, flat 

leaves. Most conifers (but not all) keep their needles through the winter, so some people call 

them "evergreens." Some trees have leaves that fall off each autumn, called "deciduous trees" 

from a Latin word meaning "to fall." 

2. Distribute the Tree & Soil Parts labels and the Fire Arrows labels among students. 

3. Give a copy of the Tree Parts glossary (Student Page 12) to each student. 

4. Ask students to prepare: The students who received Tree and Soil Parts labels should look up 

their terms in the glossary, read the description there, and prepare to describe it to the class. 

The students who received Fire Arrows labels should read the glossary and circle the name 

of each tree part listed there that is alive (that is, has living cells). 

5. When all students are prepared, ask each student with a Tree or Soil Part to locate that part 

on the Tree Portrait, tape the label onto the Portrait in an appropriate place, and explain to 

the class what that part is. Have students attach the cambium, bark, and wood labels to the 

Ancient Tree poster, so the relationship between these three parts of the tree trunk is clear. 

One point that student presenters may miss is that "buds," as used by botanists, refers 

not only to flower buds but also to growing points throughout the plant, anywhere that 

the plant can sprout new tissues. It is the growing-point bud, not the flower bud, that we 

study in FireWorks. The three bud labels should point to a branch tip, the tree's top, and the 

root tips. 

 

30 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
76

6. Ask each student with a Fire Arrow label to tape it onto a Tree Part that is alive, that is, an 

area that has living cells. These are the locations where fire does the most damage to trees. 

Fire arrows should point to needles, buds, cambium, seeds, and roots. 

7. Explain or discuss the following: 

• The Fire Arrows identify the parts of the tree that can be killed by fire. 

• Unless a fire kills many of the living cells of a tree, the tree will survive 

• If a tree is killed by fire but its seed survives, the species will probably be present in the 

new forest that develops after the fire. 

• Duff and mineral soil are not alive. However, if the duff is dry enough to burn, or if the 

fire releases a lot of heat, the tree roots growing in duff and soil may be killed, which 

could kill the tree. 

8. Explain that this kind of information is used by botanists. 

Evaluation: Name one part of a tree that has lots of living cells, so heat from fires can damage 

it a lot.

Closure: This closure is quite long; it will require 15-20 minutes. But it’s a very active way to 

learn about tree structure and function. The students become a living model of a tree. The 

directions here are written for a class of about 25, but you can adjust the numbers so everyone 

participates. 

1. Ask the tallest two students to stand back-to-back, with their arms stretched high and 

reaching slightly outward. Explain: These students’ arms are the tree's branches and leaves, 

which must gather energy from sunlight and turn it into nutrients that all living cells in the 

tree can use—a process called photosynthesis; their bodies are the tree’s hearatwood, which 

supports the tree but has no living cells. Ask the students to pantomime photosynthesis by 

wiggling their fingers. If you have a sturdy stool for these students to stand on, the activity 

will work better. 

2. Ask 4-6 students to stand in a circle around the tree’s heartwood, front-to-back, with their 

right sides all to the inside and their left sides to the outside. Explain that these students are 

the outer wood of the tree; sapwood, a mixture of living and nonliving cells, is on their right 

sides, close to the center. More living cells are on their left sides, close to the bark; these are 

xylem cells. Xylem and sapwood share the job of lifting water and dissolved minerals from 

the roots to the branches of the tree. Ask the students to pantomime this work. 

3. Ask 4 more students to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a circle around the sapwood and xylem, 

facing out. Explain that these students represent the living cells that carry nutrients 

throughout the tree—from leaves to branches, stem, and roots, in any direction that nutrients 

need to be delivered. Ask them to pantomime this work. (Explain that these are phloem

cells.) We call the phloem cells, the water-lifting cells of the xylem, and the cells that form 

these two layers the tree’s cambium. 

4. Ask 5 more students to stand shoulder-to-shoulder outside the phloem cells, facing in. 

Explain that they represent the tree's bark, which contains mostly dead cells and protects the 

cambium from injury. Ask them to look very strong to show their job. 

5. Ask the remaining students to lie on the floor—feet at the base of the tree, heads and arms 

spread out along the ground. Explain that they are the roots, with their tips and tiny hairs 

growing out, searching for water. They can spread their hair out on the floor and wiggle their 

fingertips to show their work. 
77

6. Ask all the students to do their work at once. Now ask them to add a sound effect that fits 

their role. They will see that a living tree is a very busy mixture of living and dead parts, all 

with important work to do.

Extensions 

1. Write and illustrate a booklet about the life of a tree for First Grades students. Use a book in 

your classroom or the school library to find a poem or song about trees; create a dance or 

drawing to illustrate it.31

2. Tour your school’s neighborhood to “Meet the Trees,” using Activity 2 in the Woodsy Owl 

Activity Guide, pp. 14-15 (in the Teacher Box). 

 

31 Thanks to “Investigating Your Environment,” from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, for these activities. 
 Tree Parts Glossary 

bark: the outside covering on a tree's trunk and branches, the tree's "skin" 

 

branch: limb of a tree or shrub that grows out from the trunk. 

broad-leafed: the kind of tree that has wide, flat leaves. Most broad-leafed trees in our area drop their leaves in the 

fall. 

bud: There are two kinds of buds. One kind is the flower bud. That’s the flower before it opens. The second kind 

is the starting point for plant growth. That’s the kind of bud we talk about in FireWorks. Sometimes people call this 

kind of bud the meristem. These buds grow at the tips of tree and shrub branches, at the tips of roots, and 

sometimes in other places. Buds have lots of living cells. 

cambium: a layer of living cells under a tree's bark. This layer of a tree's trunk, branches, and roots produces the 

xylem and phloem, the cell layers that carry water and nutrients between roots and leaves. 

cell: the smallest living part of a plant that can make new living parts 

cone: the "package" in which a conifer stores its seeds 

conifer: the kind of tree that stores its seeds in cones 

crown: a tree's top, where most of the buds and leaves are 

deciduous: able to shed its leaves in the fall or when it becomes very dry 

duff: the top layer of soil in a forest. Duff is made up of dead, rotting plant parts. 

leaf: the green part of a plant that uses sunlight, water, and minerals to provide energy to the tree. Leaves can be 

wide and as flat as paper, or they can be shaped like needles or scales. The leaves of most deciduous plants live only 

one year. 

 

litter: the layer of dead material, not yet rotted, at the top of the forest floor. 

mineral soil: soil that has very little dead plant material in it. In a forest, mineral soil is usually below the duff. 

needle: leaf of a conifer. Needles contain very busy living cells. Most needles live three years or longer, then fall 

off. 

root: the part of a plant that lives underground. Roots collect water and minerals from the soil and carry them into 

the stem of the plant. Roots also support the plant. Roots have living cells at their tips and under their "bark." 

 

seed: a very tiny, living plant—just waiting to grow—and its protective covering, filled with nutrients. Some seeds 

have fluffy or scaly "wings" to catch the wind as they fall. The seed needs just the right temperature, water, 

sunlight, and soil conditions before it can grow. 

 

trunk: the part of a tree that connects leaves and branches in the air to roots in the ground. People often 

call the trunk of a small tree its "stem." 

wood: the strong material inside a tree's bark and cambium that supports the tree and helps carry water 

from roots to leaves. Wood consists mainly of cells produced in past years that have died and become 

hollow. 

Student Page 12 

78
79

Activity 4-3. For Primary: Mystery Trees 

 

What’s the Point? 

Students have already 

learned about three kinds of 

forest—those dominated by 

ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, 

and whitebark pine. In this 

activity, students examine 

specimens from the three 

species (fig. 13). Then the 

teacher or an older student 

reads a story to them describing 

the life history of each 

species. Students try to verify 

facts reported in the story with 

the specimens they have studied.

Teacher’s Map:

Objectives: Students can use a set of specimens from a tree species to illustrate a narrated 

story describing the life history of that species. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Arts, 

Workplace Competencies 

Duration: one 15-minute group session and three 15-minute story sessions 

Links to Standards32:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

B1) Understand size, weight, shape, color, temperature.... 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

1C) Collect information about environment 

1D) Understand need for reliable information. Judge merits of information. 

2.2A) Understand similarities and differences among variety of organisms. Understand habitat. 

2.2B) Understand that plants and animals have different characteristics and many are inherited.

Vocabulary: botanist, branch, crown, ecologist, forester, needle, reproduction, seed, tree, trunk 

 

32 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4. 

Grade level: 

 X Primary

Figure 13—Elementary students examine plant specimens that 

represent their mystery tree. 
80

Materials

In this Trunk... ... where?33

Tree trunk sections with bark (3 pine species) Main/A 

Tree cones (3 pine species) Tree Cones Box, Main/A 

15-cm rulers (6) Hardware Box, Main/A 

Mystery Trees Box: 

 photo collecdtions (3 pine species) 

 laminated branches (3)34

 tree name labels (3) 

Main/B 

FireWorks Notebook Teacher/C 

Preparation Find the tree specimens for the three pine species, marked with the code letters below: 

 lodgepole pine E 

 ponderosa pine O 

 whitebark pine J

Set up three work stations, one for each species. At each station, place two rulers, the laminated 

species name label, tree trunk section, photo collection, foliage sample, and cones for one 

species. Separate the photos so they can be handled separately, but don’t lose track of the ring 

and label that they are packaged with. 

Procedure 

1. Divide the class into three “Tree Teams” and assign each group to a station. 

2. Explain: The kind of information used in this activity is needed by botanists, foresters, and

ecologists. 

3. Explain: At the work stations, the students will have a short time to look at the specimens, 

feel them, and pass them around the group. Then, as the teacher reads the story of their 

species, that team will have a chance to illustrate the story by showing the specimens to the 

rest of the class. 

4. Select one of the three species to read about, and find its life story in the FireWorks 

Notebook. 

5. After 7-8 minutes or when students have finished examining the specimens, ask them to 

gather in a circle. Tell them which species you are going to read about, and let Tree Team 

bring their tree specimens and rulers to the circle. 

6. Read the life history of the species from the FireWorks Notebook. Encourage that species’ 

Tree Team to raise their hands when they can illustrate a fact from the story with one of their 

specimens. Then let them show the specimen and pass it to the other students. When the story 

includes a measurement, such as how long the needles are, ask the Tree Team to measure 

their specimen to see if it matches the reported size. 

7. After finishing the story, ask the Tree Team to put their specimens away. 

8. At another time in the next day or two, repeat Steps 4-6 for the other two pine species. 

 

33 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk. Entry to right 

of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 

34 If possible, cut fresh branches from the three pine species and attach tree-code labels to them. Use the plasticcoated branch specimens for any species that you can’t get live branches for.
81

Evaluation: Draw a picture of one of these three tree species: ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, 

or whitebark pine. Circle three things on this tree that are different from the other species and 

explain how they are different.

Closure: Read the life story of one of the other plants in the FireWorks Notebook. Ask students 

to discuss similarities and differences between the trees they have studied and this other species. 

Reassemble the photos for each tree species. Put materials away. 

Extensions 

1. Visit a forested area near your school. Use the Rocky Mountain Tree Finder in the FireWorks 

Library to identify the mystery tree species and other tree species. 

2. Try one of the art projects described in Exploring Wood (in the Teacher Box), pp. 26-29: 

autumn leaf prints, leaf and bark rubbings, sawdust pictures, evergreen branch painting, and 

twig frames. 

3. Ask students to find out the states in which the “Mystery tree” species occur, using use the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “plants” database, on the Internet at 

plants.usda.gov
82

Activity 4-4. For Elementary and 

Middle School: Mystery Trees 

What’s the Point? 

In this activity, students describe and learn to identify nine tree species that occur in the 

Rocky Mountains and intermountain area. First, each of nine teams describes a single tree 

species by studying specimens and photos; teams are not to share information on their species 

with others. Then each team receives a “mystery tree,” one of the species described by other 

teams, and a copy of all teams’ observations. Students use the observations of other teams to 

identify their "mystery tree." The two parts of the activity can be completed in two separate class 

sessions. In a third step, for the Middle School level only, students learn about the habitat 

requirements of their mystery trees and use a feltboard to develop a model of a forest that shows 

where species co-occur, forming specific forest communities. 

 The tree specimens in FireWorks are permanently labeled with a code letter. The key 

linking letter codes with species names is below. HINT for remembering species codes: Take 

the third letter of the species' common name ("a" for black cottonwood), then go to the next letter 

of the alphabet ("b"). That’s the code letter—except that the code letter for quaking aspen starts 

after the fourth letter of its common name, "k." 

 black cottonwood B

 Douglas-fir V 

 Engelmann spruce H 

 lodgepole pine E 

 ponderosa pine O 

quaking aspen L 

 subalpine fir C 

 western larch T 

 whitebark pine J 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective: Given biological specimens, students can discover ways to distinguish species 

and use a drawing to show others how to distinguish them. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Speaking and Listening, Arts, Workplace 

Competencies 

Duration: Elementary level, 40 minutes, best done in two 20-minute segments; 

Middle level, 60 minutes, best done in 3 20-minute segments 

Grade levels: 

 X Elementary 

 X Middle
83

Links to Standards35:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A2) Plan and conduct a simple investigation 

A3) Use simple equipment and tools to gather information 

A4) Use data to construct an explanation 

B1) Understand size, weight, shape, color, temperature... 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

C6) Understand nature of populations and classification 

G2) Understand that science results must be communicated 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

1C) Collect information about environment 

1E) Describe data, organize information to search for patterns 

2.2A) Understand similarities and differences among variety of organisms. Understand habitat 

2.2B) Understand that plants and animals have different characteristics and many are inherited 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1E) Classify and order data, organize and display information 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

Vocabulary: aspect, bark, botanist, branch, bud, cone, ecologist, elevation, flower, forester, 

habitat, leaf, moisture requirement, needle, seed 

Materials

In this Trunk... ... where?36 You must supply 

Tree trunk sections with bark (9) Main/A 1 copy, Species Assignments 

(Class Page 5) 

Tree Cones Box Main/A 9 copies, This Tree’s No 

Mystery (Student Page 13) 

Rulers, 15-cm (9) Hardware Box,

Main/A 

Mystery Trees Box: 

 photo collections (9) 

 laminated branches (9) 

 tree name labels (9) 

 1-letter labels (9) 

Main/B 

FireWorks Notebook pages for the 9 species Teacher/C 

Large grocery bags (9) 

For Middle School level: 

 Feltboard Background for Ponderosa Pine 

Forest 

 Mystery Trees Box 

 Straight pins 

Teacher/C 

Main/B 

Hardware Box,

Main/A 

For Middle School level: 

 overhead projector 

 9 copies of Tree Habitat

(Student Page 14) 

 

35 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

36 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
84

Preparation

Tie a laminated tree code label (the 1-letter squares) onto each grocery bag. Into each bag 

place the tree trunk section, branch specimen, cone collection, and photo collection for that 

species. Also put in the laminated tree species name and any additional specimens with that 

label.

For Middle School level: Find 

the felt background for the Ponderosa 

Pine Forest. Tack it up in your classroom, 

preferably near a table where the Mystery 

Trees specimens can be displayed at the 

end of this activity. From the Feltboard 

Kit for Mystery Trees, attach the pieces 

representing Sasquatch Peak (brown) and 

Footprint Creek (blue) to the feltboard 

(fig. 14). Attach the "elevation bar" along 

the right-hand edge of the feltboard. 

Attach the "moisture bar" along the 

bottom. Attach the two transparent labels 

that indicate site moisture diagonally 

between the creek and the horizon. After 

placing these pieces on the feltboard, 

secure them with straight pins.

Procedure

PHASE 1: 

1. Explain to students: Each team will describe a tree species and then use the observations of 

their classmates to identify a "mystery tree" species. Explain that only 9 species are included 

in this activity, but there are probably 20 or more native trees in the forests of your area. 

Explain that this kind of information is gathered and used by botanists, ecologists, and 

foresters. 

2. Designate 9 areas or tables in the classroom as "observation sites." Assign a team of students 

to work at each site. 

3. Give the students at each observation site a ruler, a data sheet (Student Page 13), and a 

grocery bag with their collection inside. On your copy of the Species Assignment sheet 

(Class Page 5), note the species assigned to each group. You will use this list later to avoid 

giving any team the species they just described as their "mystery tree." 

4. Ask each team to complete the data sheet describing their species. Ask them to write neatly, 

so other students will be able to read their observations. When they have completed the data 

sheet, they should turn it over and draw a portrait of their tree. Then they should see if their 

species is in the FireWorks Notebook. If it is, find two interesting things about it to share 

with the class. Then they can do other seat work but not wander around looking at other 

specimens. 

5. When each team finishes its work, visit their observation site. Pick up the species name label. 

Check the data sheet for completeness and accuracy. Ask the team to revise it, if necessary, 

so it will be useful for other students in identifying mystery trees. 

Figure 14—Setup of feltboard for Middle School 

students working on mystery trees. 
85

6. After a team's data sheet is completed satisfactorily, ask them to place their collection back in 

the grocery bag and return it to you. 

This is a good time for a break. 

PHASE 2: 

7. Make nine photocopies of each data sheet; collate them so each team will have a complete 

collection. 

8. Distribute the grocery bags of specimens again. Use your notes on the Species Assignment 

Sheet (Class Page 5) to avoid giving any team the species they identified in the first phase. 

9. Explain: This bag contains the team's "mystery tree." Each team should identify their mystery 

tree by referring to the observations of their classmates on the photocopied data sheets. They 

will have 15 minutes to complete their task. They may want to separate the photocopied data 

sheets so they can read the pages individually. 

10. After 15 minutes, ask each team to report the identity of their mystery tree to the class and 

explain what clues they used to figure it out. Ask the students who prepared the original data 

sheet to verify or correct the identification and describe two interesting things about this tree 

species from the FireWorks Notebook.

PHASE 3—FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL. (Elementary level, go to “Evaluation.”) 

This is another good time for a break.

11. Give each team a copy of the Tree Habitat page (Student Page 14), the color-coded felt tree 

outline for their species, and the long felt arrow for their species. 

12. Explain: Each kind of tree has habitat where it grows best, and also areas where it cannot 

grow at all. Elevation, aspect, soil, and moisture influence tree habitat a lot. Some trees can't 

grow at low elevations because summers are too hot and dry. Some can't grow on ridge tops 

because the summers are too short or the soil too shallow. Some can grow only near creeks 

because they need so much water. Some can grow far from water on north-facing slopes but 

not on south-facing slopes, because the soil dries out too fast. 

13. Ask students to use the data sheet to figure out where to position their arrow on the feltboard 

to show the area in the fictitious Bigfoot National Forest where their species is most 

common. Use the felt arrow and outline for grand fir to illustrate (fig. 14). 

14. Ask students to attach the felt arrow for their species to the feltboard. After the arrows are 

attached, have them attach the tree outlines too. (An alternative activity is to have the 

students draw the tree outlines themselves and outline to match the colored arrow.) The trees 

look best when the tree base is placed on top of the arrow for that species (fig. 15). 

15. Explain to students: The feltboard shows how complicated a typical forest is in our area. As 

they continue with FireWorks activities, they will focus on just three kinds of forest: 

ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine/subalpine fir, and whitebark pine/subalpine fir. 

16. Ask students to place the three felt pointer-labels for the three forest types on the feltboard 

(fig. 15). These are the most common tree species in each forest type; use the feltboard to 

discuss other species likely to occur there. For example, western larch and Douglas-fir can 

occur in lodgepole pine/subalpine fir forest; lodgepole pine commonly occurs together with 

whitebark pine; if you move from a ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forest to a place just slightly 

more moist, you are likely to find western larch there. 
86

Evaluation: 

1. Draw a picture and label it so that a first-grader could tell the difference between two of the 

tree species in this activity. If you can “borrow” a first-grader, try out your explanation with 

him or her. Then revise it to make it better. 

2. For Middle School students: Suppose you own some forest land that has lots of lodgepole 

pine on it. What species might be likely to grow there if it were a wetter location? if it were 

hotter in the summer? if it were higher in elevation? 

Closure: Return the tree species labels to the student teams. Have them display their 

specimens, with names, in the classroom.

Extensions 

1. Develop a dichotomous key for identifying these tree species. For a bigger challenge, add 

other plants from the FireWorks Notebook; many of these are represented by specimens in 

the Buried Treasures Box. 

2. Visit a forest near your school. Use the Field Guide to Forest Plants of northern Idaho in the 

FireWorks Library, or a dichotomous key for plants in your geographic area, to plants. 

3. Look up or ask local experts to learn the range of these species in their area and construct a 

table like Student Page 14 for their local area, then illustrate what they learn on a graph. 

Figure 15—Feltboard display completed by Middle School 

students at end of “Mystery Trees “activity. 
Species Assignments 

for Mystery Trees

 Species Name Code Students or Team Name

black cottonwood B _______________________________________ 

Douglas-fir V _______________________________________ 

Engelmann spruce H _______________________________________ 

lodgepole pine E _______________________________________ 

ponderosa pine O _______________________________________ 

quaking aspen L _______________________________________ 

subalpine fir C _______________________________________ 

western larch T _______________________________________ 

whitebark pine J _______________________________________ 

Class Page 5 

87
 This Tree’s No Mystery 

Tree Species: ______________________________________ 

Team Members____________________________________________________

1. Are the leaves broad and flat (more than 1 cm wide) 

or long and narrow (less than 1⁄2 cm wide)?____________________________ 

Remember that a conifer needle is a kind of leaf. 

2. How long and how wide are the leaves? ______ cm long by ______ cm wide 

3. Do the leaves grow in bundles, 

or do they grow right out of the stem? _______________________ 

4. Measure the biggest bud—not the flower 

 bud, but the starting point for 

 next year’s growth. How wide is it? ____________________ cm 

5. How long is the biggest bud? _______________________ cm 

6. Do the buds have pointy or rounded tips? ____________________ 

7. Does the tree produce seeds in flowers or cones? ______________________ 

8. Describe the flowers, seeds, or cones — 

size, color, how they look: ______________ ___________________________ 

______________________________________________________________ 

9. How thick is the bark? _______________________ cm 

10. Describe the bark: ________________________________________________ 

12. Does the tree's crown look “open”? Can 

 you see light through its branches? __________________________ 

13. Do the branches reach all the way to the ground? _________________ 

14. Describe other things that might help identify your tree: 

Student Page 13 

88 
 Tree Habitat 

Here is information about the trees that grow on Sasquatch Peak and along Footprint 

Creek in the Bigfoot National Forest, which is somewhere in the Western states. The 

valley bottom, along Footprint Creek, is at 900 m elevation. The summit of Sasquatch 

Peak is at 3000 m. 

Tree Species Elevations where this species 

is most common 

(m above sea level)

Need for moisture

Black cottonwood 900-1400 high

Douglas-fir 900-2000 low to medium

Engelmann spruce 1300-2400 medium to high

Grand fir 900-1700 medium to high

Lodgepole pine 1500-2300 low to medium

Quaking aspen 900-1900 medium to high

Ponderosa pine 900-1700 low

Subalpine fir 1400-2500 medium

Western larch 900-2000 medium

Whitebark pine 1800-2600 low

Student Page 14 

89 
90

 Chapter 5. 

 Fire History37

People can learn about the history of a forest—and their own history—from looking at 

tree cross-sections. In this activity, students use fire-scarred "tree cookies" to describe the fire 

history of two kinds of forest—ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine. They link events in their 

personal history and in world history with events in the forest. 

Background 

Read p. 21 in Brian Capon's Plant Survival (in the FireWorks Library) for a description 

of tree ring formation. Alex Shigo's Tree Basics describes this topic with excellent photos. 

Chapter Goals

1. To increase student skills in 

• observing 

• recording data 

• describing and interpreting data mathematically 

• working in teams 

• communicating observations 

• finding connections between ideas 

2. To increase student understanding 

• that forests have a history, just as humans do

• that fire is an important part of the history of most forests in our geographic area

• that different kinds of forests have different fire histories

• that forest history is often intertwined with human history

Chapter Activities 

 Activity 5-1. For Elementary: Tree Stories (E) 

 Activity 5-2. For Middle and High School: Tree Stories (M,H) 

 Activity 5-3. Repeating the Story? (M,H)

 

37 Adapted from Getting to Know Wildland Fire. See Appendix 3 for more information. 
91

Activity 5-1. For Elementary: Tree Stories

What’s the Point? 

Scars on trees and tree growth rings show that fire has been a part of the history of most 

Western forests for thousands of years, but different kinds of forest have different patterns of fire 

history. In this activity, students learn about growth rings and how scars form on trees. Then they 

learn that many trees survive some fires, especially in ponderosa pine forests. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objective(s): Students can describe how tree growth rings are formed. Given a crosssection of a tree trunk (or a photographed cross-section), students can estimate the tree’s age and 

determine how many fires have scarred it. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Speaking and Listening, Social Studies, 

Library Media, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 40 minutes 

Links to Standards38: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A1) Ask a question about the environment 

A2) Plan and conduct simple investigation 

A3) Use simple equipment and tools to gather information 

A4) Use data to construct an explanation 

A5) Communicate investigations and explanations 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they served 

E4) Understand that scientists and engineers often work in teams to solve problems 

F5) Understand that changes in environments can be slow or rapid, rate has consequences 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A1) Identify questions that can be answered scientifically 

A2) Design and conduct a scientific investigation 

A3) Develop explanations and predictions using evidence 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

C1) Describe structure and function in a living system 

C4) Recognize that ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain internal 

stability are essential for life 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0C) Describe aspects of the environment that change on a temporal basis 

1A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

1B) Produce images of the area at the beginning or European settlement 

1C) Collect information about environment 

1D) Understand need for reliable information. Judge merits of information 

2.2A) Understand similarities and differences among variety of organisms. Understand habitat

 

38 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade level:

 X Elementary
92

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8:

1C) Locate and collect reliable information about environment 

1E) Classify and order data, organize and display information 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

Vocabulary: cambium, dendrochronology, fire scar, growth ring, heartwood, sapwood, surface 

fire 

Materials

In this trunk... ... where?39 You must supply 

Ancient Tree poster Main/B 

FireWorks Cookie Book (optional) Teacher/C 

overhead projector, 

pens 

“Real” tree cookies (trunk cross-sections) Main/B 

Tree Cookie photos (set of 19) Main/B 

Class Page 6, Tree Stories transparency 

Class Page 7, Fire Scars transparency 

Both in Visual Aids & 

Handouts, Teacher/C 

1 piece of black 

plastic cut from 

trash bag, about 15 

by 60 cm 

Preparation 

Display the Ancient Tree poster (fig. 16) in your classroom. In your trunk, find the tree 

cross section that has no fire scars (“Demonstration Cookie”) so you can use it to introduce your 

students to tree rings. Also get out the 3 or more fire-scarred tree cookies and the set of 19 

laminated cookie photos. Provide one cookie or cookie photo for every 1 or 2 students. Do not 

use the “real” whitebark pine cookie or Cookie Photo 19 yet; you will refer to them at the end of 

this activity. Cut a piece of black plastic about 15 cm wide and 60 cm long. 

 

39 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 

Figure 16—Ancient Tree poster. Various trunks may contain different versions. 
93

Each tree cookie is labeled with species (ponderosa pine or lodgepole pine) and a number 

that identifies it in the FireWorks Cookie Book, where its fire history is recorded. 

Procedure 

1. With the students, examine the growth rings on the unscarred Demonstration Cookie. 

2. Explain: A tree growth ring is formed nearly every year as the tree grows, so you can 

estimate a tree’s age by counting its growth rings. Pass the Demonstration Cookie around the 

class for students to examine. 

3. Show students the Ancient Tree poster (fig. 16). This cookie came from a ponderosa pine 

tree in western Montana. With the students, examine its growth rings and the scars that form 

little notches along the blackened edge. This tree was much older than the Demonstration 

Cookie tree when it died—nearly 600 years old. A crown fire would have killed this tree, so 

you can infer that no crown fire has occurred in its location in the past 500+ years. 

4. Now examine the scars on the Ancient Tree. Each scar was made by a fire. Ask students if 

they have any scars or have seen a scar on someone. (Be prepared: This could lead to a long

discussion.) People become scarred when their skin receives a deep injury. Trees become 

scarred for a similar reason: when part of a tree’s outer wood (the ring of living cells under 

the bark, called cambium) is killed by heat from a surface fire. In the years after fire, new 

wood forms at the edge of the damaged area. (When a person is injured, new skin forms in 

many places on the wound, but it usually grows fastest from the edges.) 

On a tree, new growth rings form each year and gradually curl over the edges of the 

damaged area, beginning to cover it. From the outside, the scar looks like a triangular patch 

arising from the ground (use Class Page 7 to illustrate). On the polished surface of a tree 

cross-section (“cookie”), a fire scar shows where a little notch occurs along the burned edge 

and young wood curls over older wood, making a bubble-shaped formation of wood. 

5. Demonstrate how a fire scar forms (fig. 17) and how a fire scar can eventually be “buried” or 

“hidden” by later tree growth: 

a) One student forms a ring 

with hands and arms to 

represent the cambium. 

b) One student acts as 

surface fire, burning 

around the tree, killing 

and charring a portion of 

the cambium. Drape a 

piece of black plastic 

over the “killed” section 

to remind the class that 

these cells are dead and 

the wood is probably 

charred. 

c) One student on each side 

represents the tree’s 

growth ring in the year 

after the fire by placing a 

hand against the area of 

Figure 17—Students build a living model of tree cambium and 

fire scar with their hands. See Step 5 for explanation. 
94

“living cambium” at each edge of the area killed by fire (black plastic). 

d) To represent the tree’s growth in the second postfire year, the student on each side of the 

fire scar places his/her other hand on top of the first. The hand representing the second 

year’s growth ring is not laid flat against the first hand, however. Instead, its fingertips 

curl around the first-year growth ring at the edges of the fire scar, because cells at the 

edge of the scar can divide both outwardly and laterally, covering part of the scar. This is 

the beginning of the “bubble” of growth that usually forms at the edges of a fire scar. 

e) Use two more students to represent two more years of growth after fire so the 

development of this “bubble” formation is clear. If you want, add another fire scar and 

show a second bubble of woody growth developing after it. 

5. Pass a fire-scarred ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine cookie (real ones—not photos) around 

the class. Ask students to look at the fire scars carefully so they will be able to identify and 

count them on the cookies they are about to study. 

6. Explain: Students will study fire scars on their assigned tree cookie photos. Write on the 

board what each team should report: 

• Kind of Tree (written on front or back of cookie) 

• Tree Cookie Number (written on front or back) 

• How many fire scars? 

• How many rings? (An estimate is OK; in most cases, students cannot count all rings.) 

8. Explain: Scientists count a tree’s rings to estimate its age. They use hand lenses and 

microscopes to count accurately. 

 Many of the tree cookies in FireWorks do not contain the center (“pith”) of the tree. 

This is especially true for ponderosa pine cookies. These cookies don’t show all of the tree’s 

growth rings, so students cannot find out how old the tree was when the cookie was taken. 

When they report the total number of tree rings on their cookie, mark it with “>” (“greater 

than”) to show that the tree’s real age when sampled was greater. 

 On some tree cookies and cookie photos, the rings are too small to count. Here is a 

technique for estimating the number of rings on a cookie: (1) Count the number of rings per 

centimeter in a part of the cookie with narrow (but still countable) rings. (2) Measure the 

centimeters of growth in which rings are not visible. (3) Multiply (rings/cm)*(cm where rings 

aren’t visible). This produces a conservative estimate of the number of rings in that section of 

the tree cookie, meaning there may be more rings in that section but there are probably not 

fewer.

9. Distribute tree cookie photos. Ask student teams to examine their photo and record 

observations. 

INFO SPARKS: Here is some information that may help answer questions as students get 

started, or you may use it in discussion after the activity is over: 

--Trees are not always killed when a cross section is taken. Many tree cookies are obtained from 

dead standing trees and stumps. A partial cookie can be collected by cutting through only a small 

section of the trunk of a living tree (Class Page 7). Pines are damaged little by this procedure. 

--Historians recognize two important sources of fire prior to European American settlement of 

North America: lightning and Native American burning. Native Americans burned forests and 

grasslands at many seasons, for many reasons. The relative frequency of these two sources of 

ignition is hard to figure out. 

10. Give students 10-15 minutes to study their cookie photos. If a student team finishes early, 

they should work on another cookie photo, if available. OPTIONAL: Results can be 

checked against information in the FireWorks Cookie Book (in the Teacher Box). But you 
95

don’t need to emphasize a “correct” answer from the Cookie Book. Fire scientists use 

microscopes and a lot of time to study growth rings; dendrochronology is a difficult science. 

INFO SPARK: Students often ask why some of the wood in a tree cookie is dark, while other 

parts of the cookie are very light. The dark wood marks areas of the wood that are filled with sap, 

or “pitch.” Pitchy wood develops for many reasons. Here are two: 

 1) The outer wood (xylem, or sapwood) is often lighter in color than the inner wood 

(heartwood) because the sapwood is filled with water and minerals, not with sap. Cells in the 

inner sapwood gradually die, becoming heartwood. The tree may fill these with pitch, turning 

them dark in color. Though the heartwood cells are not alive, they provide support for the tree, 

like the backbone of a person. 

 2) If a tree is wounded, it often deposits pitch around the wound. The pitch prevents 

decay fungi, which enter through the wound, from spreading. Pitch forms irregular, dark shapes 

around wounds. Tree wounds are caused by many things, including scrapes from other trees, 

rubbing by animals, and fire. 

11. Ask students to report their data. As they report, record the data on the Class Page 6 

transparency. 

12. Explain: Nearly every old forest of ponderosa pines has fire-scarred trees, but only about half 

of lodgepole pine forests have fire-scarred trees. Use this information and the data just 

collected to discuss these questions: Which kind of tree tends to live longer—ponderosa pine 

or lodgepole pine? (Ponderosa pine.) Which kind of tree tends to have the most fire scars? 

(Ponderosa pine.) How would you describe the “story” of fire in each kind of forest? 

INFO SPARK: Many ponderosa pine forests are so old that we can’t tell when or how they began. 

Most lodgepole pine forests began after a crown fire that killed nearly every tree.

Evaluation: 

1. Explain how a fire scar forms on a tree. 

2. Which kind of tree tends to live longer—ponderosa pine or lodgepole pine?

3. Which kind of tree is likely to have more fire scars? Explain why.

Closure: Now show the real whitebark pine cookie and Cookie Photo 19 (also whitebark 

pine) to the class. Explain that whitebark pine’s relationship with fire is different from the 

ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine stories that they’ve studied so far. Ask the students to 

examine the cookies and make observations about the tree’s growth rings and fire scars. Pull 

their observations together with the following information to summarize whitebark pine’s 

relationship with fire: Whitebark pine grows at higher elevations than either of the other pines. 

Growing seasons are shorter and colder, so whitebark’s growth rings tend to be narrower—much 

harder to photograph and count than those of the other species. The colder summer also means 

that whitebark pine forests burn less often. But they do burn—in a mixture of crown fire and 

surface fire. Most old whitebark pines have one or two fire scars. 

Extensions 

1. Draw a tree cookie to illustrate the story of your life. It should have the same number of tree 

rings as your age. Label the narrow rings that show difficult years and the wide rings that 

show years in which you grew a lot in some way. Mark any scars that have changed your life.

2. Read “Is Smokey Wrong?” in the FireWorks Library. Summarize what it says for your class 

in 3 minutes or less; it will take planning and practice to do such a short presentation well.

3. Estimate the year when your tree began its life. Find out one historical fact about that year or 

decade.
Tree Stories 

Ponderosa pine

Cookie How many How many 

number scars? rings? 

102 

104 

106 

111 

113 

114 

116 

117 

118 

Interior Lodgepole pine

Cookie How many How many 

number scars? rings? 

101 

103 

105 

107 

108 

109 

110 

112 

115 

Class Page 6 

96
Fire Scars Class Page 7 

Fire Scars 

97
98 

Activity 5-2. For Middle and High School: 

Tree Stories 

What’s the Point? 

Tree rings and scars on trees tell the history of a forest. Fire has been a part of the history of most 

forests in North America for thousands of years. 

In this activity, students use dendrochronology to describe the history of ponderosa pine and 

lodgepole pine forests over the past several hundred years. The trunk includes one whitebark pine 

specimen so students can see whitebark pine’s growth pattern, but whitebark pine is not used in this 

activity because it its growth rings tend to be very narrow and hard to count. 

First, students study the history of tree cross sections ("cookies") and cookie photos in the 

FireWorks trunk; then, in Activity 5-3, they will use their tree cookie data to compare fire history in two 

kinds of forest: ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine. Finally, they will learn about fire regimes in 

whitebark pine. 

Dendrochronology, the science of learning about trees and climate from tree growth rings, is 

challenging. Its imprecision may be frustrating to some students, but this field fascinates most students. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objectives: Given a cross-section of a tree trunk or a photographed cross-section, students can 

identify growth rings and fire scars, and calculate the average time between fire scars.

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Social Studies, 

Technology, Arts, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 60 minutes 

Links to Standards40:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A1) Identify questions that can be answered scientifically 

A2) Design and conduct a scientific investigation 

A3) Develop explanations and predictions using evidence 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

C4) Recognize that ability to obtain and use resources... is essential for life 

G1) Recognize that scientists work alone and in teams 

G2) Understand that science results must be communicated 

G3) Recognize that uncertainty, debate, further investigation, and evaluation are part of science 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

A4) Use technology, mathematics, logic and previous research in investigations 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1C) Locate and collect reliable information about environment

1E) Classify and order data, organize and display information 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

3.1A) Use information to investigate environmental issues 

3.1B) Identify consequences of specific environmental issues 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

0B) Investigate short- and long-term environmental changes 

 

40 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8, 9-12. 

Grade levels:

 X Middle 

 X High
99 

1C) Collect reliable information, using technology as needed to gather and display data 

1E) Organize and display information 

2.4A) Understand that humans change environment and ability to absorb these impacts is limited 

3.1B) Evaluate consequences of specific environmental changes... for humans and ecosystems

Vocabulary: cambium, dendrochronology, fire scar, growth ring, heartwood, sapwood, surface fire, xylem 

Materials

In this trunk... ... where?41 You must supply 

FireWorks Cookie Book (optional) Teacher/C 

Ancient Tree poster Main/B 

calculators 

hand lenses (4) dissecting microscope 

(optional) 

Pins in film canister 

Both: Hardware Box, Main/A 

Tree cookies (trunk cross-sections) Main/B 

Tree Cookie photos (set of 19) Main/B 

Copy of Tree Story 

data sheet (Student 

Page 15) for each team

Class Page 8, Fire History Data 

transparency 

Class Page 7, Fire Scars transparency 

Both in Visual Aids & 

Handouts, Teacher/C 

1 piece of black plastic 

cut from trash bag, 

about 15 by 60 cm 

Preparation 

Display the Ancient Tree poster in your classroom. 

In your trunk, find the tree cross sections ("cookies"). Pull out the cookie that has no fire scars 

("Demonstration Cookie") so you can use it to introduce your students to tree rings and 

dendrochronology. Your trunk also contains fire-scarred cookies-- as few as three and as many as ten 

"real" cookies and a set of 19 cookie photos. Have your students work with as many "real" cookies as you 

have, and then use the photo cookies to make sure you have one cookie for every 1 or 2 students. 

However, do not use the “real” whitebark pine cookie or Cookie Photo 19; you will refer to them at the 

end of Activity 5-3. Cut a piece of black pastic about 15 wide by 60 cm long. 

Hand lenses are essential for completing the fire history of real tree cookies; they are no help with 

cookie photos. Use dissecting microscopes if the platform will support a tree cookie and if the eyepiece 

can be raised above the tree cookie. 

Each tree cookie (real or photo) is labeled with the tree’s species (ponderosa or lodgepole pine) 

and a number identifying it in the FireWorks Cookie Book, where its history is recorded. 

Procedure 

1. Pass the Demonstration Cookie around the class. Examine the growth rings on both the Ancient Tree 

poster and the Demonstration Cookie. Examine the scars that form little notches along the blackened 

edge of the Ancient Tree cookie. They were made by surface fires. This tree was much older than the 

Demonstration Cookie tree when it died—nearly 600 years old. Therefore, you know no crown fire 

occurred in the location where it stood for nearly 6 centuries, between the early 1300s and 1919. 

2. Explain fire scars to the students: A fire scar is formed when part of a tree's cambium is killed by heat 

from a fire. If the cambium is damaged only part-way around the tree, the tree often survives. In the 

years after the fire, new wood forms at the edge of the damaged area. Year after year, new rings are 

formed that gradually curl over the edges of the damaged area and begin to cover it. From the outside, 

the scar looks like a triangular wound coming up from the ground. (See Class Page 7, p. 97).

3. Build a human model of a fire-scarred tree using Step 5 and fig. 17, in Activity 5-1 (pp 93-94). 

 

41 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, Teacher=Teacher Box. 

Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
100 

4. Pass a fire-scarred ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine cookie (real ones, not photos) to students. Ask 

them to look at the fire scars carefully so they will be able to identify them on the cookies they are 

about to study. Explain: Students will study fire scars on their assigned tree cookies or cookie photos. 

 The students working with real cookies need hand lenses; students working with photos don’t. 

WARNING—About hand lenses!!!! If students are working with hand lenses in direct sunlight or 

near sunny windows, be alert for students trying to light fires with their hand lenses. It's almost 

irresistible, but it's not what the magnifiers are for in this case. 

Students should work singly or in pairs. Team members should either work separately and 

compare their results, or share the work and discuss decisions about “when the fire actually occurred” 

or “is this really a tree ring?” If a student team finishes while others are still working, ask them to 

collect data from another cookie photo. 

5. Explain: In this activity, each student will describe the fire history of at least one tree. In the next 

activity, they will pool their data and add other data collected at the Fire Sciences Laboratory in 

Missoula, MT, to describe the historic patterns of fire in ponderosa and lodgepole pine forests. 

6. Pass out fire-scarred tree cookies and/or cookie photos, hand lenses, straight pins, and Tree Stories 

data sheets (Student Page 15) to teams of students. Distribute calculators. Explain that students may 

stick pins into the wood of the real cookies and into the laminated cookie photos to mark fire scars or 

help keep track of counts. They may not use ink in any form.

7. Review/explain: 

• Fire scars are made by surface fires that are not severe enough to kill the tree. On the polished top 

of a tree cookie or photo, a fire scar is marked by an indentation that follows the line of a growth 

ring, and by later wood that curls over the fire-damaged cambium cells. Seen from the front of a 

tree or the charred edge of a tree cookie, the same fire scar looks like a vertical fold in the wood 

(use Class Page 7, on p. 97, to illustrate). 

INFO SPARK: The Fire Scars transparency (Class Page 7) illustrates how a tree cookie is cut. Many tree 

cookies are obtained from dead trees and stumps. When a cookie is taken from a live tree, it usually 

damages the tree very little because (1) only a small section of the trunk is cut and (2) the tree produces 

pitch around the wound, protecting the rest of the wood from decay. Pines are especially good at producing 

pitch around wounds. 

• Historians recognize two important sources of fire prior to European American settlement of 

North America: lightning and Native American burning. The relative frequency of these two 

sources of ignition is hard to figure out. 

• Can we learn anything from tree cookies about crown fire? Only that the last crown fire on a site 

occurred before the tree began to grow. That would be before about 1300 for the Ancient Tree. 

8. Review the concept of an average and how to calculate it. Students will need this skill for question 6 

on Student Page 15 and also for Activity 5-3. 

9. Give students 15-30 minutes to study their tree cookies and complete their data sheets. If a student 

team finishes one cookie, have them collect data from another one.

INFO SPARKS on "Tree Stories," Student Page 15—keyed to numbered questions: 

8. Decreases in fire activity can be caused by moist time periods, increases by dry periods. Very few trees 

have fire scars dating after 1920 or 1930. This is because successful programs excluding fire from 

forests and grasslands began in those years, and also because livestock grazing reduced fine 

vegetation (fuels) such as grass and shrubs. 

9-12. Poor growth is likely to occur after fire if the fire killed many of the tree's needles or much of the 

cambium. Rapid growth after fire may be caused by decreased competition from other vegetation for 

moisture and nutrients or by an increase in nutrients from burned vegetation. 

13. Answers to this question vary from place to place and from one tree species to another. When fire is 

excluded for a long time from ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests, dense undergrowth develops. This 

understory makes fires very hazardous and likely to kill even large, old trees. A dense understory can 

also weaken large, old trees by consuming moisture and nutrients. In contrast, lodgepole pine forests 

are less affected by lack of fire. They have followed the pattern of severe, infrequent burning for 
101 

thousands of years. Lack of fire can alter lodgepole pine forests by increasing uniformity in the mosaic 

of forest patches across the landscape. 

OPTIONAL: Check dendrochronology results against information in the FireWorks Cookie Book. This 

book contains a list of approximate fire intervals for each cookie.

INFO SPARK: Students often ask why some of the wood in a tree cookie is dark, while other parts of the 

cookie are very light. The dark wood marks areas of the wood that are filled with sap, or “pitch.” Pitchy 

wood develops for many reasons. Here are two: 

 1) The outer wood (xylem, or sapwood) is often lighter in color than the inner wood (heartwood) 

because the sapwood is filled with water and minerals, not with sap. Cells in the inner sapwood gradually 

die, becoming heartwood. The tree may fill these with pitch, turning them dark in color. Though the 

heartwood cells are not alive, they provide support for the tree, like the backbone of a person. 

 2) If a tree is wounded, it often deposits pitch around the wound. The pitch prevents decay fungi, 

which enter through the wound, from spreading. Pitch forms irregular, dark shapes around wounds. Tree 

wounds are caused by many things, including scrapes from other trees, rubbing by animals, and fire.

Evaluation: Many people think that fire kills every tree in a forest. Write a paragraph and draw a 

diagram to explain to a younger brother or sister how a fire can scar a tree without killing it. 

Closure: Don’t “close” this activity. Go on to Activity 5-3. 

Extensions 

1. Estimate the year when your tree cookie’s first fire scar formed. What do you think your city or town 

looked like in that year? Write a paragraph or draw a picture to describe it. 

2. Learn the birth years of family members, particularly parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. 

Label the birth years of these family members on the Ancient Tree time line. Do you know anyone 

who was alive when the Ancient Tree was alive (1919 and before)? 

3. Learn more about how tree rings form and the science of dendrochronology from Tree Basics in the 

FireWorks Library and from: web.utk.edu/~grissino and www.ltrr.arizona.edu (click on the tree 

cross-section, the rectangular photo right at the top of the page). 
 Tree Stories: Cookie Number _______ 

1. Does your tree cookie contain a tiny ring at the center (the "pith"), or is the pith missing on 

your cookie? 

 ________________________ 

2. Estimate how old your tree is. How? In a part of the cookie that seems to have averagesized rings, count how many rings are in a centimeter. Measure the distance from the tree's 

pith to its bark. Multiply to get the total number of rings: 

 Rings/cm __________ X _________ cm = total rings ________ 

 This number is an estimate of tree age. The last crown fire in that forest happened before

the tree started to grow, but we don't know how many years earlier. 

3. If the pith is not present, go to question 4. If the pith is present, how old was your tree 

before it was first scarred by surface fire? ____ 

4. A tree may survive several fires in its lifetime. How many fires have burned your tree? ___ 

5. How long were the intervals between fires? _______ _______ _______ _____ ______ 

 _______ _______ _______ _____ ______ _______ _______ _______ _____ ______ 

6. What was the average interval between fires? ___________ years 

7. How long has it been since your tree's last fire scar? ________ years 

8. Is this interval very different from the average in 6 above? If it is, try to explain why (on 

the back of this page). 

9. Wide tree rings show good years for tree growth, when moisture, sunlight, and nutrients 

were plentiful. Rings that are very close together show years of drought, disease, injury, 

shading, or crowding by other trees. At about what age did your tree grow best? 

 _______ 

10. At about what age did your tree grow most slowly? ______________ 

11. Were the years right after fire usually good or poor for growth? _____________________ 

12. How would you explain your tree’s response to fire (your answer to question 11)? 

 

 __________________________________________________________________ 

13. Do you think your tree could be damaged by lack of fire? Explain on back of page. 

Student Page 15 

102 
103 

Activity 5-3. Repeating the Story? 

What’s the Point? 

This activity synthesizes information from Activity 5-2, Tree Stories. The pattern of fire 

history for a particular kind of forest is called its fire regime. The fire regime describes how often 

fire usually occurs and how severe it usually is. Many forests dominated by ponderosa pine were, 

in past centuries, characterized by frequent surface fire (usually averaging every 5 to 30 years); 

crown fires were uncommon. Forests dominated by lodgepole pine and whitebark pine had less 

frequent surface fires—one or two per century. Crown fires were infrequent in whitebark pine 

forests but occurred every century, more or less, in lodgepole pine. 

 In this activity, the class works together to compare historic fire regimes in ponderosa 

pine and lodgepole pine forests. Whitebark pine is used only at the end of the activity; students 

do not study it directly because its fire history is complex and very difficult to decipher. 

 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective: Given information on numbers of fire scars and years between fire scars on 

individual trees, students can calculate the average interval between surface fires and describe 

the fire regime for that forest type.

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Technology, 

Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 40 minutes 

Links to Standards42: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

G2) Understand that science results must be communicated 

G3) Recognize that uncertainty, debate, further investigation, and evaluation are part of science 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

A2) Design and conduct experiment, use mathematics and models to explain results 

A4) Use technology, mathematics, logic and previous research in investigations 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

0A) Classify local ecosystems. Create food webs 

1A) Develop, focus and explain questions about environment 

1D) Judge weaknesses and strengths of the information they are using 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

3.1B) Identify consequences of specific environmental issues

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

0A) Identify several plants and animals common to local ecosystems. Describe concepts.... 

0B) Investigate short- and long-term environmental changes 

2.2C) Understand the living environment as comprised of interrelated, dynamic systems 

 

42 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8, 9-12. 

Grade levels:

 X Middle 

 X High
104 

3.1B) Evaluate consequences of specific environmental changes, conditions and issues 

Vocabulary: crown fire, fire regime, surface fire 

Materials 

In this trunk... ... where?43 You must supply 

Fire History Data 

transparency (Class Page 8) 

Visual Aids & Handouts, 

Teacher/C 

calculators 

overhead projector & pens 

Procedure 

1. Make sure students have their Tree Stories data sheets (Student Page 15) from Activity 5-2. 

2. Display the transparency for Class Page 8, but keep the lower half covered. Ask students to 

report their data. Record data on the transparency. 

3. Explain: The class has now collected half of the data needed to describe fire history. But 

many tree cookies cannot be studied from photographs. Many have no fire scars, so they 

would be boring to use in this activity. The lower half of the table provides data from these 

sources. 

4. Uncover “the rest of the story.” Ask students if they see or suspect any patterns in the data. 

Ask how they might analyze the data to identify patterns. Here are suggestions: 

5. First, as an individual assignment or as a group activity, draw a histogram of the number of 

fire scars for each species. The results should resemble these:

6. Next, compute the average age when sampled, number of scars, and fire interval for each 

species. Since many tree cookies are incomplete, many age estimates are minima, so you can 

only compute a minimum average for tree ages when sampled. Mark them as minima using a 

“>” sign. Your results should be similar to these; they will not be identical, since each 

FireWorks trunk contains different real tree cookies. 

 Average 

Age when sampled (yr) 

Average 

No. scars 

Average Fire 

interval (yr)* 

Ponderosa pine >284 6.6 28.9 

Lodgepole pine >172 1.3 38.3 

*This average describes only forests with fire scars—90% of ponderosa pine and 50% of lodgepole pine. 

 

43 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to 

right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 

How many understory fires? Ponderosa pine

0

5

10

15

20

0-3 4-7 8-11 12-15

No. understory fires recorded

No. stands

How many understory fires? Interior 

lodgepole pine

0

5

10

15

20

0-3 4-7 8-11 12-15

No. understory fires recorded

No. stands
105 

7. Discuss: In what ways did historic fire patterns in ponderosa pine forests differ from those in 

lodgepole pine? (Numerous studies show that many ponderosa pine forests had surface fires 

every 5 to 30 years for hundreds of years; crown fires were uncommon in this kind of forest, 

so the trees lived for many centuries. Lodgepole pine forests burned every century or so in 

severe fire; about half of lodgepole pine forests also burned in surface fires, usually 1-2 per 

century.) Interesting questions: 

• How different are the averages for ponderosa and lodgepole pine forests? Do they just 

represent variation from one location to another, or do they represent real differences 

between kinds of forests? (Research scientists would answer this question using statistics. 

These data are not from a random sample and therefore statistical testing is not entirely 

appropriate. However, students could use a 2-sample t test or a Mann-Whitney U test to 

see if the two samples seem to be significantly different.)

• Why might the fire-free intervals be different from one forest to another? (Lightning 

incidence and Native American uses differed greatly in different kinds of forest. Native 

American use probably depended a lot on the season of the year.) 

• Could the answer to question 13 on the Tree Stories data sheet (“can trees be damaged by 

lack of fire?”) differ from one kind of forest to another? This information may help: 

! ABOUT PONDEROSA PINE FORESTS: Dr Steve Arno, recently retired from the 

Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, MT (interviewed on the videotape “Managing 

Wildland Fire—a Matter of Choice” in Activity 8-1) thinks that many forests with 

ponderosa pine should be thinned to remove some of the thickets of small trees. He 

recommends underburning these forests after thinning to reduce the number of small 

trees and the amount of fuel on the ground. (Burning in this way is a job for trained 

professionals only.) These actions, Dr. Arno believes, will make more water and 

nutrients available to large, old trees and reduce the likelihood of crown fire. 

! ABOUT LODGEPOLE PINE FORESTS: Fire history studies show that these 

forests often grow for a century or more without fire and then burn in a large, severe 

fire. Sometimes they underburn once or twice in between. Many scientists think that 

lodgepole pine-subalpine fir forests are gradually becoming older and more uniform 

without fire. This means less habitat variety and increasing risk of large fire. 

Evaluation: Based on what you know about fire regimes in lodgepole and ponderosa pine 

forests, which kind of forest would you choose to build your home in? Explain your reasoning.

Closure: Now show the real whitebark pine cookie and Cookie Photo 19 (also whitebark pine) 

to the class. Explain that whitebark pine’s relationship with fire is different from that of 

ponderosa or lodgepole pine. Ask the students to make observations about whitebark’s growth 

rings and fire scars. Pull their observations together with the following information to summarize 

whitebark pine’s relationship with fire: Whitebark pine grows at higher elevations than either of 

the other pines. Growing seasons are shorter and colder, so whitebark’s growth rings tend to be 

narrower—much harder to photograph and count than those of the other species. The colder 

summers also mean that whitebark pine forests burn less often. But they do burn—in a mixture 

of crown fire and surface fire. Most old whitebark pines have one or two fire scars. 

Explain: Dr. Bob Keane, at the Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, MT, is worried 

about high-elevation whitebark pine forests because thousands of these pines have been killed by 

a non-native disease, white pine blister rust. (The FireWorks Notebook contains an essay about 
106 

white pine blister rust and its devastation of whitebark pine forests.) A few whitebark pines 

survive the rust, so their seeds should have the best possible chance to grow up in the sunny 

openings created by recent fire. The Clark’s nutcracker—the bird that is solely responsible for 

whitebark pine reproduction—prefers burned sites to forest for hiding its year-round food 

supply, the whitebark pine seed. 

Extensions 

1. Use the Ancient Tree poster (see Activity 5-1, fig. 16) to make a time line linking the Ancient 

Tree’s story to human history: On the board, have one or two students list the current year, 

the year when the Ancient Tree died (1919), and dates of fires from the Ancient Tree poster, 

leaving space between dates for other things to be written in. This will form your time line. 

Ask students to recall or look up events in human history, find out when they occurred, and 

enter them in the right location on the time line. Here is a list of some dates from American 

and European history that may help students link a tree’s history to human history. 

 YEAR EVENT

 1910 Glacier National Park created 

 Nov. 8, 1889 Montana becomes 41st state 

 July 3, 1890 Idaho becomes 43rd state 

 1849 Gold discovered in California 

 1805 Lewis and Clark expedition 

 1776 Declaration of Independence signed 

 1734 Daniel Boone born 

 1620 Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock 

 1595-1617 Pocahontas's lifetime 

 1564 Shakespeare born 

 1519 Magellan begins voyage around the world 

 1508 Michelangelo starts painting Sistine Chapel 

 1492 Columbus lands in Americas 

 1446 Gutenberg uses printing press 

 1348 Black Death (bubonic plague) kills 1/3 of Europe's population 

2. Visit the Fire Effects Information System on the Internet at 

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis

Select a species featured in the FireWorks trunk or another species that occurs in your local 

area, find its Web page, and look up its “Fire Ecology” to obtain information about fire 

regimes and fire effects on that species. 

3. Look up the kinds of wildland fires that occurred in past centuries throughout the United 

States on the Inernet site 

www.fs.fed.us/fire/fuelman

Examine the national fire regimes map. 

4. Learn more about fire history and succession in a plant community in your area from one of 

the Fire Ecology of... reports in the FireWorks Library. A report on eastern Montana, 

western Montana, northern Idaho, or another geographic area in the Rocky Mountains is in 

your FireWorks trunk. 
Fire History Data1

Ponderosa pine Interior Lodgepole pine

Cookie 

number 

3. Approx. 

age 

4. No. 

scars? 

6. Ave. 

Interval 

Cookie 

number 

3. Approx. 

age 

4. No. 

scars? 

6. Ave. 

Interval 

Real Real 

102 101 

104 103 

106 105 

111 107 

113 108 

114 109 

116 110 

117 112 

118 115 

The rest of the story: The rest of the story: 

7 300 8 26.9 91 150 1 can't be 

16 280 4 43.3 215 145 1 calculated

17 460 6 60.2 350 178 1 

36 261 7 26.5 303 112 0 

53 291 9 31.2 304 202 0 

55 447 10 26.8 305 186 0 

58 190 4 34 306 137 0 

77 339 4 24 307 117 0 

63 300 7 30.7 308 386 0 

86 458 12 24.9 309 90 0 

88 323 3 21 310 350 0 

202 459 4 56.7 311 101 0 

351 334 0 can't be 312 70 0 

352 297 0 

calculated

 313 150 0 

 

1

 According to fire historians Steve Arno and Steve Barrett, about 10% of mature ponderosa pine forests and 50% of 

mature lodgepole pine forests have no fire-scarred trees. Cookie numbers greater than 300 are used here to represent 

these forests, so that students can analyze the full range of the history of surface fire for each forest type. 

Class Page 8 

107
108 

 Chapter 6. 

 Tough Plants, Tough Animals

 Many plants and animals have ways to survive fires, especially the kind of fire that has 

occurred for thousands of years in the past. Many plants have ways to reproduce after fire even if 

they are killed. The traits that enable organisms to survive or reproduce in a particular 

environment are called adaptations. The ability some species to to survive better than others 

knits the species together with their environment into a working ecosystem. The fact that some 

individuals in a species can survive and reproduce better than others drives natural selection. 

 In this chapter’s activities, students learn about plant adaptations to fire. They also 

discuss animal strategies for avoiding and surviving fire. Fire changes animal habitat, sometimes 

dramatically. For some kinds of animals, the changes are positive; for others, they are not. 

Background • Made for Each Other focuses on whitebark pine and the Clark’s nutcracker. This symbiotic 

relationship is an excellent example of a group of species adapted to benefit from each other 

and benefit from fire, the topic of this chapter. 

• Pages 29 through 34 in Patrick Cone's Wildfire (in the FireWorks Library) provides more 

information about fire effects on trees and forests. This book has excellent color illustrations. 

• Jack deGolia's book Fire—a Force of Nature (in the FireWorks Library) describes fire 

effects. See pages 28-30. 

• The Unfinished Song videotape in the Teacher Box describes adaptations to fire and fire 

effects in the lodgepole pine-dominated ecosystems of the Greater Yellowstone Area. 

Chapter Goals

1. To increase student skills in 

• observing 

• describing observations 

• working in teams 

2. To increase student understanding 

• that wildland fire changes, but does not usually “destroy,” a forest community 

• that it is possible for organisms to avoid or survive fire 

• that it is possible for some organisms to reproduce after fire even if they are killed 

Chapter Activities

 Activity 6-1. Dead or Alive! (E) 

 Activity 6-2. For Primary: Buried Treasure (P) 

 Activity 6-3. For Elementary and Middle School: Buried Treasure (E,M) 

 Activity 6-4. Tree Skin (M,H) 

 Activity 6-5. Recipe for a Lodgepole Pine forest (E,M) 

 Activity 6-6. Designer Trees (E) 

 Activity 6-7. Great Escape (E)
109 

Activity 6-1. Dead or Alive! 

What’s the Point? 

To understand how plants survive fires, it is important to understand that all complex 

organisms have both living and nonliving parts. Nonliving parts often support and protect the 

living parts, but they can be damaged or removed without killing the organisms. In this activity, 

students think about what they know about their own bodies in order to understand how plants 

live, grow, and die—and sometimes survive wildland fires. The specific concepts covered in this 

guided discussion are: 

• Living organisms have living and nonliving parts. The living parts are called cells 

• Fire can damage or kill some parts of a plant without killing the whole organism 

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: Students can identify cells as the basic living part of an organism and can list 

living and non-living parts of plants.

Subjects: Science, Speaking and Listening 

Duration: 30 minutes 

Links to Standards44: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A2) Plan and conduct a simple investigation 

C1) Identify needs of various organisms 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A3) Develop explanations and predictions using evidence 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

C1) Describe structure and function in a living system 

C2) Understand cell functions 

C4) Recognize that ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain internal 

stability are essential for life

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

1C) Collect information about environment 

2.2B) Understand that plants and animals have different characteristics and many are inherited 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

Vocabulary: bud, cambium, embryo, exoskeleton, leaf, needle, phloem, seed, xylem 

 

44 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade level:

 X Elementary
110 

Materials

In this trunk... ... where?45 You must supply 

Tree Portrait poster Main/B Sticky-back or transparent tape 

“Fuels... Tree & Soil Parts, and Fire 

Targets” kit—pull out the labels for bud 

(3), cambium, leaf, needle, and seed 

Teacher/C Salted-in-the-shell peanuts, one per 

student 

Preparation

Display the Tree Portrait in the classroom. Write on the Board, "Are you completely

alive?" 

Procedure 

1. Explain: Living things are made up mainly of tiny individual parts called "cells." Let's 

explore the question about being completely alive by thinking about these cells. 

2. Ask: Is your hair alive? One way to tell whether a part of you is living or not is to ask, "Does 

it bleed or hurt?" Does it bleed or hurt when you cut your hair? Does it hurt when you pull a 

hair out? (Hair is composed mostly of a material, a protein, that is produced by living cells. 

The protein itself isn't alive, so it doesn't hurt when it gets cut. The living part of a hair, 

which does hurt when it gets pulled, is the end—the "root"—that is buried in your scalp. The 

root contains many growing cells that constantly make more hair protein, so your hair grows 

slowly but constantly. We can refer to the root of the hair as a "growing point.") 

3. Can you think of other parts of you that may be non-living? Here are some: 

• Fingernails and toenails. (Nails are also composed of a protein produced by growing 

points at the base of the nail. If you damage the base of your nail, some of the growing 

cells are destroyed, so they can't produce the nail material. The old nail then grows out 

and comes off, and a new one begins growing from the base.) 

• The outer surface of skin. (Our skin is constantly sloughing off. This is obvious in 

dandruff, on calluses of hands and feet, and around injuries. Skin is made up of several 

layers. The inner layers consist of living cells; they are full of nerves, so they are very 

sensitive to pressure and injury. These skin cells continually divide and push outward, 

where they eventually die and form the outermost layer of skin. Anytime something rubs 

against your skin, some of the dead cells at its surface rub off. What activities might 

cause you to shed skin cells? Washing and drying hands, clothes rubbing over skin, 

handling objects.) 

4. Think about animals other than humans. What are some of their nonliving parts? (Mammals' 

fur, claws, horns, antlers; birds' beaks, claws, feathers; fish scales; insects' exoskeletons

(outer shells); clams' and snails' shells.) 

5. Ask, "Is a plant completely alive?" Explain: You can't ask a plant if it "hurts" when 

something is cut or pulled, burned or scraped. Plants don't have blood or a heart to pump it 

around, so you can't check to see if the plant is bleeding. You can only watch what happens 

after the plant is injured. Does the injury kill the plant or affect its growth? 

6. Ask students to look at the Tree Portrait and think about plants that they are familiar with. 

What parts have living, growing cells and what parts are nonliving? As the following points 

 

45 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
111 

emerge in the discussion, pull the appropriate label from the Tree and Plant Parts Labels and 

tape it to the Tree Portrait. 

• A plant has living growing-point buds at its top, at the tip of each branch, and the tip of 

its roots. (Flower buds are just one kind of bud—the kind that will eventually make 

seeds. But the plant has many kinds of growing-point buds.) 

• A plant also has living cambium cells under the bark of stems, twigs, branches, and roots. 

The inner wood of a tree is composed mostly of dead cells. 

• A plant has living cells in its leaves. (Needles are just one kind of leaf.) 

• In its seed, a plant has not only living cells but an entire new plant! 

7. Distribute the peanuts, one per student. 

8. Ask students to take the peanuts out of their shells, then gently pull the two fleshy halves 

apart. At the base of one of the halves, they should find a tiny, whitish plant. This is the new 

peanut plant (the embryo), ready to start growing. Since the peanuts are roasted and salted, 

however, the embryo won't grow... so they might as well eat it! 

Evaluation: List two living parts of a plant and two non-living parts.

Closure: Have students become a living model of a tree. This activity is a bit long for a 

“closure,” so you may want to use it the day after the activity as a review. The directions here are 

written for a class of about 25, but you can adjust the numbers so everyone has a chance to 

participate. 

1. Ask the tallest two students to stand back-to-back, with their arms stretched high and 

reaching slightly outward. Explain that these are the tree's branches and leaves, which must 

gather energy from sunlight and turn it into nutrients that all living cells in the tree can use. 

Ask them to pantomime their work by wiggling their fingers. If you have a sturdy stool for 

these students to stand on, the activity will work better. 

2. Ask 4-6 students to stand in a circle around the "branches," front-to-back, with their right 

sides all to the inside and their left sides to the outside. Explain that these students are the 

wood of the tree; a few living cells are on their right sides, close to the center. More living 

cells are on their left sides, close to the bark. (You can explain that they are xylem cells.) 

Xylem cells lift water and dissolved minerals from the roots to the branches of the tree. Ask 

the students to pantomime this work, keeping their right sides completely still. 

3. Ask 4 more students to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a circle around the wood, facing out. 

Explain that these students represent the living cells that carry nutrients throughout the tree—

from leaves to branches, stem, and roots, in any direction that nutrients need to be delivered. 

Ask them to pantomime this work. (You can explain that these are phloem cells.) The phloem 

and xylem cells are made by a thin but essential layer that lies between them (the backs of the 

phloem students), the cambium. 

4. Ask 5 more students to stand shoulder-to-shoulder outside the phloem cells, facing in. 

Explain that they represent the tree's bark, which contains mostly dead cells and protects the 

cambium from injury. Ask them to look very strong to show their job. 

5. Ask the remaining students to lie on the floor—feet at the base of the tree, heads and arms 

spread out along the ground. Explain that they are the roots, with their tips and tiny hairs 

growing out, searching for water. They can spread their hair out on the floor and wiggle their 

fingertips to show their work. 
112 

6. Ask all the students to do their work at once. Now ask them to add a sound effect that fits 

their role. They will see that a living tree is a very busy mixture of living and dead parts, all 

with important work to do. 

Extensions 

1. Ask students to research what other human tissues are living and nonliving—for example, 

teeth, bones, heart, lungs, and stomach. 

2. Draw a series of pictures that depicts ways in which old, decaying trees provide resources for 

the forest. Here are some ideas: 

• While still alive, a decaying tree can provide a nest site for woodpeckers, then for 

bluebirds. owls, or flying squirrels. Under its bark, beetles may lay their eggs, which 

hatch and feed on the tree’s cambium. 

• If a rotten tree dies but remains standing, it is still used for nests. With its upper branches 

bare, it provides a hunting perch for hawks and owls. Ants build multi-storied cities in its 

dead interior. As the bark peels away, brown creepers or bats may nest under it. 

• After the tree falls, pine squirrels may nest inside its hollow trunk. (A hollow log can only 

come from a once-living hollow tree; it cannot be “hollowed out” by fungi or animals 

after it falls.) 

• Mice and voles travel along the ground in the shelter of fallen logs, partly hidden from 

predators. Not easily fooled, pine martens raise their young nearby so they can feed on 

the small mammals. 

• Worms and many-legged creatures eat decaying wood; their feces enrich the soil. Fallen 

logs block leaves and soil that roll downhill, so a tiny, rich garden forms on the uphill 

side. 

• Even after a lot is mostly broken down, when it only looks like a long trail of wood flakes 

along the ground, thousands of pieces of its wood lie within the soil. they keep the soil 

from being packed down by rain and animals traveling above. they are a continuing 

source of nutrients for living things in the soil and above it. 
113 

Activity 6-2. For Primary: Buried Treasure 

What’s the Point? 

Most children are aware of the variety of plants occurring in their local areas and the 

above-ground appearance of those plants. The plants’ underground parts, however, are unknown 

to many children. In this activity, the students get a chance to imagine what the underground 

parts of various plants are like, then see the real structures for themselves.

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: Given a chance to examine a plant’s aboveground parts, students can imagine, 

and sketch belowground parts that might enable the plant to survive fire.

Subjects: Science, Speaking and Listening, Arts, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 30 minutes 

Links to Standards46:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A2) Plan and conduct a simple investigation 

C1) Identify needs of various organisms 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

D2) Describe properties of soil 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

1C) Collect information about environment 

2.2A) Understand similarities and differences among variety of organisms. Understand habitat 

2.2B) Understand that plants and animals have different characteristics and many are inherited 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

Vocabulary: above-ground part, below-ground part, plant, root, soil, stem 

Materials 

In this trunk... ... where?47 You must supply 

8 plant specimens from Buried Treasures: 

 arrowleaf balsamroot pinegrass 

 beargrass serviceberry 

 fireweed smooth woodrush 

 glacier lily wild onion 

Pages from the FireWorks Notebook about 

each of these species 

Buried 

Treasures Box, 

Main/B 

Teacher/C 

8 large grocery bags 

scissors 

tape 

marker 

pencils 

drawing paper for each student

 

46 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4. 

47 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk. Entry to right 

of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 

Grade level: 

 X Primary
114 

Preparation

Get eight of the plant specimens out of the Buried Treasures Box. Each specimen is labeled 

by a number. You need all of them except #8, which doesn’t show the plant roots so it wouldn’t 

be useful in this activity. Class Page 9 lists the number codes and species names of the Buried 

Treasures. Prepare each plant specimens as follows: 

1. Lay a grocery bag on its side. 

2. Cut a line from the open edge of the bag to the middle of a flat side. 

3. Cut a hole in the bag that is just the right size to go around the plant specimen’s stem. 

4. Place the specimen in the hole with its underground parts hidden inside the bag. 

5. Tape around it to secure the hole shut. 

6. Write the plant’s name on the outside of the bag. Plant names are listed on Class Page 9 

(page 119). Shorten the name if you wish; “glacier lily” could just be labeled “lily.” 

7. Place the 8 bags at 8 stations around the classroom. Next to each specimen, place the page 

from the FireWorks Notebook that describes that species and shows a picture. 

Procedure 

1. Give each child a large piece of drawing paper. Show students how to fold it into 8 sections. 

2. Explain: This activity lets students learn about underground plant parts. 

• Do they know the names of any underground plant parts? (They are likely to mention 

roots. Bulbs are a good possibility. There are many others, including corm and rhizome, 

defined in the FireWorks Glossary—in the Library.) 

• What are those parts for? (For holding the plant in place, obtaining water and nutrients, 

storing nutrients for reproduction and more growth—like leaves in the spring, and 

protecting the plant when conditions above-ground are too dangerous—like during winter 

and during fires.) 

3. Ask students to take the next 15 minutes and circulate to a certain number of stations. You 

decide how many stations are feasible—all 8? two? as many as they can get to? At each 

station, they should copy down the plant’s name. Then they should look carefully at the 

plant’s above-ground parts. both the specimen and the photo from the FireWorks Notebook, 

and sketch them. Finally, they should try to imagine what the plant is like below ground and 

sketch their idea of what the plant looks like underground. They can use a lot of imagination 

for this step. If they have never learned about underground plant parts before, they should 

think about what those parts do and design structures to carry out those functions. 

4. One at a time, open the bags and show students the plant specimens. Ask them to compare 

the plants’ real belowground structures to their drawings. 

Evaluation: Draw two plants—both the aboveground and belowground parts. One should be 

able to survive fire because of its belowground parts; label it “Survivor.” The other should be 

unable to survive fire; label it “Non-Survivor.” 

Closure: Share some of the drawings from Evaluation. Ask how a Non-Survivor might 

continue to live in a place where fire occur. (Clever seed storage and rapid seed dispersal are two 

possibilities—see Extension 1 below.) 

Explain that students may be using belowground plant parts every day: onions! Slice 

some onions in half and distribute to the students on paper plates. Ask them to examine the roots 
115 

and the small shoot at the top of the onion. Suggest that they peel some of the leaves (yes, they 

really are a special kind of leaf) to examine the many layers of the onion. 

Finally, explain that collections of plants, like the one used in this activity, should be 

made in a responsible way. Plants should be collected for a useful purpose such as learning or 

research. A collection should benefit as many people as possible. A plant collector should have 

permission from the land owner before taking any plants. If permission is granted, he or she 

should be careful to take only specimens of common plants. Use the “1-in-20” rule: If a plant has 

20 leaves, collect no more than 1. If it has 20 flowers, collect no more than 1. If 20 specimens are 

present on a site, collect no more than 1. 

Extensions 

1. Read in the FireWorks Notebook about the ways in which fireweed, snowbrush Ceanothus, 

and lodgepole pine reproduce from seed after fire. 

2. If flower bulbs are available, purchase a few, show them to the class, and then plant and care 

for them, watching them sprout new plants from belowground parts over the next few weeks. 

3. Learn how to make new soil or make a “hollow log home” in Exploring Wood (in the 

Teacher Box), pp. 50 and 51. 

4. Make one of the Forest Art projects (“mossy branches” or “mushroom prints”) described on 

p. 51 of Exploring Wood (in the Teacher Box). 
116 

Activity 6-3. For Elementary and 

Middle School: Buried Treasure

What’s the Point? 

One important way that plants survive 

fire is by “hiding” underground. Many plants 

have underground stems that are protected 

from fire by the soil. Examples are rhizomes 

and bulbs. A fire may kill all of a plant's 

aboveground parts (leaves, growing-point 

buds, and cambium), but if its underground 

parts survive it may be able to sprout a new 

stem and leaves. 

 In this activity, students use a 

description of a plant species from the 

FireWorks Notebook to identify species and 

examine underground plant parts (fig. 18). 

Then they dissect a bulb, and they may 

examine bulbs that were planted earlier to 

look for developing stems and leaves. They 

learn that, even if a plant is completely killed 

by fire, its seeds may survive and begin to 

grow afterward, so it does not disappear from 

the burned area. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: Given a description of a species and its ways to survive fire, students can 

identify the species from a small collection.

Subjects: Science, Reading, Speaking and Listening, Library Media, Arts, Workplace 

Competencies 

Duration: 30 minutes 

Grade levels:

 X Elementary 

 X Middle

Figure 18—High school student examines 

rhizomes of beargrass plant. 
117 

Links to Standards48: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

F5) Understand that changes in environments can be slow or rapid; rate has consequences 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

C6) Understand nature of populations and classification 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

1C) Collect information about environment 

2.2A) Understand similarities and differences among variety of organisms. Understand habitat 

2.2B) Understand that plants and animals have different characteristics, many of them inherited 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1E) Classify and order data, organize and display information 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

Vocabulary: adaptation, bud, bulb, corm, reproduction, rhizome, root, seed, sprout, survival, 

trait 

Materials 

In this trunk... ... where?49 You must supply 

Plant specimens Buried Treasures Box, 

Main/B 

Copy of Class Page 9, Plant Species 

Codes, for Teacher Team 

FireWorks Notebook—pages 

describing 

 arrowleaf balsamroot 

 beargrass 

 fireweed 

 glacier lily 

 pinegrass 

 serviceberry 

 smooth woodrush 

 snowbrush Ceanothus 

 wild onion 

Teacher/C OPTIONAL: Prize for most species 

correct or first team to get all species 

correct 

Preparation

Ask a team of 3 to 5 students to do the teaching in this activity. Divide the rest of class 

into teams of 2 to 3. 

 Give the teaching team the Buried Treasures box, the FireWorks Notebook, and the list of 

plant codes and species on Class Page 9. Ask them to study these materials and then prepare a 

presentation (no longer than 4 minutes) about each species and how it reacts to fire, survives, and 

reproduces. They should pay special attention to the sections about reproduction and fire in the 

FireWorks Notebook. They should write their plant’s name on the board at the start of their 

presentation; they should practice making the presentation so they can do it within 4 minutes. 

Explain that you will stop them in the middle if they go over the time limit. 

 

48 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

49 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
118 

Procedure 

1. Explain that class members will play several “roles” in this activity. First, one team of 

students will be teachers; they will present information, answer questions, and help students 

solve problems. The rest of the class will be botanists; they will use information presented by 

the teachers to identify plants and examine the traits that enable them to survive fires. 

2. Explain: The Teacher Team will teach the Botanist Teams about nine plants. These are 

different plants from the Mystery Trees studied in Chapter 4). None of the Mystery Trees 

could survive fire if their tops were killed; all of these plants can. The Botanists will use what 

they learn to identify nine plants. The Botanists should take notes or make drawings during 

the presentations. If the Teacher Team says something or uses a term that they don't 

understand, the Botanists should ask for clarification. 

3. Ask each Botanist Team to prepare a piece of paper numbered 1-9, with names at the top. 

4. Ask the Teacher Team to make their presentations and show the plant specimens to the class. 

Be careful to limit the length of their presentations to 4 minutes. 

5. After the presentations, ask the Teacher Team to pass out the specimens, one to each Botanist 

Team, and then take the specimens from group to group as students finish examining them. 

6. Ask the Botanist Teams to identify each specimen and write the name of the correct species 

on their team's paper. When they have identified all 9 plants, they should hand in their paper. 

7. You can make this a contest: The Botanist Team with the most correct answers, or the first 

team with all correct answers, wins a prize. 

Evaluation: Design a plant that can survive fire because of its underground parts. Draw the 

plant, give it a name, and identify its parts using correct botanical terms (stem, bud, root, 

rhizome, etc.). Look up correct terms in the FireWorks Glossary, a dictionary, or a science book. 

Closure: Ask some students to show and describe their “Designer Plants.” Number and display 

the posters in your classroom. Have students select the two or three that are most likely to 

survive fire. 

Explain that collections of plants, like the one used in this activity, should be made in a 

responsible way. Plants should be collected for a useful purpose such as learning or research. A 

collection should benefit as many people as possible. A plant collector should have permission 

from the land owner before taking any plants. If permission is granted, he or she should be 

careful to take only specimens of common plants. Use the “1-in-20” rule: If a plant has 20 

leaves, collect no more than 1. If it has 20 flowers, collect no more than 1. If 20 specimens are 

present on a site, collect no more than 1.

Extensions 

1. Find out what states the plants represented in this activity occur in, using the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s “plants” database, on the Internet at 

http://plants.usda.gov

2. Use the same Internet site to find out if the plant genera represented in this activity (Allium, 

Amelanchier, Balsamhoriza, Calamagrostis, Ceanothus, Epilobium, Erythronium, Luzula,

and Xerophyllum) contain other species and, if so, to learn about their locations. 
Plant Species Codes 

for “Buried Treasures” 

Each plant in the Buried Treasures Box has a number marked on it or 

attached to it. Here are the species for those code numbers: 

Class Page 9 

1.. Arrowleaf balsamroot 

2. beargrass 

3. fireweed 

4. glacier lily 

5. pinegrass 

6. serviceberry 

7. smooth woodrush 

8. snowbrush Ceanothus 

9. wild onion

119
120

Activity 6-4. Tree Skin 

What’s the Point? 

Bark thickness influences a tree's ability to insulate its cambium from heat. It is not the 

only influence, of course; presence of pitch and bark density also influence a tree's resistance to 

heat damage, and other parts of a tree (buds, roots, seeds) are also vulnerable to fire. In this 

activity, students use a “model” tree trunk (coffee can wrapped in newspaper) and “model” tree 

bark (quilt batting of various thicknesses) to measure the rate and extent of temperature increase 

due to heating. 

This activity can be done in several ways. The FireWorks trunk provides only one set of 

supplies. You can use either Student Page 16 to look at the effect of insulation in small 

increments, or Student Page 17 to simplify the procedure and look at just two thicknesses of 

insulation. We suggest you demonstrate this activity by obtaining one set of measurements (for 

one thickness of insulation), then set it up as an activity center (perhaps using Activity 7-5, 

“Puzzling It Out,” as another center). You can run the activity center for contract learning by 

providing blank data sheets (Student Page 16), then agreeing with students that they can collect 5 

lines of data for an A, 4 lines for a B, etc. 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective: Given several measurements of insulation or tree bark thickness, students can 

predict that thicker insulation (or bark) will cause temperature changes to be slower but last 

longer. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Speaking and Listening, Technology, Workplace 

Competencies 

Duration: 30 minutes to complete entire data table (Student Page 16), 10-15 minutes to 

complete short data table (Student Page 17) 

Links to Standards50:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A1) Identify questions that can be answered scientifically 

A2) Design and conduct a scientific investigation 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

B1) understand properties of matter 

B2) Describe physical and chemical changes 

B3) understand that energy is transferred in many ways 

C1) Describe structure and function in a living system 

G1) Understand that scientists work alone and in teams 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

A2) Design and conduct experiment, use mathematics and models to explain results 

 

50 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8, 9-12. 

Grade levels:

 X Middle 

 X High
121

 cont’d.

A4) Use technology, mathematics, logic and previous research in investigations 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8:

1C) Locate and collect reliable information about environment 

1E) Classify and order data, organize and display information 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

2.1C) Understand energy transfer 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

0B) Investigate short- and long-term environmental changes 

1C) Collect reliable information, using technology as needed to gather and display data 

1E) Organize and display information 

1G) Use evidence and logic to develop hypotheses 

2.2D) Use interaction of matter and energy to explain environmental characteristics 

Vocabulary: cambium, heat, insulation, temperature, thermocouple. thermometer 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?51 You must supply 

Hair dryer Main/A Masking tape 

Digital thermometer Graph paper (1 page/student or team) 

Coffee can (1.5 pound) Clock with second hand 

Rulers, 15-cm 

All in Hardware 

Box, Main/A 

5 layers of newspaper large enough to cover 

the coffee can 

Tree trunk sections (9) Main/A Copy of Student Page 16 or 17 for each 

student or team 

“Tree Skin” insulation (fabric 

pieces and quilt batting) 

Main/A Overhead projector and pens 

Preparation 

1. Check the battery of the digital thermometer. Have a 9-V battery and a screwdriver on hand 

in case it quits during the experiment. 

2. Ask one or two students to refer to the data collected in Mystery Trees (Activity 4-4) and 

write on the board each species' name and its bark thickness, in cm. 

3. Use masking tape to attach 5 layers of newspaper to the coffee can.

INFO SPARK: If you have a digital thermistor/data logger and spreadsheet software, you may 

want to use that equipment for this experiment instead of having students graph data and 

calculate averages manually.

Procedure 

1. Set the papered coffee can on a demonstration bench so the class can see it. Place the cloth 

samples on one side. 

2. Plug the thermocouple wire into the digital thermometer. Place it on the other side of the 

coffee can. 

 

51 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk. Entry to right 

of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
122

3. Plug in the hair dryer. 

4. Assign students to the following tasks:

• Heater: Hold the hair dryer 5 cm from the surface of the coffee-can tree (he or she should 

measure the distance with a 5-cm ruler). Keep this distance constant, no matter how much 

insulation is placed between the tree's surface and the thermocouple itself. You are 

measuring the ability of the "tree" to insulate its cambium, not its ability to insulate the 

outer bark. 

• Reader: Hold the digital thermometer so students can see it. Call out "official" 

temperature every 15 seconds 

• Timer: Call out "time" every 15 seconds during the 4-minute experiment, as follows: 

"Go"... then "15"... "30"... "45"... "1 minute"... "15"... "30"... 

• Recorder: Record temperature on transparency at start of experiment and every 15 

seconds throughout the 4 minutes 

5. Use masking tape to attach the thermocouple to the newspaper covering the can. The coffee 

can represents the tree’s inner wood. The newspaper represents the tree’s cambium layer. 

The brown cloth, with various levels of insulation, represents tree bark (fig. 19). 

6. Do the following steps 2 or 6 

times, depending on whether 

you want to use Student Page 

16 or 17. (Student Page 17 

takes less time than 16 and 

makes the point that increased 

insulation decreases the rate of 

temperature increase. However, 

Student Page 17 will not enable 

you to observe that temperature 

decay is also retarded by 

increased insulation.) Do the 

experiment the first time with 

only the brown cloth covering 

the thermocouple, then once 

with each set of quilted 

materials (brown side out). 

a) Reader, turn the digital 

thermometer "on," and call 

out the temperature. 

b) Recorder, write this 

temperature down at "time=0." 

c) Timer, say "Go"... Then, every 15 seconds throughout the experiment, call out the time. 

d) Heater, when Timer says “Go,” turn the hair dryer on the “high” position. Hold it 5 cm 

from the brown cloth until the Timer says “30.” Then turn it off!

e) Recorder, every 15 seconds record the temperature that the Reader calls out. 

7. Ask students to graph the data, with “Time” in 15-second intervals on the X axis and 

“Temperature” on the Y axis, as illustrated in fig. 20. 

8. Ask the class to discuss explain the time-temperature traces on their graphs. (Main points to 

notice: The thinner the insulation, the faster the thermocouple temperature rises and the 

Figure 19—Experimental setup for “Tree Skin” activity. 

Coffee can is model of tree trunk, with thermocouple 

attached under cloth insulation (bark) to observe 

temperature change at “cambium.” 
123

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

0 60 120 180 240

Time (sec)

Temperature (deg. C)

0 layers 

2 layers

6 layers

10 layers

higher it goes. The thicker the insulation, the slower the temperature rises and falls; in fact, 

the temperature may continue to rise even after the heat source—hair dryer—is removed.) 

Evaluation: Does thick bark protect a tree from all three kinds of fire—surface, crown, and 

ground fire? Write a paragraph to explain your answer. It should contain at least one sentence 

about each kind of fire. (Thicker bark usually means greater protection against surface fire. 

Surface fires usually burn past a tree quickly, and thick bark keeps the temperature at the 

cambium from rising very fast. If the fire is burning through the crowns of the trees, it will kill 

the leaves and thick bark will be no defense against that. Ground fires burn very slowly. If a 

source of heat is long-lasting, like a ground fire, it may heat the bark enough to kill the cambium 

cells. A ground fire may also heat the soil so much that a lot of roots are killed, so thick bark 

isn’t a very good defense against ground fire.) 

Closure: Use these questions to guide further discussion. 

Based on bark thickness alone, rank 

the trees studied in Mystery Trees

according to their resistance to 

damage from fire. 

Results depend on the specimens in your trunk. 

Ponderosa pine, western larch, and Douglas-fir are well 

known for their thick bark, especially when old; 

subalpine fir and quaking aspen usually have thin bark. 

What other properties of bark might 

make some trees more vulnerable or 

more resistant to damage from fire? 

How could you test these 

hypotheses? 

Pitch on the bark makes it flammable and less fireresistant. Scars from old wounds may have little or no 

bark covering them, so the area around them has little 

protection. Different tree species have bark of different 

colors and densities, which affect heat transfer. 

Figure 20—Graph of sample data from “Tree Skin” with 4 levels of insulation. 

Amount of 

Heat source removed insulation 
124

Extensions 

1. Suppose you read an article in the newspaper reporting that a team of scientists has 

developed a new kind of tree. It will grow much thicker bark than any other species in your 

area and they think it will be able to survive fires that other species in the area can’t. Local 

people are suggesting that this new species be planted in the public wildlands of your state. 

Do you think that is a good idea or a bad idea? Write a letter to the editor about the proposal. 

Explain your reasoning. 

2. If your class does the “Tree Skin” activity in teams, treat each set of student data as a 

replication of the experiment. Use a spreadsheet to calculate the average value for each 

observation, then graph the results. Discuss this data summary with the class. Here are some 

possible lead questions: 

a) In what ways is the graph of averages more useful or more informative than the 

individual graphs? 

b) What information is lost in the graph of averages? 

c) Are there ways to show “lost” information on the graph of averages? 

d) Do any of the averages seem affected by “outlier” data points, data that seem 

unreasonable and might be observational errors? 

e) What should a scientist do with outlier data? 
125 

 Cambium Temperature of 

 Coffee-Can Tree 

Time Layers of Insulation 

(sec) 0 2 4 6 8 10 

0 

15 

30 

45 

60 (1 min) 

75 

90 

105 

120 (2 min) 

135 

150 

165 

180 (3 min) 

195 

210 

225 

240 (4 min) 

Student Page 16 
125 

Cambium Temperature of 

 Coffee-Can Tree 

Time Layers of Insulation 

(sec) 0 2 

0 

15 

30 

45 

60 (1 min) 

75 

90 

105 

120 (2 min) 

135 

150 

165 

180 (3 min) 

195 

210 

225 

240 (4 min) 

Student Page 17 

126 
127 

Activity 6-5. Recipe for a 

Lodgepole Pine Forest 

What’s the Point? 

Lodgepole pine forests cover very large areas in the West. Most of these forests began 

after fire sometime during the past 150 years. Many of the fires were very severe, at least in 

patches. These forests will probably burn again in the next century, as they have for hundreds of 

years. A few years after fire, most burns in lodgepole pine are home to millions of lodgepole 

pine seedlings. Why? This species stores much of its seed in resin-sealed cones that stay on the 

tree for many years. They open when heat melts the resin and frees the seeds. In this activity, 

students extract the seeds from lodgepole pine cones and study and count them. As an extension, 

students may plant the seeds and see how many germinate. 

This activity has four parts. The last two are optional: 

• Treat the cones with hot water so they will open 

• A day or two later, remove seeds from cones and count them 

• Prepare seed and plant it 

• Study germinating trees 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objectives: Given a collection of lodgepole pine cones, students can open them and 

extract see, identify filled vs. empty seed, build a histogram from the data, and interpret it. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Technology, 

Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 30 minutes 

Links to Standards52:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A1) Ask a question about the environment 

A2) Plan and conduct simple investigation 

A3) Use simple equipment and tools to gather information 

A4) Use data to construct an explanation 

A5) Communicate investigations and explanations 

B3) Demonstrate production of heat, conduction and convection 

C1) Identify needs of various organisms 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A1) Identify questions that can be answered scientifically 

A2) Design and conduct a scientific investigation 

A3) Develop explanations and predictions using evidence 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

 

52 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade levels:

 X Elementary 

 X Middle
128 

cont’d. 

A5) Communicate procedures and explanations 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

C1) Describe structure and function in a living system 

C4) Recognize that ability to obtain resources, grow, reproduce... are essential for life 

C8) Recognize that population size depends on resources 

F6) Recognize difference between science questions and other questions 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

1A) Develop questions to learn about environment 

1B) Design simple investigations 

1C) Collect information about environment 

1D) Understand need for reliable inforation. Judge merits of information 

1E) Describe data, organize information to search for patterns 

2.2A) Understand that plants and animals have different characteristics and many are inherited 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

0A) Classify local ecosystems. Create food webs 

1A) Develop, focus and explain questions about environment 

1B) Design investigations to answer questions 

1C) Locate and collect reliable information about environment 

1D) Judge weaknesses and strengths of information being used 

1E) Classify and order data, organize and display information 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2B) Understand importance of genetic heritage and traits 

Vocabulary: cone, embryo, experiment, filled seed, histogram, hypothesis, maximum, mean, 

median, natural selection, observation, serotiny, trait, viable 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?53 You must supply

Lodgepole pine cones Fuels Box, Main/B one sticky note for each 

student, 7.5 x y.5 cm 

Cones examined in Mystery Trees 

(Activity 4-3 or 4-4) 

Tree Cones Box, 

Main/A 

aluminum pie tins (2-4), 8- or 

9-inch diameter 

spoons (2-4) 

paper plates (1 per student) 

Lodgepole Pine Seed, Sasquatch 

National Forest transparency 

(Student Page 18)

Visual Aids & 

Handouts, Teacher/C 

flipchart paper 

boiling water 

overhead projector, pens 

Optional: Lodgepole Pine Data 

transparency, Class Page 10; and 

Lodgepole Pine Seed Production 

transparency, Class Page 11 

Visual Aids & 

Handouts, Teacher/C 

Optional: Copy of Student 

Page 19 for each student

 

53 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
129 

Summary of 33 observations

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

0 1-5 6-10 11-

15

16-

20

21-

25

26-

30

>30

No. filled seed per cone

No. observations

Preparation

Set up your classroom with 2 to 4 activity stations. At each station, place a pie tin, a 

spoon, and several paper towels. 

 Use a flipchart page (about 40 X 40 inches) to make an outline for a histogram like the 

one in fig. 21. Make the bars 7.5 cm wide, or the same width as your sticky notes. Label the y 

axis so that a count of “1” is 7.5 cm above the x axis, a count of “2” is 15 cm above, a count of 

“3’ is 22.5 cm above, etc. Thus each “cell” in the graph is the size of a sticky note. Alternative: 

If you want students to analyze the data and design the histogram independently, use the 

Lodgepole Pine Data transparency (Class Page 10) for gathering data. If you don’t want to 

bother with the flipchart graph, you can draw the histogram on Class Page 11, Lodgepole Pine 

Seed Production. 

Prepare boiling water. 

Procedure 

1. On the board, make two columns: Hypotheses and Experiments. 

2. Distribute lodgepole pine cones—at least one per student. Give each student a sticky note. 

3. Ask students to notice that the cones are tightly closed, unlike cones from most other trees. 

This property is called cone serotiny. Pass around the cones used in Mystery Trees (Activity 

4-3 or 4-4) for comparison. Explain that some lodgepole pine cones do open at maturity, 

unlike those in this activity. Cone serotiny varies a great deal from one location to another. 

4. Ask for ideas about how the closed lodgepole pine cones might be opened in nature 

(hypotheses), and how they could test these ideas (experiments). Write the hypotheses and 

experiments on the board. Hope that "heat" or "fire" is on the list. 

5. Test the hypotheses related to heat by using the following recipe: 

Figure 21—Sample histogram from this activity. Data were collected by a class of 

eighth graders. 
130 

• Pour boiling water into a pie tin. 

• Place lodgepole pine cone in the water for 20 seconds, then remove with a spoon. While 

it is in the water, pay attention to what you see and hear (fig. 22) (The resin closing the 

cones is melted by the hot water, and expanding air begins to come out of the cone, 

making tiny bubbles and popping noises.) 

• Place cones on a paper towel and leave in 

a warm, dry place overnight. 

• Shake and tap each cone over a paper plate 

to catch the seeds. If they don’t come out 

easily, roll the cone back and forth on the 

paper plate. 

• Examine the seeds carefully. Those that 

are “filled” contain a tree embryo. Filled 

seeds have a rounded brown lump, about 2 

mm across, attached to the papery wing. 

Throw away unfilled seeds. 

• Write your name on the sticky note. Count 

the filled seeds and write the number on 

your sticky note. Make it big, readable 

from across the room. Even if there are 

no filled seeds, write it down! 

6. Place each sticky note in the correct histogram 

column (above the number range that includes 

that count). For instance, a sticky note that 

says “8,” meaning 8 filled seeds were found, 

should be placed in the column “1-10.” Place 

the sticky notes on the histogram from the xaxis up, like building blocks. This way, the 

data themselves build the bars of the 

histogram. Since each student wrote a sticky 

note, the count along the y axis is clearly not a 

number of seeds but a number of observations. 

7. Analyze and discuss the data and the 

histogram. 

• How common are trees with no seeds? 

• What is the largest number (maximum)? 

• Calculate the average and median, and discuss the meanings of these numbers. 

• Why does the number of filled seed vary from cone to cone? (Genetics, location, soil, 

weather, and chance all affect cone and seed production.) 

Evaluation: 

Elementary Level: Provide each student with a copy of Student Page 18, Lodgepole 

Pine Seed in the Sasquatch National Forest. Explain that students need not do the whole 

assignment on the page. Instead, they should answer three questions: 

1. How many cones had no filled seed at all? (2) 

2. How many cones had more than more than 20 seeds? (2+2=4) 

Figure 22—First graders retrieving their 

lodgepole pine cones from pan of water. 
131 

3. How many cones had between 1 to 10 seeds? (10+11=21) 

Middle School Level: Assign Student Page 18, Lodgepole Pine Seed in the Sasquatch 

National Forest. A student completes the worksheet successfully if he or she answers clearly 

(“I’m worried about getting a new forest there” or “I’m not worried about it”) and uses 

information from the histogram to explain his or her reasoning. Here are two successful answers: 

• “I’m not worried because nearly a third of the cones I collected had more than 5 seeds in 

them.” 

• “I’m worried because some of the cones I collected had no seed at all.” 

Closure: Ask the class to recall from studying tree cookies (Activity 5-1 or 5-2) what kinds of 

fires occur in lodgepole pine forests. Ask: Based on this information, would serotinous cones be 

a useful trait in other kinds of forest, like the ponderosa pine forests of the past? (Serotinous 

cones serve as a seed reservoir in forests burned by crown fire—a reservoir that becomes 

available right after the fire. In forests that experienced few crown fires, like historic ponderosa 

pine forests, serotinous cones would trap seeds in the tree crown, making them unavailable to 

germinate on the ground. Since crown fires were unusual in historic ponderosa pine forests, 

natural selection would not favor ponderosa pines with the trait of serotiny.) 

Extensions 

1. In Step 4 above, students are likely to come up with some hypotheses that can easily be 

tested in the classroom. "Animals pound or bite them open"... and "Water opens them..." are 

two possibilities. As the students to design experiments to test these hypotheses; help them 

make sure their experiments are controlled, varying only one factor at a time. Help them set 

up and carry out the procedures. Ask them to present their results to the class. 

2. Use the Lodgepole Pine Facts and observations from your experiments to answer the 

questions on Lodgepole Pine Challenge (Student Page 19). If you do this activity, here are 

some hints about solving the math problems: 

 Question 4. (500+1000)/2 cones/tree * median number of seeds/cone 

 Question 5. (1500+4000)/2 trees/hectare * (classroom area, m2)/(10000 m2/ha) 

Question 6. (answer from #5) * (answer from #4) * 20 years 

3. Plant the seeds from this experiment. 

a) Rub each filled seed gently to break off its papery wing. 

b) Wrap all seeds in a moist paper towel and place in an unsealed plastic bag. 

c) Store in refrigerator for 4 weeks. Keep moist but not wet. 

d) Place potting soil 5-10 cm deep on the bottom of a clay pot. 

e) Place seeds on this soil and cover with 2 mm more of soil. 

f) Place in a warm, sunny place. Mist with a spray bottle every day or two to keep soil moist 

but not wet. Wait 4 to 8 weeks for seedlings to emerge. 

g) Measure germination success. 
Lodgepole Pine Data 

Name ____________________________ 

1. List the number of seeds in each cone. If someone found no filled seed in a 

cone, record a "0." If most of the trees in a forest are producing no live seed, 

that's important to know.

 

 

2. Count the number observations from above that showed zero seed, the 

number with 1-10 seeds, etc. 

No. of seed/cone Number of students finding that many seeds/cone 

0 

1-10 

11-20 

21-30 

31-40 

41-50 

more than 50 

3. Show your results on a bar graph. Write "Number of observations" along 

the Y axis. Write "Number of Seeds per Cone" along the X axis. Write these 

categories along the X axis: 0, 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, >50. Draw bars 

that show the results of your tally. This kind of graph is called a "histogram." 

Class Page 10

132
Lodgepole Pine Seed Production: 

Histogram of Seeds per Cone

0 

4 

8 

12 

16 

20 

Number of Observations

0 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100 >100

Number of filled seed in a cone

Lodgepole Pine Seed Production

Class Page 11

133
 Lodgepole Pine Seed 

 in the Sasquatch National Forest 

 Name ___________________ 

You are a forester working in the Sasquatch National Forest. A large area of lodgepole pine 

burned in your forest last year, and you wonder how many seeds are available to produce new 

trees. You visit an unburned area right next to the burn, collect 33 cones, use heat to open them, 

shake the seeds out, and count the seeds. You display your results in the histogram below. Do 

you think your burned forest will grow plentiful new trees, or are you worried about the next 

forest to grow there? Write your answer below in one or two complete sentences. Explain how 

you used your data to reach that conclusion. 

Summary of 33 observations

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

0 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 >30

No. filled seed per cone

No. observations

Student Page 18 

134
 Lodgepole Pine Challenge 

 Name ___________________ 

PINE FACTS

! An average lodgepole pine produces 500 to 1,000 cones every year. 

! More than half of the cones in a lodgepole pine forest may be resin-sealed. 

! Much of the seed in resin-sealed cones stays viable (able to grow) for 20 

years or more. Some lodgepole pine seed has germinated after 150 years! 

! 1,500 to 4,000 lodgepole pine trees may live in an area 100 by 100 meters 

(This area is a "hectare," an area a little bigger than a football field.) 

! Lodgepole pine trees live about 100 to 150 years. Grown trees are often 

killed by mountain pine beetles or by fire. 

ECOLOGY CHALLENGE

Use your class's data, the facts above, and your thinking skills to answer these 

questions. If you don't know an answer, think of an experiment that would help 

you find the answer. 

1. How well does hot water, like you used in the experiment, mimic fire? 

2. How well does a refrigerator mimic winter? 

3. Why do lodgepole pine seeds have wings? 

4. How many seeds might be produced by a whole lodgepole pine tree in one 

year? 

5. How many grown lodgepole pines are likely to live in an area the size of 

your classroom? 

6. If a crown fire occurs in a patch of forest as big as your classroom, how 

many tree seedlings would you probably find the next year? 

7. What happens to keep some seedlings from growing into large trees? 

8. Why are resin-sealed cones and long-lasting seeds useful traits for lodgepole 

pine? 

9. Ask another question about lodgepole pine. Can you answer it? If not, can 

you think of an experiment that will help find the answer?

Student Page 19 

135
136 

Activity 6-6. Designer Trees 

What’s the Point? 

Students design a tree that is well suited to a particular environment. Their choices are 

guided by their understanding of plant adaptations to fire and by the constraints of limited 

resources. Resource limitations are represented in this activity by a budget of “sun dollars” to be 

spent and traded for traits that enable their “designer tree” to survive or reproduce well after fire. 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective: Given a limited amount of resources and a particular environment, students 

will identify traits that enable tree species to survive or reproduce well after fire. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Arts, Workplace 

Competencies 

Duration: 40 minutes 

Links to Standards54:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

C1) Identify needs of various organisms 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

F3) Understand that resource supplies are limited 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

C1) Describe structure and function in a living system 

C4) Recognize that ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce ... are essential for life 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

2.2A) Understand similarities and differences among variety of organisms. Understand habitat 

2.2B) Understand that plants and animals have different characteristics and many are inherited 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

2.1C) Understand energy transfer 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2B) Understand importance of genetic heritage and traits 

2.3C) Understand political and economic systems and relationship to environment 

Vocabulary: reproduction, resource, trait 

 

54 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade level:

 X Elementary
137 

Materials

In this trunk... ... where?55 You must supply 

Designer Trees Kit Teacher/C Large paper for drawing 

Designer Tree Rules 

transparency (Class Page 12) 

Visual Aids and Handouts, 

Teacher/C 

Masking tape 

Procedure 

1. Select a Resource Banker. This person displays the Resource Bank sign from his or her desk 

and sets up “sun dollars” for distribution. 

2. Select a Tree Trait Store Manager. This person displays the Tree Trait Store sign at his or 

her desk, displays the Price List where it will be easy for students to see, and sets up Tree 

Trait cards for sale. He or she should obtain about $5,000 from the Banker for change, 

mostly in $100s. The Banker and Store Manager can be the same person. 

3. Designate 6 to 12 teams of students as Tree Designers. For 6 teams, use only one set of Place 

Cards and Tree Trait cards. For 7 to 12 teams, use two sets. 

4. Shuffle the Place Cards and place them upside-down on a desk. 

5. Display Designer Tree Rules (Class Page 12); use it to go over the game rules with the class. 

6. Have each Tree Designer team draw a Place Card. The card describes the location for which 

this team will design a tree. The location may be at a low or high elevation, it may have 

infrequent or frequent fires, and it may have poor or rich soil (table 10). Some locations have 

more resources available for plants than others. The Place Card states how many sun dollars 

the team can get at the Resource Bank for this location. 

7. Have each Tree Designer team visit the Bank and collect the sun dollars allowed on their 

Place Card. 

8. Have each team plan the Tree Traits that will enable a tree living at their special location to 

survive fire, reproduce well after fire, or both. As students plan their budget or after it is 

complete, they can visit the Tree Store to buy Trait Cards. Table 11 provides a price list. A 

team can return any Trait Card to the bank for a refund. If you want to complicate the math a 

bit, have the Banker charge a service fee—a price of $25 or 10% of the original purchase 

price—for any Trait Card returned. Teams can trade and buy Trait Cards from each other and 

bargain over prices. 

9. When a team has finished buying and bargaining for Traits, have them draw a diagram of 

their Designer Tree at its special place. On the diagram, they must include all information on 

the Place Card and label every Tree Trait.

Evaluation: Each team should present and explain its Designer Tree to the class. Students can 

ask questions and assess the ability of the tree to survive and reproduce after fire.

Closure: Ask the students if any of the Designer Trees resemble real trees that they learned 

about in Mystery Trees (Activity 4-4). Discuss the similarities and differences. 

 

55 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to 

right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
138 

Table 10—Place cards in the Designer Trees game. The Designer Trees Kit in the Teacher Box contains 

two copies of each.

Site Fire Pattern Worth, 

Sun 

Dollars 

Low elevation, long growing season 

Ordinary soil 

Fires occur every 5 to 30 years. 

They often have low flames. 

$900 

Low elevation, long growing season 

Soil full of gravel, poor for growing trees 

Fires occur every 5 to 30 years. 

They often have low flames. 

$800 

Low elevation, long growing season 

Soil rich in ash from ancient volcano, good for 

growing things 

Fires occur every 5 to 30 years. 

They often have low flames. 

$1,000 

High elevation, short growing season 

Ordinary soil 

Fires occur every 50 to 100 

years. They often have very 

high flames. 

$700 

High elevation, short growing season 

Soil full of gravel, poor for growing trees 

Fires occur every 50 to 100 

years. They often have very 

high flames. 

$600 

High elevation, short growing season 

Soil rich in ash from ancient volcano, good for 

growing things 

Fires occur every 50 to 100 

years. They often have very 

high flames. 

$800 

Table 11—Tree trait cards in the Designer Trees game. The Designer Trees Kit in the Teacher Box 

contains 2 sets of each kind of card. 

Trait Cost in 

Sun Dollars 

Number Cards 

per Set 

Basic tree: roots, trunk, leaves $300 6 

Bark (purchase by the centimeter of thickness) $20/cm 20 

Extra thick buds $100 3 

Serotinous cones $200 2 

Extra fast-growing trunk and branches $150 2 

Produces seed and cones at a very young age $150 2 

Loses low branches easily but still grows well $250 2 

Extension 

Design another fire-surviving plant using a lesson from Discovery Channel on the 

Internet site 

pictures.discovery.com/dppages/wildfire/teacher/lesson1.html 
Designer Tree Rules 

Each Tree Designer Team:

1. Draw a Place Card. The card describes the place that you will design a tree 

for. The place may be at a low or high elevation, and it may have poor or 

rich soil. The Place Card states how many "sun dollars" you can get for 

your location at the Resource Bank. Some locations have more resources 

available for plants than others. 

2. Visit the Bank. Obtain the money that your Place Card entitles you to. 

3. Plan how to use your sun dollars to buy Tree Traits. Your Designer Tree 

should be able to survive the kinds of fires likely in your special place, or it 

should be able to reproduce well after fires, or both. 

4. After you finish your budget, visit the Tree Store to buy Trait Cards. 

5. You can return any Trait Card to the bank for a refund. The banker may 

charge a fee for returned cards. 

6. You can trade or buy Trait Cards from other teams. If you bargain, both 

teams have to agree on the price. 

7. When you have finished buying and bargaining for Traits, draw a picture of 

your Designer Tree in your special Place. Include all the information from 

your Place Card and label every Trait that you bought or traded for. 

8. Present and explain your Designer Tree to the class.

Class Page 12

139 
140 

Activity 6-7. Great Escape 

What’s the Point? 

Students have been studying ways in which the plants of a forest community are affected 

by fire, and ways in which they can survive fire. This dialogue between students lets them think 

about the animals of the forest community and how they deal with the fires that shape their 

habitat. 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective: Given demonstrations of animal adaptations to fire, students can describe 

ways in which animals survive and reproduce in fire-dependent forests (by fleeing, avoiding heat 

in protected locations, or leaving eggs/larvae in protected locations).

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Social 

Studies, Technology, Library Media, Arts, Media Literacy, Health, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 20 minutes 

Links to Standards56:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A5) Communicate investigations and explanations 

C1) Identify needs of various organisms 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

C3) Identify relationship between senses and environmental cues 

F2) Understand source of resources 

F4) Understand changes in environments can be slow or rapid; rate of change has consequences 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

C4) Recognize that ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain internal 

stability are essential for life 

C5) Recognize that behavior evolves in response to internal and external environment 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

0C) Describe aspects that change on temporal basis 

1C) Collect information about environment 

2.2A) Understand similarities and differences among organisms. Understand habitat 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

2.2D) Know that living things need energy to live and grow 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1A) Develop, focus and explain questions about environment 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2B) Understand importance of genetic heritage and traits 

Vocabulary: burrow, cavity, cavity nester, ecologist, surface fire, wildlife biologist, zoologist 

 

56 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade level:

 X Elementary
141 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?57 You must supply 

FireWorks Notebook Teacher/C chalk & chalkboard 

Preparation 

Ask for nine student volunteers to help with teaching. Give This “Teacher Team” the 

FireWorks Notebook and ask each member to select an animal from the notebook and learn how 

that animal (American marten, Clark's nutcracker, elk, flammulated owl, grizzly bear, mountain 

pine beetle, red squirrel, pileated woodpecker, red-backed vole) survives or avoids fire. Explain 

that they must pantomime the way each animal deals with fire—not using any words. Students 

may work together in their pantomime demonstrations; one student may want to “be” fire, while 

others represent animals, plants, sheltered places, etc. 

Procedure 

1. Ask the class what people should do if a fire occurs in their school or home. (First and most 

important, get out of the building! Then go to a pre-determined location, and call for help.) 

2. Ask the class how plants survive and reproduce after fires. Do they think animals have any 

such abilities? 

HINTS: Some plants have underground bulbs. Animals can use the underground part of 

the forest, too. (Many small mammals have underground runways and burrows. They escape 

fire by "holing up" while it passes over. Some do not survive, however, either because of 

heat or smoke.) Some trees have high crowns that stay above the flames from surface fires. 

Animals can use this part of the forest, too. (Birds that nest high in trees, especially those that 

use holes in the tree trunk—"cavity nesters"—can avoid surface fires.) 

4. Ask members of the Teacher Team, one at a time, to write the names of their animals on the 

board and then pantomime for the class how that animal deals with fire. Then call on 

individual students to describe the survival/reproductive strategy or to ask questions, which 

the Teacher Team must answer without words. When the Teacher Team agrees that the class 

“gets it,” have them write the survival/reproductive strategy on the board. ask the students to 

give their presentations. 

Evaluation: Pretend that you were a mouse living in a ponderosa pine forest when a surface 

fire burned it. Write a paragraph or two that tells how you detected danger, what you did to 

survive, and how the forest was different after the fire was over. Describe things that you 

observed with all your senses. Describe your feelings as all of these things were happening.

Closure: Ask students to exchange “fire mouse” stories from the Evaluation, read and edit 

them, and return them to the writer for revision. Ask a few students to share their stories with the 

class. 

 

57 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to 

right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
142 

Extensions 

1. Choose any of the activities in the “For Animals” section of Exploring Wood in the Teacher 

Box (pp. 55-73). Discuss how each animal could avoid being hurt by fire, and how each 

one’s habitat is changed by fire. 

2. View the “Fire and Wildlife” video in the (Teacher Box) to learn about how professional 

wildlife managers use fire to improve habitat for animals. 

3. Use an encyclopedia, CD-ROM, or the Internet to find more information on the animals 

studied in this activity. Advanced readers may be able to obtain information from the Fire 

Effects Information System: 

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis 
143 

 Chapter 7. 

 Communities in Action

Many of the activities in FireWorks focus on the individual plants, fungi, and animals 

that make up a forest community. In this chapter, students weave their understanding of 

individual organisms and habitat into an understanding of the biological community—how 

organisms interact, how they obtain energy, and how they change over time—with fire and 

without it. This chapter describes activities that explore food and resources webs, relationships 

between organisms, and succession. Students conduct library research (using the FireWorks 

Notebook provided in the trunk) to learn about individual organisms and use feltboards and roleplaying to demonstrate how individuals interact in an ecosystem. 

Background 

Use the following resources in the FireWorks Library and the Teacher Box: 

• National Geographic article "The Essential Element of Fire" by Michael Parfit, pages 

116 through 139 in the September 1996 issue, Vol. 190 (3) 

• Jack deGolia's book Fire - a Force of Nature, pages 30-31 

• Fire and Vegetative Trends in the Northern Rockies compares historic photos with 

modern photos, depicting succession in many Western ecosystems. 

• Read Chapters 5, 6, and 10 of Ronald Lanner's Made for Each Other. These chapters 

describe the cones and seeds of whitebark pine (and related pines), the Clark's 

nutcracker's habit of burying whitebark pine seeds, and how animals use whitebark pine. 

• Succession and reliance on fire are not unique to the three kinds of forest described in 

FireWorks. Read pp. 43-45 in the Fire in Florida's Ecosystems Educator's Guide. 

• Read pp. 73-75 in Brian Capon's Plant Succession to learn about succession without fire.

• Read Graced by Pines to learn about the natural history of ponderosa pine forests.

 

Chapter Goals Chapter Activities

1. To increase student skills in Activity 7-1. In the Web (E) 

• researching technical information Activity 7-2. Always Changing 

• communicating technical information (M,H)

• working together to prepare and give a Activity 7-3. Story Time (P,E) 

presentation Activity 7-4. Puzzling It Out (M) 

2. To increase student understanding 

• that a forest has many kinds of organisms, 

 which influence one another 

• that a forest changes constantly through time

• that native organisms have ways to survive 

fire or reproduce after fire, or both
144 

Activity 7-1. In the Web 

What’s the Point? 

Forest communities survive and thrive because energy flows into and through them, 

beginning with sunlight and eventually reaching every inhabitant, and also because every 

organism finds shelter somewhere in the environment. Sometimes shelter is found inside another 

organism! 

 In this activity, students individually research 20 to 30 kinds of living things that occur in 

the three kinds of forests studied in FireWorks. They have already "met" many of these 

organisms in previous activities, but some will be new to them—particularly two fungi, an 

insect, and a parasitic plant. (Fungi are organisms that grow in one place and absorb nutrients 

through hair-like structures, but unlike plants they cannot turn sunlight directly into energy. They 

are great decomposers. Sometimes they "recycle" materials before we have finished using them! 

Parasites are organisms that get their energy by draining other organisms of theirs. A parasite 

damages and eventually kills its "host" organism.) 

 In this activity, students “adopt” an organism, learn about its life history and fire ecology 

from the FireWorks Notebook, and use what they learn from individual study to build a living 

model of a resource web.

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: Given information about a plant, animal, or fungus, students can explain and 

dramatize its role in a food web to other members of the class.

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Speaking and Listening, Social Studies, 

Library Media, Arts, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 1-2 hours of student preparation, 20 minutes for activity 

Links to Standards58: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

C1) Identify needs of various organisms 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

D3) Understand that the sun provides light and heat to earth 

F2) Understand source of resources 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

B3) Understand that energy is transferred in many ways 

B4) Identify ways in which energy moves in and out of a system 

C1) Describe structure and function in a living system 

C4) Recognize that ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce... are essential for life 

C7) Recognize nature of energy and food webs 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

0C) Describe aspects that change on temporal basis 

 

58 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade level:

 X Elementary 
145 

 cont’d. 

1C) Collect information about environment 

2.2A) Understand similarities and differences among variety of organisms. Understand habitat 

2.2B) Understand that plants and animals have different characteristics and many are inherited 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

2.2D) Know that living things need energy to live and grow 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

0A) Classify local ecosystems. Create food webs 

1C) Collect and locate reliable information about environment 

2.1C) Understand energy transfer 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2C) Understand interactions among organisms and populations 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment

Vocabulary: animal, food web, fungus, parasite, plant, succession 

Materials

In this trunk... ... where?59 You must supply 

FireWorks Notebook 

(pages are removable) 

Teacher/C Art supplies for masks or puppets, or 

costumes 

Scissors 

Lightweight tray of cookies or other treats 

Copy of Class Page 13 (Assignment List) 

cotton string Hardware 

Box, Main/A 

Copy of Student Page 20 (Getting to Know 

You) for each student 

Preparation

This time, students do the preparation for the activity! Assign each student to research 

one of the organisms listed on the Assignment List, Class Page 13. Each of these is described in a 

two-page essay in the FireWorks Notebook (in the Teacher Box). Pages of the Notebook are 

removable, so students can take the page for their organisms out to study it and make their 

masks/costumes (fig. 23). Record assignments on your copy of class Page 13. Students can 

supplement the Notebook information with other references in the FireWorks Library and in your 

school library. Students with advanced reading skills can consult the Fire Effects Information 

System on the Internet at www.fs.fed.us/database/feis. 

In their research, students should think of themselves as becoming the local experts on 

their assigned organisms. Student Page 20 (Getting to Know You) is a worksheet to help them 

look for particular information and take notes on it. 

Ask the students to depict what they have learned about their forest inhabitant in a 

costume, puppet, or mask. A student may need to show his or her organism at more than time 

during its life—perhaps as an egg and as an adult; perhaps right after a fire, then ten or a hundred 

years later. To do this, students may want to make two items or try a changeable or reversible 

costume. 

 Explain what materials are available and what the time frame for the assignment is. 

 

 

59 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
146 

If possible, find a volunteer helper to play the role of “sunlight” in your food web. Place your 

tray of cookies near that person or on a desk or chair next to the area you’ll stand in to build your 

web. 

Procedure

When all preparation is done..... 

1. Explain: Plants capture the sun's energy and store it in the chemicals that make up their 

tissues. Later, plants break these energy-storing chemicals apart and use that energy to grow, 

change, and reproduce. We have learned from experiments that fire releases some of the 

energy in plant tissues as heat and light. Other living things can release that energy too, 

using it for their own growth, change, and reproduction.

INFO SPARK: Introduce or review concepts from your curriculum about the carbon cycle—

photosynthesis and respiration. Introduce or review concepts from your curriculum about food 

webs and trophic levels. 

2. Ask student actors and actresses to stand in a circle wearing their masks/costumes. 

3. Have each student describe the organism he or she represents. The organisms that have 

already been presented (in Mystery Trees or Buried Treasures or Great Escape) can give 

quite brief presentations; those whom students have not met before should describe 

themselves in detail. 

4. Give the string to the Sun (or tie it to the chair or desk representing the sun). 

5. Pass the ball of string to an organism that uses sunlight (a plant), leaving one end attached to 

the sun. 

6. Have the "plant" hold the string and pass the ball to something that it is related to, either in a 

food web (its food or its consumer) or in a shelter relationship. The ponderosa pine tree, for 

instance, could pass the yarn to a pileated woodpecker or flammulated owl (which might 

nests in it) or a mountain pine beetle (which can eat its cambium). Students can help each 

Figure 23—Sixth grader prepares her pileated woodpecker 

puppet for “In the Web.”
147 

other in this activity, explaining their food and shelter relationships. Each student that the 

string goes to should hold it snug and pass the ball under the web, on to the next student. 

(Always passing the ball under the web keeps it from tangling.) 

7. Continue the activity until the person holding the string has no one to pass it to. Explain that 

other organisms not included in the “cast of characters” here, like insects and worms, will use 

that organism’s energy. Then cut the string (while the students still hold their web tight), and 

return the ball to the sun—to be passed to a different plant. 

8. Continue the activity until every organism in the ecosystem is connected to one or two 

others. But don't let students drop the string just yet!

9. Ask students to hold the string tight. Place your tray of "real" energy (cookies or other treats) 

on the string web, in a place where the string is tangled enough to support it. Explain that this 

shows that the students themselves are part of a web of energy and cooperation like the one 

they are depicting. 

10. Ask students to slowly, carefully ("on the count of three") bring their string web to the floor 

so that they set the treats down. Then let them share the treats. 

Evaluation: Write down the name of your organism. Write one sentence explaining where your 

organism gets energy. If it requires other organisms for energy, name one or two of them. Write 

another sentence explaining what your organism gives to other parts of the food web and what 

organisms benefit from yours.

Closure: Remind the students that energy is constantly being transferred from one living thing 

to another, and that people are part of the web too, capturing some of the energy for their own 

needs. Discuss ways in which humans use energy and materials from forests, too—burning wood 

for heat, constructing homes and furniture from wood materials, using animals and plants for 

food and medicines. 

Extensions 

1. Explore the National Geographic Society’s Internet game about forests at 

www.nationalgeographic.com/forest

2. Play the Wildfire Prevention Team Interactive ZIP game in the Teacher Box. This game 

discusses fire ecology in relationship to many species not mentioned in FireWorks materials.

3. Soils are a crucial part of the earth’s energy webs. Explore the riches of soil using Activity 9 

in the Woodsy Owl Activity Guide, “A Great Recipe for Garbage.”

4. Make tree and owl puppets. Directions are in Exploring Wood (in the Teacher Box), pp. 32 

and 62. 
Assignment List 

Forest Inhabitant Community* Student Name 

American marten moist, old—especially fir 

Armillaria root rot PP—favors Douglas-fir trees 

Arrowleaf balsamroot PP 

Beargrass LP, WB 

Black-backed woodpecker LP 

Blue huckleberry LP 

Clark’s nutcracker WB 

Douglas-fir mainly PP 

Douglas-fir mistletoe mainly PP—favors Douglas-fir 

Elk all 

Fireweed mainly LP 

Flammulated owl PP 

Glacier lily LP, WB 

Grizzly bear WB, LP 

Grouse whortleberry WB 

Lodgepole pine LP 

Mountain pine beetle mainly LP 

Pileated woodpecker PP 

Pinegrass mainly PP 

Ponderosa pine PP 

Red squirrel all, but be sure to show in WB 

Red-backed vole old, moist—especially fir 

Saskatoon serviceberry PP, LP 

Smooth woodrush WB 

Snowbrush Ceanothus PP, LP 

Subalpine fir LP, WB 

White pine blister rust WB 

Whitebark pine WB 

Wild onion PP, LP 

* PP=ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir; LP=lodgepole pine/subalpine fir; WB=whitebark 

pine/subalpine fir. 

Class Page 13

148
 Getting to Know You 

 Name _____________________ 

 Organism __________________ 

As you study your forest inhabitant answer these questions. You will need the 

answers for "In the Web" and "Drama in the Forest." 

1. What is your organism—plant, animal, or fungus? _______________________ 

2. How does it get energy? ___________________________________________ 

3. If it gets energy from other organisms, list them. 

 _______________________________________________________________ 

4. What other organisms gets energy from yours? 

________________________________________________________________ 

5. What kinds of trees usually live in your organism’s neighborhood? 

________________________________________________________________

6. Does it live best in places burned by surface fire, crown fire, or no fire? Or 

doesn't it matter? 

________________________________________________________________ 

7. Does it matter to your organism how long ago a fire occurred? Explain. 

________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________ 

Student Page 20 

149
150 

Activity 7-2. Always Changing 

What’s the Point? Forests change over time. Different kinds of plants and animals have different needs. 

Some grow well only in sunny openings; some grow well almost anywhere as long as they can 

get water. The forest architecture and the species composition of a forest change over time, a 

process called succession. But many things interrupt succession. A forest is a tremendous 

storehouse of carbon, which forest residents use for their own needs. Trees add to this huge 

carbon reserve every day as they capture the sun's energy and store it in their tissues. But trees 

can't keep carbon to themselves. Fungi consume wood (both living and dead) and roots. Insects 

feed on needles, tree cambium, and dead wood. Small mammals and birds eat seeds. Just as the 

forest is constantly changing, it is constantly accumulating carbon and its carbon is constantly 

being reused and recycled. Fire is the most dramatic recycler. 

 This FireWorks activity asks students to work on three teams (one for each forest type). 

The teams use information in the FireWorks Library to present a play showing 100 years of 

change in each forest type. A few of the characters in the plays occur in all three forest types, so 

the students can learn about organisms, like elk, that use many habitats and those that have 

special habitat needs tied to moist areas, such as American marten and red-backed vole. Students 

have studied many of the organisms in this activity in previous FireWorks lessons. 

 If you do not have enough students or time to produce a play for all three forest types, 

have the students choose one of the three and then use the feltboard activity (“Story Time,” 

Activity 7-3) or “Puzzling It Out” (Activity 7-4) to survey the other two types. 

ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITY: You can cover the information in this activity in a more 

structured, less time-consuming way and provide a service to younger students in your school as 

well: Assign groups of students to prepare the three feltboard stories for the three forest 

communities (See Activity 7-3, “Story Time”) and present them to a younger classroom. 

Materials are in the Teacher Box. 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objectives: Given reference materials on biology, ecology, and succession, students can 

prepare and produce a drama showing succession in one of three forest types

Subjects: Science, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Social Studies, 

Technology, Library Media, Arts, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 1-2 hours or more for student preparation, 50 minutes for presentations 

Links to Standards60:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

C4) Recognize that ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce... are essential for life 

C7) Recognize nature of energy and food webs 

 

60 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8, 9-12. 

Grade levels:

 X Middle 

 X High
151 

 cont’d. 

C8) Recognize that population size depends on resources 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

C1) Understand basis for theory of evolution and natural selection

C4) Recognize that energy flow underlies resource webs 

C6) Recognize behavior as a form of adaptation to environment 

F3) Recognize extent, sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

0A) Classify local ecosystems. Create food webs 

0B) Describe habitat needs of species that are locally declining 

1C) Locate and collect reliable information about environment 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2C) Understand interactions among organisms and populations 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

0A) Identify several plants and animals common to local ecosystems. Describe concepts 

(succession, competition, parasitism) 

0B) Investigate short- and long-term environmental changes 

2.2A) Understand basic population dynamics and importance of biodiversity 

2.2B) Understand basic ideas behind biological evolution 

2.2C) Understand the living environment is comprised of interrelated, dynamic systems 

2.2D) Use interaction of matter and energy to explain environmental characteristics 

Vocabulary: succession 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?61 You must supply 

Pathways in Time booklets 

(3) 

FireWorks 

Library, Main/B 

Art supplies for masks or costumes 

FireWorks Notebook Copies of Drama in the Forest, Student 

Pages 21-23 for student teams 

Feltboard Backgrounds (3) 

Feltboard Notebooks (3) 

All in Teacher/C 

Copy of Class Page 13, Assignment List

Preparation 

Students will prepare and produce a play in which they depict forest inhabitants using 

masks or costumes. In the play, a TV reporter (or narrator) interviews plants and animals about 

changes that have occurred in the past century. You can change the assignment to producing a 

puppet show, if you prefer that format. 

Use the Drama in the Forest Student Pages (one for each forest type) for planning. 

Procedure 

1. Explain: Students will work in teams to present a drama that describes three kinds of forest 

(ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, whitebark pine). Each team will present a play showing 

 

61 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
152 

how this kind of forest looks and works now and what it was like right after a fire 100 years 

ago. The play should be about 15 minutes long. 

2. Ask each student to adopt an organism on the Assignment List (Class Page 13) and record his 

or her choice on the list.

3. Ask the three students depicting the three pine species to be "directors" of the three 

productions. Give each director a copy of Drama in the Forest, the handout for his or her 

forest community (pp. Student Page 21, 22 or 23), and ask him or her to use the assignment 

list to fill out this cast of characters.

4. Give each team the Pathways in Time booklet for his or her forest community. (You may 

also provide students with the feltboard kit for that community. The narrative for the 

feltboard describes the relationship of that community to fire. Students can construct the 

feltboard, following the directions in the kit, or simply read the narrative for information. If 

you have them construct the feltboard, make sure they take it apart when finished and put the 

pieces back in place.) 

5. Give each character the page from the FireWorks Notebook for his or her organism. The 

essays in the Notebook are removable, so students can borrow them while they prepare. 

Many characters will appear in only one drama, but others (elk, American marten, redbacked vole, and subalpine fir) will occur in more than one. Explain that these "shared" 

organisms must work with each team that provides habitat for them. 

6. Provide art materials for making masks or costumes. 

7. Have students plan their plays, research their plants and animals, write and rehearse. 

8. Have students produce their plays for one another and, if possible, for other classes. 

Evaluation: 

Middle School level: Choose two of the three forest types. Write a paragraph that 

compares them in terms of one of these ideas: 

• what kinds of fires were common in each forest type hundreds of years ago 

• how fires hundreds of years ago affected specific plants and animals in each type 

High School level: Think about how well an organism from one forest type would cope 

with life in one of the other types. Select an “organism-new habitat” pair from the list below and 

write a short essay answering these questions: 

• What traits does the organism have that would work well in the new forest? 

• What traits would make it difficult for the organism to survive or reproduce in the new 

habitat? 

• Do you think the organism could become a permanent resident in the new environment? If 

not, how long do you think it would last? 

Organism New habitat 

Ponderosa pine Whitebark pine/subalpine fir 

Lodgepole pine ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir 

Black-backed woodpecker ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir 

White pine blister rust Lodgepole pine/subalpine fir 

Closure: Explain that students have investigated the story of fire in three kinds of forest, but 

there are hundreds of kinds of wildlands (forests, grasslands, shrublands, even swamps and 

estuaries) in North America where fire occurs. Fire’s story is different in each of these 
153 

ecosystems, and the plants and animals in each have developed traits that enable them to survive 

fire or reproduce well after fire. 

Extensions 

1. Report to the class on fire ecology in a different ecosystem than the ones explored in 

FireWorks by studying Fire in Florida’s Ecosystems or the Fire Ecology Resource 

Management Education Unit (in the Teacher Box). 

2. Learn how rocket science at the Kennedy NASA Space Center uses the science of wildland 

fire. Visit the Kennedy Space Center’s Internet site: 

atlas.ksc.nasa.gov/fire/fire.html 

3. Learn about current research in whitebark pine ecosystems from the Internet site of the 

Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, a group dedicated to protecting this unique 

ecosystem: 

www.whitebarkfound.org 

4. Use computer graphics to produce a slide show or presentation depicting how a forest 

changes over time and how it is changed by surface and crown fire. 

5. View the two videotapes in the Teacher Box about the 1988 fires in the Yellowstone area, 

“Unfinished Song” and “Yellowstone Aflame.” Compare and contrast them: What is the 

main idea of each? Do you think they were produced for the same purposes? What images, 

sound effects, music, and words are used in each to influence viewers’ opinions? Do you like 

one better than the other? If so, why? 
 Drama in the Forest— 

 Ponderosa Pine/Douglas-fir

Character Name 

Interviewer 

Ponderosa pine 

Douglas-fir 

Pinegrass 

Serviceberry 

Snowbrush Ceanothus 

Arrowleaf balsamroot 

Armillaria root rot 

Douglas-fir mistletoe 

Pileated Woodpecker 

Elk* 

Flammulated Owl 

Red-backed vole* 

Pine marten* 

Assignment: Produce a play that shows the audience about your forest type, the fires that usually occur 

there, and how the forest changes over time. Here’s a strategy you can try: Use a TV interviewer to ask 

each organism about its life. The organism can reminisce or use a flashback to show how the forest 

looked 100 years ago, soon after a fire. Then change the forest (costumes, masks, or props) to 10 or 30 or 

100 years later, and interview the organisms again. Eventually, get to the present time and show what the 

forest is like. 

Steps: 

1. Fill out the table above. The asterisks mean that you will have to share that organism with other 

forest types. 

2. Learn about succession. Look at the Pathways in Time booklet for your forest type. You can 

read the narrative for the feltboard story for your forest type, too, to find out what the land looked 

like after fires in the past and how it changed over time. 

3. Use the pages for your characters from the FireWorks Notebook to find out what each character 

looks like, where it likes to live, and how it "makes its living" in the forest. Find out if it likes to 

live in a forest just after fire or many years after fire, or all the time. 

4. Prepare and practice your play. 

5. Make your masks or costumes. 

6. Produce your play for your class or another audience. After you’re done, ask the audience for 

questions.

* “Share” this organism with the other ecosystems.

Student Page 21 

154
 Drama in the Forest— 

 Lodgepole Pine/Subalpine Fir

Character Name

Interviewer or Narrator 

Lodgepole pine 

Subalpine fir*

Beargrass 

Blue huckleberry 

Glacier lily 

Wild Onion 

Mountain pine beetle* 

Fireweed 

Black-backed woodpecker 

Elk*

Pine marten*

Red-backed vole*

Assignment: Produce a play that shows the audience about your forest type, the fires that usually occur 

there, and how the forest changes over time. Here’s a strategy you can try: Use a TV interviewer to ask 

each organism about its life. The organism can reminisce or use a flashback to show how the forest 

looked 100 years ago, soon after a fire. Then change the forest (costumes, masks, or props) to 10 or 30 or 

100 years later, and interview the organisms again. Eventually, get to the present time and show what the 

forest is like.

Steps: 

1. Fill out the table above. The asterisks mean that you will have to share that organism with other 

forest types. 

2. Learn about succession. Look at the Pathways in Time booklet for your forest type. You can 

read the narrative for the feltboard story for your forest type, too, to find out what the land looked 

like after fires in the past and how it changed over time. 

3. Use the pages for your characters from the FireWorks Notebook to find out what each character 

looks like, where it likes to live, and how it "makes its living" in the forest. Find out if it likes to 

live in a forest just after fire or many years after fire, or all the time. 

4. Prepare and practice your play. 

5. Make your masks or costumes. 

6. Produce your play for your class or another audience. After you’re done, ask the audience for 

questions.

* “Share” this organism with at least one other ecosystem.

Student Page 22 

155
 Drama in the Forest— 

 Whitebark Pine/Subalpine Fir

Character Name 

Interviewer 

Whitebark pine 

Subalpine fir* 

Smooth woodrush 

Grouse whortleberry 

Red squirrel 

White pine blister rust 

Mountain pine beetle* 

Clark's nutcracker 

Elk* 

Grizzly bear 

Red-backed vole* 

Pine marten* 

Assignment: Produce a play that shows the audience about your forest type, the fires that usually occur 

there, and how the forest changes over time. Here’s a strategy you can try: Use a TV interviewer to ask 

each organism about its life. The organism can reminisce or use a flashback to show how the forest 

looked 100 years ago, soon after a fire. Then change the forest (costumes, masks, or props) to 10 or 30 or 

100 years later, and interview the organisms again. Eventually, get to the present time and show what the 

forest is like.

Steps: 

1. Fill out the table above. The asterisks mean that you will have to share that organism with other 

forest types. 

2. Learn about succession. Look at the Pathways in Time booklet for your forest type. You can 

read the narrative for the feltboard story for your forest type, too, to find out what the land looked 

like after fires in the past and how it changed over time. 

3. Use the pages for your characters from the FireWorks Notebook to find out what each character 

looks like, where it likes to live, and how it "makes its living" in the forest. Find out if it likes to 

live in a forest just after fire or many years after fire, or all the time. 

4. Prepare and practice your play. 

5. Make your masks or costumes. 

6. Produce your play for your class or another audience. After you’re done, ask the audience for 

questions.

* “Share” this organism with at least one other ecosystem.

Student Page 23 

156
157 

Activity 7-3. Story Time 

What’s the Point? 

Forests change over time. 

Fire is a dramatic force of change, 

but even without fire, change occurs. 

Some plants need sunny openings to 

grow well, and some animals thrive 

on the plants that live there. These 

organisms often live in places 

recently burned. Other plants 

reproduce almost anywhere, even in 

deep shade. They may thrive in 

places not burned for a long time, 

and the animals that depend on them 

are present only in old forests. Some plants and animals can live almost anywhere, 

regardless of when a fire occurred or how the forest changes. 

 This activity investigates the process of ecosystem change over time, called 

succession. Students use feltboard materials to tell the story of fire and succession in 

ponderosa, lodgepole, and whitebark pine forests (fig. 24). You may want to spread this 

activity out over three days, presenting one feltboard each day. Primary students help 

assemble the feltboard as the teacher or other adult reads the story. Elementary students 

may be able to read the narrative themselves with help from an adult; then they can 

practice working with the feltboard materials and present the story to their class or other 

students. If FireWorks is being used in the upper grades of your school, older students 

may be available to present the feltboard to your class or help your students prepare it. 

 At some time during the week you’re doing this activity, use Smokeygram #2 in 

your class (fig. 25). 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective: Given materials and a narrative for storytelling, students can describe 

fire ecology and succession in a forest ecosystem.

Subjects: Science, Reading, Speaking and Listening, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 15 minutes to prepare, 15 minutes to present, 15 minutes to put away 

Links to Standards62:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

C1) Identify needs of various organisms 

 

62 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade levels: 

 X Primary 

 X Elementary

Figure 24—Fire approaches a cluster of whitebark 

pine trees in the feltboard story Rollercoaster Fires. 
158 

 

---------------------------------Smokeygram #2 

Dear Class, 

 I’m glad you are learning about my homeland. I’m glad you are 

learning about how fires work, and how plants and animals live in 

wildlands that burn. As you get smarter about fire, I hope you learn to 

be even more careful about preventing wildland fires! 

 Sincerely yours, 

 

Figure 25--“Smokeygram” to be used in Activity 7-3. 
159 

cont’d. 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

F4) Understand that changes in environments can be natural or influenced by people 

F5) Understand that changes in environments can be slow or rapid; rate has 

consequences 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

C4) Recognize abilities to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce are essential for life 

C7) Recognize nature of energy and food webs 

C8) Recognize that population size depends on resources 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

0B) Produce images of the area at the beginning of European settlement 

0C) Describe aspects that change on temporal basis 

2.1A) Identify changes in physical environment 

2.2A) Understand similarities and differences among variety of organisms, habitat 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

0A) Classify local ecosystems. Create food webs 

0B) Describe habitat needs of species that are locally declining 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2C) Understand interactions among organisms and populations 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment 

Vocabulary: riparian, succession 

Materials

In this trunk... ... where?63

Feltboard backgrounds (3) Teacher/C 

Feltboard Notebooks: 

 Creepy, Crawly Fires 

 Roaring Treetop Fires 

 Rollercoaster Fires

Teacher/C 

Straight pins in film canister Hardware Box, Main/A 

Preparation 

Set up your storytelling area. Take the narrative pages out of the feltboard book 

for the reader (yourself?). Hang up the blue felt background for the forest type you're 

presenting. 

Procedure 

1. Gather the students. Tell them that a story is coming, and some of them may need to 

help tell it with felt pieces, and all of them may have to help with sound effects.

2. Read the story, directing student helpers to assemble the feltboard according to the 

directions in parentheses within the narrative. Have the student helpers pat the felt 

 

63 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by 

letter). 
160 

pieces onto the board firmly, or they won't stick. (If they won't stick anyway, attach 

with pins.) This whole presentation can be rehearsed by a group of students 

ahead of time, so it will become a dramatic presentation. 

3. At the start of the second and third stories, tell the students that some organisms are 

found in all three forest types. (They are elk, American marten, and red-backed vole.) 

Ask the students to watch for these animals' appearance. When you get to these 

organisms in the narrative, pause and explain that some animals travel widely and use 

many different kinds of habitat (like elk), and others have very special needs so they 

use particular kinds of places wherever they occur (American marten and red-backed 

vole using moist, riparian areas). 

4. After the story is completed, use pins to attach the felt pieces to the background for 

display. 

Evaluation: Use any or all of the “Closure” questions below.

Closure: After reading all three feltboard stories with the students, have the class 

compare the three forest/succession stories. Leading questions:

1. Which forests have really old trees? (ponderosa and whitebark pine) 

2. Which forests have very short summers? (whitebark pine) 

3. Which forests are likely to have the most spectacular fires? (lodgepole pine) 

4. How do Clark's nutcrackers fit into the whitebark pine story? 

5. How do mountain pine beetles fit into the lodgepole pine story? 

6. How do pileated woodpeckers fit into the ponderosa pine story? 

7. How do elk use the three different kinds of forest? 

8. All three forest types have wet places. What special animals depend on those places? 

(American marten, red-backed vole)

You may want to display the feltboards in the classroom. After you are finished, assign 

students to disassemble the feltboards, one at a time, and put materials away in the 

notebooks. 

Extensions 

1. Read Fire in the Forest (in the FireWorks Library) aloud to students. This book uses 

beautiful graphics to describe the story of fire in lodgepole pine forests. Work in 

teams to plan and paint such a book for either ponderosa pine or whitebark pine 

forests. 

2. Set up an activity station where students can try “Puzzling It Out” (Activity 7-4). If 

students cannot read the clues on the puzzle pieces, see if older students in your 

school (who may be using FireWorks and doing this activity anyway) can help. For 

Primary-level students, sort the puzzles in one of the envelope kits into three 

groups—one for ponderosa, lodgepole, and whitebark pine—and have students 

assemble these puzzles separately. 

3. View the two videotapes in the Teacher Box about the 1988 fires in the Yellowstone 

area, “Unfinished Song” and “Yellowstone Aflame.” Compare and contrast them: 

What is the main idea of each? Do you think they were produced for the same 

purposes? What images, sound effects, music, and words are used in each to influence 

viewers’ opinions? Do you like one better than the other? If so, why? 
161 

4. To improve your skill in critical reading, use the “Reporting the Blazes,” an activity 

in the Fire Ecology Resource Management Education Unit (U.S. Department of the 

Interior curriculum) in the Teacher Box.

5. Make up verses for the songs “Do you know who lives in my tree?” and “Trees for 

Lunch” (in Exploring Wood, pp. 38 and 81) and sing them for the class. 

6. Fire suppression is one of several careers that arise from North America’s 

complicated relationship with wildland fire. Read Fire—a Force of Nature (pp. 44-

47) and Yellowstone on Fire (pp. 57-85), both in the FireWorks Library, to learn 

more about the work and frustrations of fire suppression. 
162 

Activity 7-4. Puzzling It Out 

What’s the Point? 

Discovering how the inhabitants of a forest interact is a little like assembling a 

complicated jigsaw puzzle. In this activity, students use what they have learned about 

fire, plants, animals, and succession to assemble jigsaw puzzles about ponderosa, 

lodgepole, and whitebark pine forests. They have to use information about many species 

and distinguish three different kinds of forest to complete the puzzles. 

 This is a quiet activity that can be done alone or in small groups. FireWorks 

contains four puzzles; they can be assigned as seat work to be fit in with other classroom 

activities, or set up at activity stations that one or a few students visit at a time. 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective: Given photographs and text as clues, students can identify components 

of different ecosystems that relate to one another.

Subjects: Science, Reading, Social Studies 

Duration: 20 minutes 

Links to Standards64:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

C4) Recognize ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce... are essential for 

life 

C6) Understand nature of populations and classification 

C7) Recognize nature of energy and food webs 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

0A) Classify local ecosystems. Create food webs 

0B) Describe habitat needs of species that are locally declining 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2C) Understand interactions among organisms and populations 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment

Vocabulary: cavity nester, crown fire, fire scar, fungus, succession, surface fire 

Materials 

In this trunk... ... where?65

Puzzling It Out Kit (4 manila envelopes, each with a 

complete puzzle set of 33 pieces) 

Teacher/C 

 

64 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8. 

65 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Teacher=Teacher Box. 

Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 

Grade level:

 X Middle
163 

A. 

Procedure 

1. Explain: Each team uses one envelope of puzzle pieces to assemble three puzzles 

simultaneously: one about ponderosa pine forests, one about lodgepole pine, and one 

about whitebark pine. Each envelope contains the pieces for three 11-piece jigsaw 

puzzles. The puzzles are all cut on the same pattern.

• All have a picture of a pine tree in the center - ponderosa, whitebark, or lodgepole 

pine. 

• Across the top, all puzzles show typical fires and change in that kind of forest 

over time. 

• Across the bottom, all puzzles have photos and information about other plants and 

animals that live in that kind of forest and how they interact with one another. 

Since the puzzles are all cut from the same pattern, many pieces are interchangeable. 

To assemble them correctly, students will need to use what they already know, look 

closely at the pieces for clues, and use new information written on the puzzle pieces.

2. OPTIONAL: Review these key concepts that students will need to know: 

• Ponderosa pines grow best at low elevations, on dry sites. In the past, most fires 

here were surface fires and did not kill the large trees. Trees could grow very old 

and very big. 

• Whitebark pines grow best at high elevations, on dry sites. In the past, some fires 

were surface fires and some were crown fires. Some burned in surface fuels most 

of the time, then—when the wind got strong and flames reached a cluster of trees 

with lots of ladder fuels—reached into the crowns. 

• Lodgepole pines grow well at middle elevations. They do not get very old or very 

large. Fires are not frequent, but they often crown and kill most of the trees. 

3. When students have completed puzzles, check them against the puzzle-master 

illustrations included in the Puzzling It Out Kit and shown (reduced in size, with text 

omitted) in fig. 26. 

Figure 26—Correctly completed jigsaw puzzles for Activity 7-4. Size is reduced so text has 

been left out. A—Puzzle depicting ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forest. B—Puzzle depicting 

lodgepole pine/subalpine fir forest. C—Puzzle depicting whitebark pine/subalpine fir forest. 

A. 
164 

B. 

C. 
165 

Evaluation: Name one kind of bird, insect, or fungus that lives in each kind of forest: 

ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and whitebark pine.

Closure: Repack the puzzles in the correct envelopes, 33 pieces per envelope. 

Extensions 

1. Design a jigsaw puzzle that describes another kind of ecosystem in your area. 

2. Make a flip book66 illustrating succession in one of the forest types included in this 

curriculum, or in another ecosystem. 

3. Read and report to the class about information in Made for Each Other (about 

whitebark pine ecosystems) or Graced by Pines (about ponderosa pine forests), both 

in the FireWorks Library.

 

66 Thanks for Fire in Florida’s Ecosystems Educator’s Guide (p. 43) for this activity. 
166 

 Chapter 8. 

 People in Fire’s Homeland 

Fire is quite at home in the forests of the West, and also that the plants and 

animals of these forests are quite at home with fire. The people who lived in these forests 

prior to 1800 were also at home with fire, but things have changed. People have built 

permanent homes in the midst of forests and along their edges. Thousands of people live 

in valleys that fill with smoke during wildland fires. People need to be informed about 

fire for their own safety and to help make wise choices about managing wildlands. 

 In this chapter, students assess the safety of homes built in forested areas. This 

activity is used in the programs for Elementary, Middle, and High School levels. The 

other activities in the chapter, designed for Middle and High School students, rely on 

evaluative reasoning and judgments of complex issues. Students learn about professionals 

who work with fire and apply what they have learned in planning fire management, 

studying smoke, and examining their own value systems. 

 

Background

• Read Evergreen magazine's article "Montana's Forests: Paradise Lost or Paradise 

Found" (in the FireWorks Library). 

• Read pages 35-45 in Patrick Cone's Wildfire (in the FireWorks Library). 

• Read pp. 1 and 13 in the Teacher Background Information booklet in Fire 

Ecology, Resource Management Educational Initiative (in the Teacher Box). 

• Read an article in The Use of Fire in Forest Restoration in the FireWorks Library. 

 

Chapter Goals

1. To increase student skills in 

• using new information to solve problems 

• making judgments and decisions based on scientific knowledge and human values 

• critical thinking 

• identifying and describing values 

2. To increase student understanding 

• regarding careers in fire management and research 

• that fire affects nearly everyone living near fire-dependent forests 

• that living in areas adapted to wildland fire requires some tradeoffs 

• that people living near forests can do many things to increase fire safety 

Chapter Activities 

 Activity 8-1. A Matter of Choice (M,H) 

 Activity 8-2. Houses in the Woods (E,M,H) 

 Activity 8-3. Living with Fire (M,H) 

 Activity 8-4. Smoke: In or Out? (M,H) 

 Activity 8-5. You Decide! (M,H) 

 Activity 8-6. Value Choices (H)
167 

Activity 8-1. A Matter of Choice

 

What’s the Point? 

This activity introduces the students to professionals who work with wildland 

fire and the problems that all people face if they live in areas where fires occur. Students 

examine national policies regarding fire and view a 12-minute videotape prepared by the 

U.S.D.A. Forest Service as an introduction to fire management. Then they discuss their 

views on the same issues. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: After examining a policy booklet and viewing a videotape, students 

can apply their knowledge of fire science to discuss the issues presented. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, 

Social Studies, Technology, Library Media, Arts, Media Literacy, Health, Workplace 

Competencies 

Duration: 40 minutes 

Links to Standards67:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

F1) Identify potential for accidents, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

F4) Make personal and social decisions based on perceptions of benefits and risks 

F6) Recognize difference between science questions and other questions 

G2) Understand that science results must be communicated 

G3) Recognize uncertainty, debate, further investigation, evaluation as part of science 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

C5) Recognize ways in which human-caused changes differ from other changes in 

ecosystems 

E2) Understand interaction of science and technology in producing new knowledge 

F3) Recognize extent, sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

F4) Recognize role of active debate among scientists and the public about decisions 

G1) Understand science as career and hobby 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1D) Judge weaknesses and strengths of the information they are using 

2.3C) Understand political and economic systems and relationship to environment 

2.3E) Understand change in human systems and conflict over change 

2.4A) Understand that human-caused changes affect the environment 

2.4D) Understand human ability to control environment as function of knowledge, tech. 

3.1B) Identify consequences of specific environmental issues 

3.2A) Develop personal views on environmental issues 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

1D) Apply logic to assess completeness and reliability of information 

2.3A) Understand influence of individual and group actions on environment 

 

67 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8, 9-12. 

Grade levels:

 X Middle 

 X High
168 

cont’d. 

2.4A) Understand that humans change environment and that there are limits to ability 

 of environment to absorb these impacts 

3.1A) Investigate environmental issues 

3.1B) Evaluate consequences of specific environmental changes, conditions and issues 

3.1D) Engage in peer review and open inquiry 

3.2A) Communicate, evaluate, and justify views on environmental issue 

Vocabulary: dispersion, visibility 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?68 You must supply

Managing Wildland Fire—a Matter of 

Choice videotape (12 min) 

Teacher/C TV with VCR 

Managing Wildland Fire booklets 

(20) 

FireWorks Library, 

Main/B 

Procedure

1. Explain that the class will be doing some “real-world” activities relating to wildland 

fire, and they will begin by seeing some materials that fire managers have 

developed—a videotape and an informational booklet. 

2. Explain that the assignment, while watching the video and reading the booklet, will 

be to describe the organization of the video—its outline, and to think about the 

scientific information and viewpoints being presented. 

3. View the 12-minute videotape Managing Wildland Fire—a Matter of Choice.

4. Ask the class to describe the organization of the video. It is: 

 I. Ask questions 

 A. Can forests thrive with fire? 

 B. Can people and property be protected 

 C. How much smoke is too much? 

 II. Suggest answers or solutions, at least in part 

 A. Forests can thrive with fire 

 B. People and property can be protected 

 C. Living with Smoke 

 Note that each question is paired with an answer. 

5. Pick a question-and-answer pair. Ask the class to discuss the video’s treatment of that 

question and answer. This part of the activity can be done in small groups or as a 

writing assignment, instead of with the whole class.

• Does the information presented seem to be based on valid science? If you can’t 

tell, how might you find out? (Ask an expert that you trust, look up more 

information in books and scientific articles, do experiments that test some of the 

 

68 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by 

letter). 
169 

ideas presented in the videotape. Internet might provide interesting information; 

how might they judge its validity?) 

• What viewpoint is presented, and what techniques are used to present it? 

• Do you agree or disagree with the viewpoint, can you explain why, and can you 

suggest information or ideas to add to a discussion of the issue? 

Evaluation: If you could add one more thought to the videotape, what would it be? 

Write a script for your 2-minute addition to the video. Explain what part of the video you 

would use it in, and describe the video footage you would like to include with it.

Closure: Ask students if they think the issues in the videotape are important for your 

geographic area, and have them explain why or why not. If the issues do not seem 

important locally, have they ever been to places where the issues might be more urgent? 

Extensions 

1. Read through the Managing Wildland Fire booklets from the FireWorks Library. 

These are the official policies that the videotape was based on. Assess how well the 

video captured the messages, what was left out, and what was added in. How 

effective is the video in communicating those messages?

2. Produce a 2-minute videotape from the script prepared in the Evaluation section. 

3. Learn more about wildland fire research by visiting the Fire Sciences Laboratory’s 

Internet site 

www.firelab.org

Look up one scientist and describe his or her background, interests, and publications.

4. Find out how U.S. and Canadian researchers are learning more about crown fires 

using very intense experimental burns in Canada’s Northwest Territories at the 

Internet site 

nofc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/fire/fmn/nwt 

Some of the crown fire footage in the videotape just viewed was taken in these 

experiments. 
170 

Activity 8-2. Houses in the Woods

 

What’s the Point? 

Students apply their 

knowledge about fuels, fire 

behavior, and the fire 

triangle to assess safety 

around wildland homes. 

They use a checklist from the 

National Fire Protection 

Association to assess homes 

in photographs (fig. 27). 

This activity can be done in 

3 ways: as a class activity 

(using the Wildland Homes 

slides), as a team effort to 

assess photos in the People in Fire’s Homeland Kit, or as individual work. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: For homes in forested settings, students can assess hazards and 

recommend steps to reduce risks from wildland fire. 

Subjects: Science, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Health, Workplace 

Competencies 

Duration: 40 minutes 

Links to Standards69: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

B3) Demonstrate production of heat, conduction and convection 

E1) Identify a technological problem and potential solution 

E2) Work individually and with others to solve technological problem, assess solution 

F1) Understand and make choices for safety and preventing injury 

F4) Understand that changes in environments can be natural or influenced by people 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

E3) Demonstrate risks and tradeoffs in technological design 

F1) Identify potential for accidents, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

F4) Make personal and social decisions based on perceptions of benefits and risks

F6) Recognize difference between science questions and other questions 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

E2) Understand interaction of science and technology in producing new knowledge 

 

69 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards. 

Grade levels:

 X Elementary 

 X Middle 

 X High

Figure 27—One of the home photos that students assess in 

this activity. Note the presence of ladder fuel. Photo courtesy 

of Montana Department of Natural Resources and 

Conservation. 
171 

F1) Identify hazards, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize extent, sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

2.1C) Be aware of basic behavior of some forms of energy 

2.4A) Understand that people depend on, change, and are affected by environment 

2.4D) Become familiar with some local environmental issues 

3.1A) Identify and investigate issues in local community 

3.2A) Examine and express views on environmental issues 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

2.4A) Understand that human-caused changes affect environment 

2.4D) Understand ability to control environment as function of knowledge, technology 

3.1A) Use information to investigate environmental issues 

3.1B) Identify consequences of specific environmental issues 

3.1C) Develop action strategies for addressing particular issues 

3.2A) Develop person al views on environmental issues 

3.2B) Evaluate need for action 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

1D) Apply logic to assess completeness and reliability of information 

2.3A) Understand influence of individual and group actions on environment 

2.4E) Understand environmental issues at variety of scales 

3.1B) Evaluate consequences of specific environmental changes for humans, 

ecosystems 

3.1C) Identify action strategies likely to be effective in particular situations 

3.2A) Communicate, evaluate, and justify views on environmental issue 

3.2B) Decide whether action is needed in a situation 

Vocabulary: ladder fuels, safety zone 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?70 You must supply

“People in Fire's Homeland” 

Kit or “Wildland Homes” 

slides in slide carousel 

Copy of Safety in Fire's Homeland (Student 

Page 24) for each student or team 

OPTIONAL: slide projector and screen 

For Middle & High School: 

“Wildfire—Preventing Home 

Ignitions” videotape (19 min) 

Teacher/C 

 or 

Main/C 

For Middle & High School: VCR 

Preparation 

Ask 1 or 2 students to measure the dimensions of your classroom (m) and write them on 

the board. Use the measuring tape in the FireWorks Hardware Box or a longer tape. 

Procedure 

1. Explain: Students will use what they know about fire in evaluating the safety of 

homes that have been built in wildland areas. 

2. With the students, read Safety in Fire's Homeland (Student Page 24). Ask the students 

to identify and discuss what they have learned about fire that supports the points in 

 

70 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by 

letter). 
172 

Table 12—Relationship of safety checklist (Student Page 24) to concepts covered by FireWorks. 

No. Safety Checklist Point FireWorks concepts 

1 Is the roof metal or shingle? NOTE that home 

photo 2 shows shakes, 4 shows shingles, and 9 

shows metal roofing. 

Fires need fuel. Wood shakes, 

especially untreated ones, are great 

fuel. 

2 Is firewood and other wood stored >10 m away 

from the house, not touching walls or deck? 

Although big logs would be hard to 

ignite, they would burn long and hot. 

3 Are tall grass & weeds cleared away from within 

10 m of the house? 

Weeds dry out in late summer. Dead, 

dry, “fluffy” material burns easily. 

4 Are tree limbs cleared from the roof and around 

the chimney? 

A single match can start a fire. So can 

a spark from a chimney. 

5 Are dead leaves and needles cleaned from the 

roof and rain gutters? 

Fire needs fuel. Dead leaves and 

needles burn well. 

6 Are trees and shrubs 3 m apart or more? For fire to spread, heat must reach new 

fuels. 

7 Are "ladder fuels" and low branches pruned from 

beneath big trees (about 2 m up)? 

Heat rises. Saplings and low branches 

increase chance of crown fire. 

8 Is the lawn watered and green, even in late 

summer? 

Green fuels burn less readily than 

dead, dry fuels. 

9 If the house is at the top of a slope, is the "safety 

zone" 30 m or more? 

Heat rises.... 

10 Is the house on a flat place, or set back from the 

top of a slope? 

Heat rises.... 

11 Is the road wide enough for a car going out to pass a fire engine going in? 

Table 13—Assessment of fire hazards around wildland homes in People in Fire’s Homeland Kit. 

Numbers in the table refer to numbered safety criteria in table 12. Question marks indicate that 

the criterion was difficult or impossible to assess from the photo. 

Home 

No. 

"Yes!"—Looks safe because... "No"—Needs 

improvement because... 

Can't tell or 

doesn’t apply 

1 2, 3, 5, 6(?), 8, 10 1, 4(?), 7 9, 11 

2 2(?), 5, 8(?), 10 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 9, 11 

3 8, 10 1(?), 2, 3(?), 4, 5, 6, 7 9, 11 

4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 none none 

5 10(?) 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 1, 2, 5, 9, 11 

6 3, 4(?), 7, 10 1, 2, 5, 6, 8 9, 11 

7 1, 2(?), 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 3, 8 9, 11 

8 1(?), 2, 10 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 9, 11 

9 1, 3, 5, 10 2, 6, 7, 8 4, 9, 11 

10 2(?), 4, 8 3(?), 7, 9, 10 1, 5, 6, 11 

11 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11(?) none 9, 10 
173 

the checklist. Table 12 lists many such concepts, and table 13 shows how students 

and teachers using FireWorks generally assess the homes in the photos. 

3. Explain that the class will need to estimate distances in the activity. Show them the 

dimensions of the classroom, written on the board (width, length, height) in m. 

4. Explain how the class will do the activity. We suggest that elementary students use 

the slides to assess at least some of the homes. Middle and High School students can 

work individually or in small groups, using the photo prints in the People in Fire’s 

Homeland Kit, then present their assessment to the class. 

5. Explain that students may not be able to answer every question for every picture, 

because each photo shows only some of the features on the checklist. It's all right to 

check "can't tell" on the safety checklist!

6. Begin the slide show or ask students to begin their individual/team work; you may 

use table 13 to guide the discussion. 

7. If the activity has been done by individuals or student teams, ask for reports after 

5-10 minutes. 

Evaluation: Select one of the house photos from this activity. Write a letter to the home 

owner. Explain your observations. If you think the home’s safety needs improvement, tell 

the home owner how to improve it. 

Closure: 

Elementary level: Introduce Smokeygram #3 from the Smokeygrams Kit 

(fig. 28). 

Middle and High School levels: View the videotape “Wildfire—Preventing 

Home Ignitions” (19 min.). Describe two sources of heat from wildland fire that could 

ignite homes. (1—radiation from flames; 2—convection/conduction from firebrands.) 

Which source is more likely to cause ignition? (2—heat from firebrands.) 

Extensions 

1. Protecting your Home from Wildfire, in the Fireworks Library, contains detailed 

instructions about home safety in the wildland/urban interface. Find two points in the 

booklet that were not covered in this activity, and describe them for the class.

2. You are moving from Chicago to Idaho, and you want to buy a house in a forested 

area. A real estate agent sends you a photo of a house built on a hillside deep in a 

ponderosa pine forest. Trees overhang the roof, and you notice that firewood is 

stacked under the back deck. You call the agent and say that you’d be worried about 

forest fires if you bought this house. The agent answers that it must be safe, since no 

fire has burned in the area for 40 years or more. You think about this for a few days 

before you decide whether to buy the house or not. Then you write a letter to the 

real estate company explaining your decision. 

3. Learn more about homes and fire safety at the Internet site

www.firewise.org

Use the “interactive” and “videos” sections.

4. Especially for Elementary-age children: Look up information about home safety on 

Smokey Bear’s Internet site: 

www.smokeybear.com
174 

---------------------------------Smokeygram #3 

Dear Class, 

 Everyone can help with fire safety. Scientists and land 

managers use many methods to increase safety in forests. 

Sometimes they use fire itself as a tool. That is their job. Your 

job is fire prevention. My message still holds true: Please do 

all you can to prevent wildland fires! 

 Sincerely yours, 

 

Figure 28—Smokeygram #3, to be used in Activity 8-2. 
 

 Safety in Fire’s Homeland 

 Name ____________________ 

Photo Number: _______ 

Put a check in the “yes,” “no,” or “can’t tell” column.

 Yes! No! Can’t 

tell 

About the House:

1 Is the roof covered with metal or asphalt shingles (not

wood shakes)? 

2 Are firewood and other wood stored at least 10 m away 

from the house, not touching walls or deck? 

3 Are tall grass and weeds cleared away from the sides of 

the house within 10 m? 

4 Are tree limbs cleared away from within 3 m of roof and 

chimney? 

5 Are dead leaves and needles cleared from roof and rain 

gutters? 

Around the House (safety zone, within 10 m): 

6 Are trees and shrubs 3 m apart or more? 

7 Are ladder fuels and low branches cleared from 

underneath big trees—2 m up? 

8 Is the lawn kept green, even in late summer? 

9 If the house is at the top of a slope, is the safety zone 30 

m or more? 

About the Location: 

10 Is the house on a flat place, set back from the top of a 

slope? 

11 Is the road wide enough for a car going out to pass a fire 

engine coming in? 

Count the checks in each column: 

Student Page 24 

175
176 

Activity 8-3. Living with Fire 

What’s the Point?

Fires have shaped the 

wildlands of North America 

for thousands of years, but 

fire has been excluded from 

many of these ecosystems for 

nearly a century. Does it 

matter? One of the 

consequences of fire 

exclusion, scientists believe, 

is a change in the fire 

behavior likely when a fire 

does finally occur—a change 

in the fire regime. In this 

activity, students play a 

simulation game to explore 

the effects of various 

management choices (treatments) on the behavior of a subsequent wildland fire in ponderosa 

pine/western larch/Douglas-fir forests (fig. 29). They use the CD-ROM Living with Fire, which 

displays data from mathematical models of tree growth and fire spread in a “cartoon forest” 

format, to make management choices and view the consequences. Living with Fire is limited to 

ponderosa pine/larch/Douglas-fir forests; students will not learn about lodgepole pine or 

whitebark pine forests in this activity. 

Living with Fire requires a computer with CD reader and Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher. 

The CD in the Teacher Box can be loaded on multiple computers. If you prefer to have 

students access the game on the Internet, its address is 

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

Living with Fire can be used individually or by teams of two students. The teacher introduces the 

activity and assignment and then schedules students to use the computer and complete the work. 

Class discussion of results follows completion of the activity

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective: Given a simulation game that predicts effects of forest management on fire 

behavior, students can identify the effects of treatment weather on behavior of a subsequent 

wildland fire.

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Social 

Studies, Technology, Workplace Competencies 

Grade levels:

 X Middle 

 X High

Figure 29—A decision point in the game “Living with Fire.” 
177 

Duration: 10 minutes to introduce, 15 to 20 minutes/computer teams, 10 minutes to 

conclude 

Links to Standards71: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A1) Identify questions that can be answered scientifically 

A2) Design and conduct a scientific investigation 

A3) Develop explanations and predictions using evidence 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

D3) Describe interaction of organisms with atmosphere 

E1) Identify a need for technological design; plan, implement and evaluate design 

E3) Demonstrate risks and tradeoffs in technological design 

E4) Recognize that technology produces benefits and also unintended consequences 

F1) Identify potential for accidents, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

F6) Recognize difference between science questions and other questions 

G3) Recognize that uncertainty, debate, further investigation, and evaluation are part of science 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

E1) Identify need for technological design; plan, implement, evaluate design, communicate 

F1) Identify hazards, make choices that minimize risk of injury to self and others 

F4) Recognize role of active debate among scientists and the public about decisions 

F3) Recognize extent, sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

F5) Incorporate quantitative understanding of risk in decisions on science and technology 

G1) Understand science as career and hobby 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1D) Judge weaknesses and strengths of the information they are using 

2.4A) Understand that human-caused changes affect environment 

2.4D) Understand human ability to control environment as function of knowledge, technology 

3.1A) Use information to investigate environmental issues 

3.1B) Identify consequences of specific environmental issues 

3.1C) Develop action strategies for addressing particular issues 

3.2A) Develop personal views on environmental issues 

3.2B) Evaluate need for action 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

0A) Identify several plants and animals common to local ecosystems, describe concepts 

0B) Investigate short- and long-term environmental changes 

1D) Apply logic to assess completeness and reliability of information 

2.3A) Understand influence of individual and group actions on environment 

2.4A) Understand that humans change environment and environment has limited ability to adjust 

2.4D) Examine social and environmental impact of various technologies 

3.1A) Investigate environmental issues 

3.1B) Evaluate consequences of specific environmental changes, conditions and issues for 

 humans and ecosystems 

3.2C) Decide whether action is needed in a situation 

Vocabulary: prescribed fire, surface fire, thin, treatment 

 

71 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8, 9-12. 
178 

Materials 

In this trunk... ... where?72 You must supply 

Personal Computer or Macintosh with CD drive 

and Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher 

Living with Fire CD-ROM Teacher/C 

One copy of Student Page 25, Living with Fire, 

for each student or team 

Procedure 

1. Explain: The assignment will give students a taste of some of the choices that land owners, 

firefighters, and managers of public lands make when they work in forests where fire has 

been an important force. They will use the CD to answer questions. 

2. Explain your strategy, the schedule for computer use, and when the assignment is due. 

3. Explain the basic structure of the CD—There is an introductory section with background 

information. Then they make choices and view consequences. For your information (it 

probably is not necessary to share this with the students—they’ll figure it out), the CD is 

organized with 5 levels of choice: 

A. Choose a kind of ponderosa pine forest—old growth or second growth (60 years after 

clearcut). 

B. Choose to manage passively (no action) or actively (thin small trees and/or 

underburn with surface fire). 

C. Choose to wait 1 or 50 years before a wildland fire burns into the forest. 

D. Choose weather during the fire—moist conditions, moderate, or very dry 

and windy. View potential fire behavior. 

E. Choose how to manage the fire—with monitoring alone, or with 

aggressive fire suppression 

4. Have students use the CD-ROM and complete the worksheet (Student Page 25). 

Evaluation: Use Student Page 25. 

Closure: Use a few minutes of class time to discuss: 

1. What was the most severe ("scary?" "destructive?" "dramatic?") fire behavior found? 

2. What conditions led to the severe fire behavior? 

3. Were the game results always what you expected, or were there some surprises? Explain. 

4. Were the results from your choices believable? What made the information on the CD 

believable... or not? 

5. How important is scientific information to decisions like the ones used in this game? What 

other information is important for making those decisions? 

Extensions 

1. Look up some of the information in the “Menu” section of the CD and report back to the 

class. 

2. The CD shows predictions for forests dominated in past centuries by ponderosa pine. What 

about lodgepole pine forests, whitebark pine forests, and the dozens of other kinds of 

 

72 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to 

right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
179 

wildlands that occur in your local area? Do library research, use the Fire Effects Information 

System (www.fs.fed.us/database/feis), and talk to local experts: Learn the effects of various 

kinds of forest treatment, including the use of no treatment at all, on potential fire behavior. 

Write a summary or present your findings to the class. 

4. In a team of students, read several parts of the lengthy Evergreen magazine article 

“Montana’s forests: Paradise Lost or Paradise Found” in the FireWorks Library. Give a panel 

presentation to the class describing what you have learned or critiquing the articles. 
 Living with Fire 

 Name ______________________ 

1. Circle the kind of forest you choose to work in: 

Old growth ponderosa pine

back in the woods 

far from human settlement 

Young ponderosa pine

closer to settled areas 

near homes & buildings

2. Circle two treatments you choose to compare: 

No treatment:

Let nature 

take its course 

Thin small trees

from under 

the larger ones 

Thin small trees

from under the larger trees, 

then burn with surface fire

3. Compare the appearance of your forest one year after the two treatments. 

Do the two cartoon forests look alike? Can you see some differences? 

4. Find out how a wildland fire will behave after each of your treatments. In 

the table below, use a few words to describe the flames, the fire’s effects on 

big trees, and the fire’s effects on small trees. 

Weather conditions Your first treatment Your second treatment 

Low-danger weather Flames:______________ 

Big trees: ____________ 

Small trees: __________ 

Flames:______________ 

Big trees: ____________ 

Small trees: __________ 

Moderate-danger weather Flames:______________ 

Big trees: ____________ 

Small trees: __________ 

Flames:______________ 

Big trees: ____________ 

Small trees: __________ 

High fire danger weather Flames:______________ 

Big trees: ____________ 

Small trees: __________ 

Flames:______________ 

Big trees: ____________ 

Small trees: __________ 

5. Describe one benefit and one disadvantage of each treatment. 

6. On the back, write a paragraph that explains when you think it is a good idea to 

“just monitor” a wildland fire, and when it is good to use all-out suppression 

efforts. Explain your reasons. 

Student Page 25 

180
181 

Activity 8-4. Smoke: In or Out? 

What’s the Point? 

There's no wildland fire without smoke, but the amount of smoke produced and the way 

in which it disperses differ from one fire to another. 

 Smoke production depends on two factors: the amount of fuel consumed and the fuel 

moisture. To reduce smoke production, managers use prescribed fire at times when the duff and 

large fuels are moist. Because only the small fuels burn, fuel consumption is relatively low in 

these fires. Then why do fires built with moist fuels look so smoky? because moisture reduces 

burning efficiency—that is, it increases the smoke produced per gram of fuel consumed. In 

Demonstration 1, students investigate the effects of fuel consumption and moisture on 

smoke production. This activity is smoky; it should be done under a hood or outdoors.

 Weather conditions determine where the smoke from a fire goes—into the upper 

atmosphere, where it is dispersed over a large area, or into neighboring valleys, where it can 

settle for hours or days. When managers use prescribed fire to benefit plants and animals or to 

reduce the risk of severe fire, they try to burn during times when smoke will disperse well.

Demonstration 2 investigates how smoke disperses. This activity requires stable air 

conditions; it should be done indoors. 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective: Given a description of a forest and burning conditions, students can predict 

the relative amount of smoke that will probably be produced and describe how the smoke is 

likely to disperse. 

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Social 

Studies, Technology, Health Enhancement, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 30 minutes for Demonstration 1, 20 minutes for Demonstration 2. 

Links to Standards73: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

A1) Identify questions that can be answered scientifically 

A2) Design and conduct a scientific investigation 

A3) Develop explanations and predictions using evidence 

A4) Think critically to establish relationships between evidence and explanations 

A5) Communicate procedures and explanations 

A6) Use mathematics in science 

B1) Understand properties of matter 

B2) Describe physical and chemical changes 

B4) Identify ways in which energy moves in and out of a system 

D3) Describe interaction of organisms with atmosphere 

 

73 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8, 9-12. 

Grade levels:

 X Middle 

 X High
182 

 cont’d. 

F5) Recognize that scientists and engineers work in many different settings 

F6) Recognize difference between science questions and other questions 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

A1) Formulate testable hypothesis and obtain relevant knowledge 

A2) Design and conduct experiment, use mathematics and models to explain results 

A3) Communicate and defend a scientific argument 

A4) Use technology, mathematics, logic and previous research in investigations 

B2) Understand physical change and chemical bonds 

D1) Understand nature of geochemical cycles and the role of energy in these cycles 

E2) Understand interaction of science and technology in producing new knowledge 

F1) Identify hazards, make choices that minimize risk of injury to self and others 

F3) Recognize extent, sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

F4) Recognize role of active debate among scientists and the public about decisions in science, 

 technology 

G1) Understand science as career and hobby 

G3) Recognize role of society in directing or shaping science investigations 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

1A) Develop, focus and explain questions about environment 

1B) Design investigations to answer questions 

1C) Locate and collect reliable information about environment 

1E) Classify and order data, organize and display information 

1G) Synthesize observations into coherent explanations 

2.1A) Undestand most physical processes that shape the earth 

2.1C) Understand energy transfer 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment

2.4D) Understand human ability to control environment as function of knowledge, technology 

3.1A) Use information to investigate environmental issues 

3.1B) Identify consequences of specific environmental issues 

3.1C) Develop action strategies for addressing particular issues 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

0B) Investigate short- and long-term environmental changes 

1A) Develop and explain questions about environment 

1B) Design investigations to answer particular questions 

1C) Collect reliable information, using technology as needed to gather and display data 

1E) Organize and display information 

1G) Use evidence and logic to develop hypotheses 

 2.2C) Understand the living environment as comprised of interrelated, dynamic systems 

2.2D) Use interaction of matter and energy to explain environmental characteristics 

2.4A) Understand that humans change environment and that there are limits to ability of 

environment to absorb these impacts 

3.1B) Evaluate consequences of specific environmental changes, conditions and issues 

3.1C) Identify action strategies likely to be effective in particular situations 

Vocabulary: condensation, control, dispersion, fuel, inversion, meteorologist, PM-2.5, PM-10, 

prescribed fire, stable conditions, sublimation, unstable conditions 
183 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?74 You must supply 

burning trays (4) Main/A 12 newspaper squares, about 20X20 

cm, crinkled a bit, then flattened 

Smoke slides in FireWorks slide 

carousel 

Main/C Copy of Student Page 26, Smoke 

Measurements, for each student team 

dead, dry ponderosa pine needles Fuels Box, 

Main/B 

matches 

Managing Wildland Fire: One 10-gallon aquarium tank 

Balancing America's Natural 

Heritage 

and the Public Interest booklets 

FireWorks

Library, Main/B 

Small twigs, .5 cm diameter or less—

about 200 g—“ a small bucket full” 

dry ice 

1 qt boiling water 

spray bottles, with water 

ashtrays (4) 

digital thermometer/thermocouple 

freezer containers (2) 

Hardware Box, 

Main/A 

Slide projector 

Class page 14, Smoke Recipes 

Class page 15, How Smoky? 

Visual Aids,

Teacher/C 

balance and trays to hold materials 

being weighed 

fire extinguisher Main/B overhead projector, pens 

Preparation 

A day before the activity, place 1 c water in a freezer container and freeze it. 

Collect small twigs, 0.5 cm diameter or less—a small bucket full. Break into lengths less 

than 20 cm. Leave in a warm, dry place for 1-2 days. You may need more pine needles. 

 Make sure the newspaper and pine needles that you will use are air-dry. 

 Make sure the thermometer’s battery works. Have a spare on hand. 

 Assemble balance(s) and any trays needed for weighing fuels. 

 Decide how to organize the class. Demonstration 1 is written for a minimum of 4 student 

teams; if time and equipment permit, use more teams and obtain replicate measurements. 

Procedure 

DEMONSTRATION 1— HOW MUCH SMOKE? 

Do this outdoors—with minimal wind-- or under a hood! 

1. Ask students: What is smoke? (Smoke consists of unburned and partially burned products of 

combustion. Fires release these products in tiny particles—micrometers across—which are 

light enough to circulate in the atmosphere instead of settling immediately to earth, as ash

would do.) 

2. Explain: One way to measure smoke is by measuring the weight of particles per unit volume 

of air. This measurement is expressed as PM-2.5 or PM-10, meaning micrograms of 

particulate matter less than 2.5 (or 10) microns in diameter per cubic meter of air. Show the 

illustration at the top of Class Page 14 (“ingredients”) so students can see how small a 

particle 2.5 microns in diameter would be relative to an average-sized grain of sand and 

particle of flour; about 70 percent of PM-10 is less than 2.5 microns in diameter. 

 

74 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk. Entry to right 

of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
184 

3. View the five slides in the Smoke section of the slide carousel. (These slides are also included 

in the Living with Fire CD-ROM and the videotape Managing Wildland Fire—a Matter of 

Choice.) Note how increasing quantities of particulates (this time measured in PM-10) 

decrease visibility. 

4. Explain: In this demonstration, students estimate the amount of smoke released by fire. They 

estimate the total amount produced rather than amount per unit volume of air, because the 

smoke will disperse as it is produced. Ask what variables affect smoke production in a 

campfire. (Heat production and moisture will probably be mentioned. Fire managers use the 

same concepts; they would say that the amount of fuel consumed and the efficiency of 

combustion affect smoke production.) 

5. Discuss the four recipes listed under “Measurements and Procedures” on Class Page 14. Ask 

which variables remain the same and which change with each experiment. (This is a 

controlled experiment because you control what changes. Only one variable changes at a 

time—first moisture, then fuel quantity.) Ask the class to guess which fire will produce the 

most smoke and which will produce the least. Record their guesses (hypotheses) on the 

board. 

6. Divide the class into four teams. Give each team a copy of Student Page 26, Smoke 

Measurements. Ask each team to prepare a burning tray using one Smoke Recipe from the 

transparency, which you will assign. They should follow steps 1-6 on the Student Page. You 

can either have them ignite their smoke recipe when ready or wait for the class to view it. 

7. Ignite the smoke recipes. As each one burns, ask the team to assess—qualitatively, in words-- 

the amount of smoke being produced and record it as step 7 on their Student Page. 

8. After the four burns are completed, ask students to finish their calculations. Have students 

graph the class’s results for questions 9 and 11 (Student Page 26) on the transparency for 

Class Page 15, How Smoky? Results will vary considerably. Here is a sample data set: 

9. Discuss observations: 

• Question 9: Which recipe burned the most fuel? Which burned the least? 

• Question 11: Which recipe produced the most and least smoke?

• How does fuel moisture affect smoke production? 

• How does fuel quantity affect smoke production? 

INFO SPARK: When more fuel burns, more smoke is produced. Therefore, recipe 3 is likely to 

produce more smoke than recipe 1, and 4 more than 2. We know that moist fuels burn less 

readily and less completely than dry fuels. If smoke production were determined only by fuel 

consumed, then recipe 2 would produce less smoke than recipe 1, and 4 less than 3. But 

9. How much fuel consumed?

0

20

40

60

80

(1) 30 g, no

moisture

(2) 30 g,

moisture

(3) 60 g, no

moisture

(4) 60 g,

moisture

Smoke Recipe

Fuel consumed, g

11. How much smoke?

0

200

400

600

800

(1) 30 g, no

moisture

(2) 30 g,

moisture

(3) 60 g, no

moisture

(4) 60 g,

moisture

Smoke Recipe

PM-10, mg
185 

moisture also reduces the efficiency of combustion; that means less fuel is converted to carbon 

dioxide and more is converted to ash and smoke. When a fire burns in moist fuels, it produces 

more smoke per unit of fuel consumed than a fire in dry fuels. Therefore, recipe 2 may produce 

more smoke than recipe 1 (and 4 more than 3). On the other hand, the moisture in recipes 2 and 

4 may extinguish the fires so very little total smoke is produced.

10. Ask students to brainstorm for ways in which fire managers can plan prescribed fires to 

produce a minimum of smoke and still “get the job done.” (They may try to minimize the 

acreage burned. They may use prescribed fire at times when the duff and large fuels are 

moist; fuel consumption is relatively low in these fires because only the small fuels burn. 

Other techniques include removing large fuels before igniting a fire, using mowing or 

grazing to reduce fuels, and igniting a fire in patterns that increase combustion efficiency.) 

DEMONSTRATION 2—WEATHER CONDITIONS AND SMOKE DISPERSAL 

1. Ask students what weather conditions they associate with “clean” and “dirty” air. What times 

of day are likely to have clean or dirty air? What seasons of the year? 

2. Explain: When air is still, it “traps” pollutants in the air layer that we breathe instead of 

letting them disperse upward. This usually happens when cold air on the earth’s surface is 

trapped under a layer of warm air. This activity demonstrates how such a condition traps 

pollutants in the lower atmosphere and why the condition is called an inversion. 

3. Discuss the nature of stable and unstable atmospheric conditions. Ask: If you climb a 

mountain, do you expect it to be warmer or cooler at the top? (Cooler. During the day, the air 

is usually warmer on valley bottoms than at higher elevations. The warm air expands, rising 

and cooling as it does so. It cools at a rate of about 10 degrees C/1,000 m elevation. 

Meteorologists call this rate of cooling the “adiabatic lapse rate.”) 

4. Explain: Air heated by the earth’s surface rises and is constantly replaced by cool air flowing 

down from higher elevations. These forces keep the air in motion, so we call the atmosphere 

unstable. If the earth’s surface is too cold to heat the air at its surface, the dense valleybottom air cannot rise; we call the atmosphere stable then, because air will not begin moving 

until the surface air warms up or is disturbed by wind. We call this condition an inversion, 

because the usual temperature gradient (warm below, cold above) is reversed. 

5. Place the freezer container holding ice, and an empty freezer container, on a desk or table. 

Label the container with ice “#1” and the empty container “#2.” Pour 1 c of boiling water 

into container 2. 

6. Write the following table on the board. Leave the data out; they are only one example: 

Classroom temperature (o

C): 22.0 

 Container 1: 

Ice 

Container 2: 

Boiling water

OC, level with top of container, above center 21.8 24

OC, inside container, 0.1 cm above ice or water 9.9 31

7. Using the thermocouple, record temperature in the classroom. 

8. Then record temperatures at these locations in container 1: 

• Level with top of container, over its center 

• Inside container, about 0.1 cm above surface of ice (not touching ice) 

9. Record temperatures in these locations in container 2: 

• Level with top of container, over its center 

• Inside container, about 0.1 cm above surface of boiling water (not touching water) 
186 

10. Ask: Which tank has an inversion? (Container 1, because warm air is lying on top of cold 

air.) Which tank has stable conditions? (Container 1, because the cold air cannot escape until 

it is warmed to the temperature of the air above.) Which tank has unstable conditions? 

(Container 2, because the air at the bottom of the container is warmer than that above, so it is 

free to expand and move upward.) 

11. Now you can make an inversion that is visible to students. Place crushed dry ice in the 

bottom of the aquarium. Pour water over the dry ice. The resulting fog will fill the tank but 

not rise out of it. Use the thermometer to record temperatures in this inversion. 

INFO SPARK: Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide (CO2), which is subliming constantly from solid to 

gaseous phase. Water accelerates the sublimation. The fog is water vapor, which condenses 

from the air next to the dry ice. The water vapor is mixed with invisible, gaseous CO2. This 

mixture is denser than air, both because it is cold and because CO2 is heavier than air. (See 

page 39 for calculation of the molecular weights of carbon and oxygen. 

12. Ask students what information a fire manager would need to decide how well the smoke 

from a prescribed fire will disperse. (Air temperature patterns, wind patterns, snow cover, 

and likelihood of an inversion are important facts.) Ask how that information could be 

obtained and how accurate it is likely to be. (Obtain the information from local 

meteorologists. Their predictions are based on science, many years’ records, and lots of 

experience, but forecasts are always uncertain. A short term forecast—1 hour or 1 day—is 

much more certain than a longer term forecast.) 

Evaluation: On the board, write “Is smoke from wildland fires any more acceptable than 

cigarette smoke?” Ask students to read and think about the bullet points regarding smoke on pp. 

5-7 of the booklet Managing Wildland Fire: Balancing America's Natural Heritage and the 

Public Interest (in the FireWorks Library). Ask them to respond to the question above, either 

with their opinion and and explanation, or with a discussion of the information needed before the 

question can be answered. 

Closure: Discuss: Suppose a fire manager starts a prescribed fire on a day when smoke is 

predicted to disperse well. Then the weather changes, and smoke settles into the town. During 

the night, 3 children go to the hospital with asthma attacks. Discuss: Were the asthma attacks 

caused by the smoke? Should the fire manager be held responsible for the sick children? What 

additional information might you want before answering these questions?

Extensions 

1. Repeat Recipes 2 and 4 of Demonstration 1, but use twigs that have been soaked in water for 

5 minutes. What results do you expect? Compare results with the data already collected for 

the demonstration. 

2. Investigate the similarities and differences between smoke from wildland fires and smoke 

from cigarettes. Describe both chemical composition and concentration. Report to the class. 

3. Use the procedures Activity 3-4 (the matchstick forests) or Activity 3-7 (tinker trees) to 

determine the effect of fuel arrangement on fuel consumed and smoke produced. Then vary 

the fuel moisture in your activity and measure its effects on your experimental fires.
Smoke Recipes 

 Ingredient size: 

 Measurements and Procedures: 

Recipe 1. 30 grams twigs, no moisture added

Recipe 2. 30 grams twigs, moisture added

Recipe 3. 60 grams twigs, no moisture added

Recipe 4. 60 grams twigs, moisture added

Class Page 14

187
188

How Smoky? Class Page 15

11. How much smoke?

0

200

400

600

800

(1) 30 g, no

moisture

(2) 30 g,

moisture

(3) 60 g, no

moisture

(4) 60 g,

moisture

Smoke Recipe

PM-10, mg

9. How much fuel consumed?

0

20

40

60

80

(1) 30 g, no

moisture

(2) 30 g,

moisture

(3) 60 g, no

moisture

(4) 60 g,

moisture

Smoke Recipe

Fuel consumed, g
 Smoke Measurements 

 Names _____________________ 

Record the Smoke Recipe assigned to you: 

Smoke Recipe #_____, 

using ______ g of twigs 

and adding or not adding moisture (circle one). 

1. Weigh your burning tray and record. ______ g 

2. Weigh 3 pieces of newspaper and record. Crinkle & then flatten 

out. Place on tray. ______ g 

3. Weigh out 10 g of dry pine needles. Place on newspaper. __10__ g 

4. Weigh out the amount of twigs needed for your Smoke Recipe. ______ g 

5. Don’t put the twigs on top of the pine needles yet. If you are assigned a recipe 

that requires adding moisture, spray the twigs (not the other fuels) until they are 

quite moist. (25 squirts should do it for 30 g of twigs, 50 squirts for 60 g of 

twigs.) Then put the twigs on top of the pine needles. Intermix a few needles 

with twigs to get a mix that will burn as well as possible. 

6. Calculate total preburn weight (#1+#2+#3+#4). ______ g 

7. When the class and teacher are ready to observe your demonstration, light the 4 

corners of newspaper and observe the fire. Would you call it a fairly clean fire 

(producing little smoke) or a pretty smoky fire? ___________________ 

8. After the fuels cool, weigh the tray and record what is left. ______ g 

9. How much fuel was consumed in your demonstration (subtract 

#8 from #6)? ______ g 

10. Enter the emission factor for your demonstration: 

a. 7.0 mg of PM-10 per g of dry twigs burned or

b. 8.5 mg of PM-10 per g of moist twigs burned ______mg/g 

11. Calculate the smoke (PM-10) produced by your demonstration 

fire (#9X#10) ______ mg 

12. Do you still agree with your smoke assessment above (#7)? Explain. 

13. Make sure fuels are extinguished. Clean up. 

Student Page 26 

189
190 

Activity 8-5. You Decide! 

What’s the Point? 

In this activity, students “go to 

work,” role playing as forest owners 

and managers. Each of five student 

teams is assigned a land area and 

given a brochure describing the 

"neighborhood," the land's fire 

history, and what it is like right now. 

Then the teams discuss and set goals 

for their land and develop a 10-year 

plan for managing it. They balance 

concerns about safety, esthetics, 

animal habitat, and expenses as they 

make plans for their land (fig. 30). 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective(s): Given a description of a wildland area, students can work in teams to select 

management goals and plan ways to meet them.

Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Social 

Studies, Technology, Library Media, Health, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 2 hours or more of preparation time by students, 15 minutes for each student 

presentation (up to 5 presentations) 

Links to Standards75: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

E3) Demonstrate risks and tradeoffs in technological design 

E4) Recognize that technology produces benefits and also unintended consequences 

F1) identify potential for accidents, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

F4) Make personal and social decisions based on perceptions of benefits and risks 

F6) Recognize difference between science questions and other questions 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

C5) Recognize ways in which human-caused changes differ from other changes in ecosystems 

F1) Identify hazards, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize extent, sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

F4) Recognize role of active debate among scientists and public about decisions 

G1) Understand science as career and hobby 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

 

75 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8, 9-12. 

Grade levels:

 X Middle 

 X High

Figure 30—Two students discuss goals for the old-growth 

ponderosa pine forest that they are responsible for managing.
191 

2.3C) Understand political and economic systems and relationship to environment 

 cont’d. 

2.4D) Understand human ability to control environment as function of knowledge, technology 

3.1A) Use information to investigate environmental issues 

3.1B) Identify consequences of specific environmental issues 

3.1C) Develop action strategies for addressing particular issues 

3.2A) Develop personal views on environmental issues 

4D) Understand and accept personal responsibility for actions 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

0B) Investigate short- and long-term environmental changes 

2.3A) Understand influence of individual and group actions on environment 

2.3C) Understand how political and economic systems affect resources and environment 

2.4D) Examine social and environmental impact of various technologies 

3.1A) Investigate environmental issues 

3.1B) Evaluate consequences of specific environmental changes, conditions and issues for 

 humans and ecosystems 

3.1C) Identify action strategies likely to be effective in particular situations 

3.2A) Communicate, evaluate, and justify views on environmental issue 

3.2B) Decide whether action is needed in a situation 

3.2C) Plan for and act on issue, if appropriate 

4A) Analyze influence of shared and conflicting social values 

4D) Accept responsibility for effects of actions 

Vocabulary: fire management, management goals, management plan 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?76 You must supply

Pathways in Time booklets (3) FireWorks Library, 

in Main/B 

FireWorks Notebook Teacher/C 

You Decide! kit: 5 brochures, 

one for each student team 

Teacher/C 

calculators or computers 

with spreadsheet program 

installed 

Preparation 

Decide how to assign projects to students. There are five "management challenges" 

available: 

1. Home in the Pines (ponderosa pine, wildland/urban interface) 

2. Cabin in the Woods (lodgepole pine, remote area) 

3. Questions in the High Mountains (whitebark pine, public land) 

4. Burnt Trees: a Gift (lodgepole pine stand recently killed by crown fire) 

5. Caretaker of the Ancient Forest (ponderosa pine old growth in urban area) 

You may want to have teams of students work on only two or three of the management 

challenges, or you may want to have at least one team work on each. You may want to assign 

two groups of students to each management challenge (sharing materials), then schedule the two 

 

76 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
192 

teams' presentations together. This would show the class how different management plans can 

arise from different objectives. 

Decide what kind of final product you want. A written report, containing tables and 

graphs, reviewed by other students and followed by a class presentation would be ideal for 

student development and would mimic real-world processes. A class presentation followed by 

discussion and debate would be appropriate if you have more than one group address the same 

land management scenario. 

Procedure 

1. Explain: Students will plan how to manage a forested area. They will set goals for their land 

and prepare a management plan. Sometimes land owners and managers use fire on purpose 

to change the architecture of a forest or improve habitat for a particular species. 

2. Explain the assignment: Each team of students is responsible for taking care of a forested 

area for the next ten years. Some of the areas are private land, and students will be the 

"owners." Other areas are public land, and students will be the "managers." Their assigned 

land is described in the You Decide! brochure for each team. 

3. Explain how much time students have to prepare, whether they will prepare in class or as 

homework, and what kind of final report/presentation you want. 

4. Provide supplies and materials, including calculators, and the Pathways in Time booklets. 

Arrange for students to borrow other materials from the FireWorks Library. 

For High School students, make computers with spreadsheet programs available for 

student use. Suggest they consult the Fire Effects Information System 

(www.fs.fed.us/database/feis) for information about species occurring on their land. Ask 

them to interview local experts before making land management decisions. 

5. Schedule due date for draft report and final report with presentation. 

6. When preparation time is over, have students edit each other’s draft reports 

7. At due date, have students give presentations and hand in reports.

8. OPTIONAL: At some point toward the end of this activity, use Smokeygram #4 (fig. 31). It 

is just a reminder that management of wildland fire is professional work, a potential career 

but not a hobby for untrained people. 

Evaluation: Assess presentations and reports.

Closure: Ask students about the process of doing this activity. Here are some lead questions: 

1. Which process was more difficult—setting goals or finding ways to meet them? 

2. Did anyone find it difficult to plan for meeting goals that you didn't agree with? 

3. How easy is it in the "real world" to change goals for private land? (In a legal sense, it's very 

easy unless it interferes with laws for public protection. However, you may want to consult 

your neighbors, your attorney, and your insurance agent about any dramatic changes you 

envision.) 

4. How easy is it to change goals for public land? (Usually this requires legislative change or 

directions from appointed officials. Research and public discussions are often required.) 

5. Explain: For real land managers, safety is the first, most important goal. They don't want 

visitors or workers getting hurt—now or fifty years from now—because of the way the land 

is managed. In a forested area where people live, it may be very difficult to keep the forest 

safe. The people who live there have to help by being careful with fire and by reducing fire 
193 

hazards around their homes. In places far from people's homes, particularly large wilderness 
194 

--------------------------------------Smokeygram #4 

Dear Class, 

 You know a lot now about wildland fire. I hope your 

knowledge helps you be more careful than ever. Scientists and land 

managers use fire in our forests and grasslands to improve habitat, 

protect endangered species, and improve safety. That’s their job, 

after college and a lot of work experience. Your job, until you 

become scientists and land managers, is to do your very best to 

prevent fires in the forests and grasslands, my home. Thanks! 

 Sincerely yours, 

Figure 31—Smokeygram #4, for use at end of Activity 8-5. 
195 

areas, managers can work toward other goals—improving habitat quality or protecting plant 

species that depend on fire, for example—while still providing for safety. 

Extensions 

1. Ask a local public land manager or a homeowner who lives in a forested area to review and 

comment on students’ management plans; then have students revise them incorporating the 

reviewer’s comments. 

2. The moisture content of vegetation influences fire behavior strongly. Learn about the 

“greenness” of vegetation throughout the United States using the maps used by managers at 

the Internet site 

www.fs.fed.us/land/wfas/map_list.html

3. Learn more about how managers plan prescribed fires at the National Interagency Fire 

Center’s Internet site: 

fire.nifc.nps.gov/fire/ecology/docs/trippbn.htm 

4. If you wanted to become a fire ecologist or wildland fire manager, what would you need to 

study in high school? What would you need to study in college? If possible, ask a fire 

specialist or career counselor about the skills and education needed for this field. 

5. Read and report to the class or critique one of the articles describing actual fire management 

problems and potential solutions in The Use of Fire in Forest Restoration, in the FireWorks 

Library. 
196 

Activity 8-6. Value Choices 

 

What’s the Point? 

We learn information and critical thinking skills so we can make valid judgments. In 

value judgments, we also incorporate our personal experiences, values, and feelings. It is a 

complicated process, and there are usually no single "right" answers. In this activity, students 

consider and compare things they might experience in relation to wildland fire. They choose 

experiences they "can live with" as opposed to those they find unacceptable. The objective of 

the game, unknown to students at the start, is to get some of them frustrated enough at the 

limited options available that they object and say they can’t participate anymore. That sets the 

stage for a discussion of ways in which people work together and make group decisions, a 

comparison of majority rule with consensus. At the end of this discussion, students apply the two 

decision-making concepts to fire management choices. 

Teacher’s Map: 

Objective: Confronted with decision-making scenarios in which there may be no 

“perfect” options available, students choose between alternatives and explain their reasoning. 

Subjects: Science, Speaking and Listening, Social Studies, Health, Workplace 

Competencies 

Duration: 30 minutes 

Links to Standards77:

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 9-12: 

F4) Recognize the role of active debate among scientists and the public about decisions in 

 science and technology 

G3) Recognize role of society in directing or shaping science investigations 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 9-12: 

2.3A) Understand influence of individual and group actions on environment 

2.3C) Understand how political and economic systems manage and affect environment 

2.3E) Understand functioning of public processes for managing change and conflict 

3.1B) Evaluate consequences of specific environmental changes, conditions and issues 

3.1C) Identify action strategies likely to be effective in particular situations 

3.2A) Communicate, evaluate, and justify views on environmental issue 

3.2B) Decide whether action is needed in a situation 

4A) Analyze influence of shared and conflicting social values 

4B) Understand importance of exercising rights and responsibilities of citizenship

Vocabulary: value 

 

77 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 9-12. 

Grade level:

 X High
197 

Materials

In this trunk... ... where?78 You must supply 

Value Choices Kit Teacher/C Copy of Student Page 27 (Calling Washington) for each 

pair of students 

Preparation 

Select 6 to 11 “experience cards” from the Value Choices Kit in the Teacher’s Box. 

Procedure 

1. Select 6 to 11 students to face you and the class in a half-circle. 

2. Give each student one laminated "experience card." 

3. Have the students read their experience card to the class. 

4. Ask the rest of the students to decide individually which experience they find most 

acceptable (phrases they might use include "I can live with that" and "It’s least 

objectionable") and then stand in a line behind the person holding that card. EXPLAIN 

THAT THERE ARE NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWERS.

5. When every student has made a choice, ask the card holders if they would like to move to 

another group; if so, they can give their card to someone else in line and move. If no one else 

is in that line, take the card and put it away. 

6. Ask members of each group to give reasons for their choices. After they do so, let students 

move to different groups if they want to. 

7. Take away the experience card from the largest group and disband them. Explain that the 

option they have chosen is no longer available. Tell them they have to choose another group, 

and give them a minute or so to do so. 

8. Take away the experience card from the smallest group. Tell them that option is not 

available, so they must choose another group. 

9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until someone complains, “I can’t accept any of those!” If no one 

expresses frustration about the limited options, stop the activity after 10 minutes or so and 

ask if anyone feels that way. Then it’s time for discussion:

10. Explain: When people disagree in value judgments and cannot accept any of the alternatives 

offered, the group can choose various courses of action. One course is to go by majority rule.

In this case, the largest group “has things its way," and members of other groups have to go 

along. Majority rule is an efficient way to make a decision, but it may leave many people 

unsatisfied with the results, and they may find ways to block the action outside of this group 

(such as court injunctions and lawsuits). Another course of action is to continue discussion 

and seek agreement; this is sometimes called consensus building. It can take a very long 

time, but its huge benefit is that no action is taken until all participants decide they can accept 

the results. Its disadvantage is that outside circumstances may change while people are trying 

to reach consensus, closing off some options that are currently available. 

11. Ask: 

• Would you prefer to use majority rule or consensus building to reach decisions on 

wildland fire? 

 

78 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to 

right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 
198 

• If you choose majority rule, can the people who did not agree with the decision do 

anything to change it? 

• If you choose consensus building, do you think there is any risk that a decision won't be 

made before nature produces a wildland fire with effects that nobody wanted? 

Evaluation: Ask the class to complete Student Page 27, Calling Washington, in pairs. Students 

take on the role of a citizen calling his or her U.S. Senator or Congressperson to support or object 

to a fire management choice. 

Closure: Ask the students to recommend a few students who made excellent phone calls. Have 

the pairs role-play the calls for the class, and let students critique the role-plays. 

Extension 

Survey students in your school or adults in your community to learn their feelings about 

wildland fire. Pages 59 and 60 in Ecosystem Matters (in the Teacher Box) offer suggestions 

about how to design and complete such a survey. 
 Calling Washington 

Take turns being the citizen caller and the Congressperson answering. 

Congressperson, circle and add up points for the caller. Be polite; this is a 

possible vote. 

1. Caller:_______________ Congressperson: _____________ 

No Sort of Yes

1. Did the caller identify himself or herself at the beginning of the 

call? 

0 1 2 

2. Did the caller explain clearly why he/she was calling? 0 1 2 

3. Did the caller state his/her viewpoint clearly? 0 1 2 

4. Did the caller provide supporting facts or explanations? 0 1 2 

5. Did the caller end the phone call politely, thanking you for your 

attention? 

0 1 2 

 Total Points: _____________ 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

2. Caller:_______________ Congressperson: _____________ 

No Sort of Yes

1. Did the caller identify himself or herself at the beginning of the 

call? 

0 1 2 

2. Did the caller explain clearly why he/she was calling? 0 1 2 

3. Did the caller state his/her viewpoint clearly? 0 1 2 

4. Did the caller provide supporting facts or explanations? 0 1 2 

5. Did the caller end the phone call politely, thanking you for your 

attention? 

0 1 2 

 Total Points: _____________ 

Student Page 27 

198 
199 

 Chapter 9. 

 In the Woods

FireWorks is designed for learning in the classroom. But field experience is essential to 

environmental education, so students can see and touch and smell and study the natural 

environment themselves. In the field, students can apply what they have learned in FireWorks 

and learn from first-hand experience. This chapter describes two field trips for students who have 

studied FireWorks. The first is an open-ended “scavenger hunt” designed for Elementary 

students. The second is a very structured activity that can be used for both instruction and 

evaluation in the field; it is written for Middle School students. These programs can be adapted 

for other grade levels. If possible, combine your field activity with an outdoor talk or tour guided 

by a forestry, fire, or wildlife professional who can describe real-world application of ecological 

understanding to field problems. 

Background 

The FireWorks programs for Elementary and Middle School use (tables 3 and 4) provide 

background for these activities. 

Chapter Goals 

1. To provide opportunities for students to apply classroom learning in the field by 

demonstrating and explaining what has been learned

2. To increase student understanding of concepts covered in FireWorks by introducing them to 

a professional land manager or researcher at a field site

Chapter Activities 

 Activity 9-1. Burned Area Scavenger Hunt (E) 

 Activity 9-2. Woods Hunt (M)
200 

Activity 9-1. Burned Area Scavenger Hunt79

What’s the Point? 

Students explore a recently burned area, looking for items that indicate what kind of fire 

occurred, what species live there, and how the area’s inhabitants respond to fire. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: In a recently burned area, students can find and plants, animals, and animal 

sign, and use them to infer characteristics of the fire and the ecosystem.

Subjects: Science, Speaking and Listening, Workplace Competencies 

Duration: 1 hour in the field 

Links to Standards80: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades K-4: 

A5) Communicate investigations and explanations 

C1) Identify needs of various organisms 

C2) Identify structures of various organisms and the needs they serve 

F1) Understand and make choices for safety and preventing injury 

F4) Understand that changes in environments can be natural or influenced by people 

F5) Understand that changes in environments can be slow or rapid, and rate has consequences 

G2) Recognize that many people choose science careers and enjoy science 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

C1) Describe structure and function in a living system 

C4) Recognize that ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce... are essential for life 

F1) Identify potential for accidents, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades K-4: 

0A) Identify basic kinds of habitat and plants and animals living there 

0C) Describe aspects that change on temporal basis 

1C) Collect information about environment 

2.2A) Understand similarities and differences among variety of organisms. Understand habitat 

2.2C) Understand basic ways organisms are related to environment and other organisms 

3.1B) Sort out consequences of issues 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

0A) Classify local ecosystems. Create food webs 

1C) Locate and collect reliable information about environment 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2C) understand interactions among organisms and populations 

2.2D) Understand how energy and matter flow in environment 

3.1B) Identify consequences of specific environmental issues 

Vocabulary: field site 

 

79 Adapted from Getting to Know Wildland Fire. See Appendix 3. 80 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades K-4, 5-8. 

Grade level:

 X Elementary 
201 

Materials

No equipment is needed from the Fireworks Trunk. 

You must supply 

Copy of Student Page 28, Scavenger Hunt Checklist, for each student team 

pencils (1 per student team) 

After returning from field trip: card stock cut into postcard size (4X6 inches), one per student 

Preparation 

Locate a field site. This should be a forest burned in the past 5 years or so. It need not be 

severely burned; it could be an area prescribed burned by local land managers to meet objectives 

such as improvement of wildlife habitat. Local managers can probably help you find a good field 

site. Visit it ahead of time, if possible, to determine how to set boundaries on the scavenger hunt 

so no one gets lost!

 Find helpers. Since students will be working in teams, you may want to have an adult 

accompany each team in the field. 

Procedure 

1. Talk with the class and volunteers in regard to safety and procedures (team assignments, 

buddy system, etc.). 

2. Travel to field site. 

3. Explain the boundaries of the area to be searched on the Scavenger Hunt. 

4. Give each team a copy of Student Page 28, Scavenger Hunt Checklist. Instruct each team to 

find and check off as many items as possible. Explain that students should not collect the 

things they discover, just observe and describe them. 

5. Give a time limit and a signal for when teams should gather, and tell them where to meet. 

6. Tell students to begin the scavenger hunt. 

7. At the end of the time limit, signal students to gather together. 

8. When all have gathered, ask students to describe what they found for each item listed on the 

checklist. If the discoveries are nearby, have the “discoverers” share them with the rest of the 

class.

Closure: If possible, have a professional fire manager, forester, or ecologist to join the class 

and do a short presentation or some activities with them. 

Evaluation: After returning to the classroom, provide card stock paper and have each student 

make a postcard to send to the land owner of the area visited or the person who made a 

presentation. Show them how a postcard is designed—a short note on the left side, an address on 

the right side, and a picture on the reverse.
202 

Extensions 

1. If collecting is appropriate at your field trip’s location, ask students to collect leaves while on 

the field trip. When you return to school, use the prints to make rubbings or placemats from 

the leaves. 

2. Tour a virtual forest on the Bureau of Land Management’s Internet site 

www.blm.gov/education/ecosystem/handland/tours.html
 Burned Area Scavenger Hunt adapted from Getting to Know Wildland Fire 

Team Members: _________________________________________ 

Burned areas can be exciting places to explore. They can also be dangerous. 

Don’t ever go into an area burned by crown fire on a windy day. Listen and watch 

for falling trees. 

See how many of these things you can find in the burned forest. 

Check them off as you find them. 

1.______ Find a place where the fire burned tree crowns. Then find a place where it only burned 

on the ground or in grass and shrubs. 

2.______ Find a tree’s cone. What is the species of tree?_______________ 

 Does this cone need fire to open it? _________ 

3.______ Find a tree seedling. What kind of tree? _______________ 

4.______ Find a shrub or small plant that sprouted roots after the fire. 

 How can you tell it was burned?________________________________ 

5.______ Find a tree that burned but did not die. What kind of tree? ____________________ 

 How can you tell it burned? ________________ 

6.______ Find a place where an animal was feeding. 

 What was it feeding on—plant or animal, grass, shrub, or tree? _______________ 

7.______ Find animal tracks. Draw them on the back. 

 What kind of animal made them? __________________ 

8.______ Find animal scat. Draw it on the back. 

 What kind of animal left it here? __________________ 

9.______ Find a place where an animal burrowed underground. 

 How big is the entrance?________________________ 

10._____ Find a tree killed by fire. Describe what is left:________________________ 

11._____ Find evidence that insects fed on a burned tree. 

 Draw what you observe.

Student Page 28 

203 
204 

Activity 9-2. Woods Hunt 

 

What’s the Point? 

In this activity, students work in teams 

of 5. Each team walks to six information 

stations; at each station, each team member 

answers one question about fire ecology (fig. 

32). This activity was developed as an 

assessment tool by University of Montana 

scientists Linda Thomas and James Walsh 

(Thomas and Walsh 2000). It has since been 

revised for use by school classes. 

Teacher’s Map:

Objective: In a field setting, students can demonstrate their learning about fire behavior, 

wildlife and plants, tree identification, fire history, homes and fire, and several kinds of forest.

Subjects: Science, Speaking and Listening, Social Studies, Health, Workplace 

Competencies 

Duration: 80 to 90 minutes in the field for a class of about 30 students 

Links to Standards81: 

National Science Teachers’ Association—Grades 5-8: 

C7) Recognize nature of energy and food webs 

E1) Identify a need for technological design... 

E3) Demonstrate risks and tradeoffs in technological design 

F1) Recognize potential for accidents, make choices that minimize risk of injury 

F3) Recognize sources and challenges of natural and human-induced hazards 

F4) Make personal and social decisions based on perceptions of benefits and risks 

North American Association for Environmental Education—Grades 5-8: 

0A) Classify local ecosystems. Create food webs 

2.2A) Understand biotic communities and adaptations 

2.2C) Understand interactions among organisms and populations 

2.4A) Understand that human-caused changes affect environment 

2.4D) Understand human ability to control environment as function of knowledge, technology 

3.1B) Identify consequences of specific environmental issues 

3.1C) Develop action strategies for addressing particular issues 

 

81 See Appendix 4 for links to Montana educational standards, grades 5-8. 

Grade level:

 X Middle

Figure 32—Seventh grader thinks hard before 

answering a Woods Hunt question. Photo by 

Kinnerly Smith. 
205 

Vocabulary: field site 

 

Materials

In this trunk... ...where?82 You must supply 

Ponderosa pine cone Wire or tape for hanging station numbers 

 Posts for arrow signs 

 Thumbtacks 

Tree Cones 

Box, 

Main/A 

Hammer 

“Woods Hunt” Kit: 

6 laminated question cards 

6 laminated number signs 

6 laminated arrow signs 

Teacher/C 1 copy of Class Page 16, Woods Hunt Details. 

Cut off upper table (full of numbers), and cut it 

into 6 vertical strips. 

 pencils (30) 

 Hole punches (6) 

 Copy of response card for each student (fig. 

33)—find master copy in Woods Hunt Kit 

 6 copies of Stationmaster Instructions (Student 

Page 29) 

 calculator 

 Permanent marker (6) 

 Award(s) for winning team(s) 

Planning 

You will need the following: 

Field site: A ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir 

forest near at least one residence. Local 

land managers can probably suggest a 

site. The forest should include at least 

one fire-scarred ponderosa pine and 

some Douglas-fir dwarf mistletoe. 

Engelmann spruces and cottonwoods 

should not be present. One “prop” is 

needed for the Woods Hunt: a 

ponderosa pine cone. 

Helpers: Locate at least six volunteers to 

act as “stationmasters,” interviewing 

students at each of six information 

stations, assessing student answers, and 

 

82 Entry to left of slash is for Packing Arrangement 1 (large tub plus Teacher Box); Main=Main Trunk, 

Teacher=Teacher Box. Entry to right of slash is for Packing Arrangement 2 (three cartons, labeled by letter). 

Woods Hunt 

1 3 

4 5 6

Fire Behavior

Tree 

Identification

Fire History 

Homes 

& Fire 

Lodgepole & 

Whitebark

Pine 

2

Animals 

and 

Plants

FireWorks

Figure 33—Student response card, from Woods Hunt Kit 

in Teacher Box.
206 

punching student response cards. You may also use six volunteer “herders,” one to 

accompany each team of 5 students. 

Time: You will need about 30 minutes to set up the site, about 1.5 hours for a group of 30 

students to do the entire “Woods Hunt,” extra time for transportation, and other field time.

Preparation 

1. Select and set up the field site. You’ll need six Information Stations within easy walking 

distance of each other (but not within easy earshot), with the following characteristics: 

• Fire Behavior Station. Area with substantial surface fuel, some seedling or sapling ladder 

fuels, and a fairly steep hillside somewhere in view. 

• Wildlife & Plants Station. Area with shrubs and herbs obvious. Also, some mistletoeinfested Douglas-firs should be visible. 

• Tree Identification & Adaptations. Near a mature ponderosa pine and a mature Douglasfir. 

• Fire History. Near a fire scarred ponderosa pine or stump. 

• Homes & Fire. Area with at least one home visible in a forested environment. 

• Lodgepole & Whitebark Pine. Some lodgepole pine forest or some high slopes with 

dense tree cover should be visible. 

2. Make copies of the Response Card (a master copy is in the Woods Hunt Kit) on card stock 

so each student can have one. Note that each page of the master has four copies of the 

Response Card. 

3. Make 6 copies of Student Page 29 (Stationmaster Instructions) and one copy of Class Page 

16, Woods Hunt Details (per class of 30). Cut off the upper table on Class Page 16 and cut it 

into 6 vertical strips, one for each student team. 

Procedure 

1. Prepare stationmasters. Assign each stationmaster one Woods Hunt Station and give each a 

question card. Have stationmasters read their questions and the correct answers; answer any 

questions they have. Give the ponderosa pine cone to Stationmaster #6. 

2. Give each stationmaster a copy of Stationmaster Instructions (Student Page 29) and go over 

them. If you are using the field activity as a test, to evaluate student learning, explain that 

the stationmasters have to treat every team in exactly the same way, using exactly the same 

questions, offering minimal clues, and NOT explaining answers or discussing whether the 

students answered correctly or not until all students have answered in a group. 

3. Travel to the Woods Hunt site. 

4. Give each stationmaster a laminated station number, arrow sign, some wire or tape, a post 

and thumbtack, marker, and hole punch. Have stationmasters set up their stations. This will 

take 20-30 minutes. 

5. Divide class into six teams, each with 5 students. Have students select a name for their team. 

Give a Response Card to each student. Have students write their names and their team name

on the backs of their cards.

6. Give each team a list of stations numbers in the order they should be visited (one column of 

the upper table on Woods Hunt Details, Class Page 16). 
207 

7. Tell student teams to visit the stations in the order listed on the strip you just gave them, then 

return to you at a central location. They need no more than 10 minutes for each station and 

they should “hustle” between stations. 

8. Tell teams to begin. 

9. When all teams have completed all stations and gathered at a central location, collect their 

cards ,checking for name and team name on back of each, and give them another assignment. 

This would be a great time to have a professional land manager give them a tour of the site or 

some other activity. 

10. While students are busy, have one or two stationmasters fill out the table at the bottom of 

Class Page 16. Count the number of correct answers for each team. Write down the number 

of questions asked each team (30, unless the team had fewer than 5 students). Compute each 

team’s score as a percent. The team with the highest percentage wins. 

Evaluation: If you are using this activity as a test, Keep and grade students’ individual 

response cards; record as part of each student’s grade on the FireWorks unit. 

Closure: When students convene from their other activity, announce the winning team and 

award prizes. 
Woods Hunt Details 

Order of Information Stations 

Cut the following table into 6 vertical strips, and give one strip to each student team. 

Visit the 

Information 

Stations in 

this order:

Visit the 

Information 

Stations in 

this order:

Visit the 

Information 

Stations in 

this order:

Visit the 

Information 

Stations in 

this order:

Visit the 

Information 

Stations in 

this order:

Visit the 

Information 

Stations in 

this order:

1 6 5 4 3 2

2 1 6 5 4 3

3 2 1 6 5 4

4 3 2 1 6 5

5 4 3 2 1 6

6 5 4 3 2 1

Team Scores for Woods Hunt 

Use this table to compute team scores for the Woods Hunt and select the winning team.

Team Name Number Correct 

Answers

Total Number 

Questions 

Asked

Team Score 

(%) 

 30?

30?

30?

30?

30?

30?

Class Page 16

208 
 Instructions for Woods Hunt 

Stationmasters

This field exercise can be used either as a test, to evaluate student learning, or as a 

competition between student teams—or both. If it is a test, please treat every team in 

exactly the same way: Use the same words from the question sheet for each team. Do not

explain answers until all members of a team have answered their questions. Ask the 

teacher if you should discuss answers after the whole team has finished your station, 

before they move on to the next. 

Procedures: 

1. Set up your Information Station. Hang the number up high, so students can see it 

from far away. Put the post in the ground in an open area, pointing to your station, 

and tack the arrow to it. 

2. During the Woods Hunt, teams of 5 students will visit your station. If one team 

approaches while you’re talking with another, ask the second team to stand back 

so they won’t hear the questions and answers. 

3. When a team arrives, introduce yourself. Tell them your station number and the 

topic for your station (at the top of the question card). 

4. Ask each student to pick a letter between A and E, preferably not the letter they 

had at the last station. 

5. For each letter, A through E: 

• Ask for the student with that letter 

• Take his or her Response Card and mark the letter chosen (A, B, C, etc.) in the 

box with your station number. 

• Ask that student the question. Other students are not permitted to help; if 

anyone does, give that student a “wrong” punch. 

• If the answer is acceptable, punch out the number for your station on his or her 

card. 

• If the answer is not acceptable, punch the box for your station in the corner 

opposite the number, leaving the number intact. 

• When every students on the team has answered a question, send the team on to 

their next Information Station.

Student Page 29 

209 
210 

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University Press. 418 p. 

Brown, James K.; Smith, Jane Kapler, eds. 2000. Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on flora. Gen. Tech. 

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Research Station. 

Brum, Gil D.; McKane, Larry K. 1989. Biology: exploring life. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 727 p. 

Knapp, Doug. 2000. The Thessaloniki declaration: a wake-up call for environmental education? Journal of 

Environmental Education. 31(3): 32-39. 

Lindholdt, Paul. 1999. Viewpoint: writing from a sense of place. Journal of environmental education: 30(4): 4-10. 

May, Theodore S. 2000. Elements of success in environmental education through practitioner eyes. Journal of 

Environmental Education. 31(3): 4-11. 

Miller, Melanie. 2000. Fire autecology. In: Brown, James K.; Smith, Jane Kapler, eds. Wildland fire in ecosystems: 

effects of fire on flora. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 2. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 

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(10/98), science (10/99), social studies (draft—12/99), speaking and listening (10/99), technology (10/99), 

workplace competencies (draft—12/99), world languages (10/99), and writing (10/99). Available from Office of 

Public Instruction, Helena, MT. 

Moreno, Nancy P. 1999. K-12 science education reform—a primer for scientists. BioScience. 49(7): 569-576. 

National Research Council. 1996. National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 

262 p. 

New International Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language. 1995. Chicago, IL: J. G. Ferguson 

Publishing Company. 1895 p. 

North American Association for Environmental Education. 1999. Excellence in EE—guidelines for learning (K-12). 

Rock Spring, GA: NAAEE Publications and Membership Office. 107 p. 

Parkinson, Tami. 2000. Increasing adult knowledge about wildland fire through hands on learning and interactive 

materials within the FireWorks program. Unpublished study plan. Potlatch, ID: Clearwater National Forest, 

Palouse Ranger District. 30 p. 

Raven, Peter H.; Curtis, Helena. 1970. Biology of plants. New York: Worth Publishers, Inc. 706 p. 

Schroeder, Mark J.; Buck, Charles C. 1970. Fire weather. Agriculture Handbook 360. Washington, DC: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 229 p. 

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Thomas, Linda R.; Walsh, James A.; Smith, Jane Kapler. [In press]. Behavioral and cognitive evaluation of 

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Thomas, Linda; Camp, George. 2000. Longitudinal behavior and cognitive evaluation of the FireWorks educational 

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Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Bitterroot Ecosystem 

Management Research Project. 8 p. 

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Land Management, Office of Fire and Aviation. 45 p.
211 

Appendices 

Appendix 1—Common and Scientific Names of Plants and Fungi

Common name Scientific name 

Armillaria root rot Armillaria ostoyae 

Arrowleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata 

Beargrass Xerophyllum tenax 

Douglas-fir (Rocky Mountain variety) Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca 

Douglas-fir dwarf mistletoe Arceuthobium douglasii 

Fireweed Epilobium angustifolium 

Glacier lily Erythronium grandiflorum 

Grouse whortleberry Vaccinium scoparium 

Lodgepole pine (Rocky Mountain variety) Pinus contorta var. latifolia 

Pinegrass Calamagrostis repens 

Ponderosa pine (Pacific variety) Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa 

Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia 

Smooth woodrush Luzula hitchcockii 

Snowbrush ceanothus Ceanothus velutinus 

Subalpine fir Abies lasiocarpa 

White pine blister rust Cronartium rbicola 

Whitebark pine Pinus albicaulis 

Wild onion Allium species
212 

Appendix 2—Common and Scientific Names of Animals

Common name Scientific name 

American marten Martes americana 

Black-backed woodpecker Picoides arcticus 

Clark’s nutcracker Nucifraga columbiana 

Elk Cervus elaphus 

Flammulated owl Otus flammeolus 

Grizzly bear Ursus arctos 

Mountain pine beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae 

Pileated woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus 

Red squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus 

Red-backed vole (southern) Clethrionomys gapperi 
213 

Appendix 3—Other Curricula on Wildland Fire 

Amazing Blazes! A three-hour field experience for 5th and 6th graders with a classroom 

introduction. From the Tinderbox Project, developed by Ashley Emerson for The 

Glacier Institute and the U.S.D.A. Forest Service. Contact The Glacier Institute, 

P.O. Box 7457, Kalispell, MT 59904.

Branching Out to the Youth of America. 1995. Produced by Northeastern Forest 

Experiment Station; Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry. NE/NA-116R96. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Northeastern Forest 

Experiment Station; Northern Area State & Private Forestry. 39 p.

Ecosystem Matters: Activity and Resource Guide for Environmental Educators.83 1995. 

Project Manager: Pattyanne Corsentino. 1995-577-064. Denver, CO: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. 225 p.

Fire Ecology Resource Management Education Unit83. Produced by the Interagency Fire 

Education Initiative. Contact Ecological Communications Lab, School of Natural 

Resource, The Ohio State University, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210.

Fire in Florida’s Ecosystems84 Educator’s Guide, Grades 4-8. Edited by Jim Brenner, 

Fire Management Administrator, Division of Forestry, Florida Department of 

Agriculture & Consumer Services. Contact Florida Department of Agriculture and 

Consumer Services, Forest Protection Bureau, Division of Forestry, 3125 Conner 

Blvd, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1650. 

Fire in Pacific Northwest Ecosystems: curriculum for grades 7-12. 1997. Produced and 

distributed by Environmental Education Association of Oregon and Pacific 

Northwest Wildfire Coordinating Group. 

From Beneath the Ashes. Developed by the Chicago Academy of Sciences for the 

Chicago Science Explorers Program.

Getting to Know Wildland Fire: a teacher’s guide to fire ecology in the Northern Rocky 

Mountains. By Ellen Petrick-Underwood. Sponsored by the U.S.D.I. National 

Park Service and the U.S.D.A. Forest Service. Contact Division of Interpretation, 

National Park Service, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 

82190. 

Science Links Module 2. Developed by the Agency for Instructional Technology and 

South-Western Educational Publishing, 1800 N. Stonelake Drive, Bloomington, 

IN 47402. 

The Role of Fire in Alaska: Fire Information and Resource Education. 1995. Produced by 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99503 

Wildfire Classroom Activities: Fire Education Activities for Grades 6-9. 1994. Olympia, 

WA: Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Fire Prevention/Fire 

Education Program. Written by Barbara MacGregor, One World Environmental 

Education Services. Phone 360-902-1027 for information.

 

83 in the FireWorks Teacher Box 84 in the FireWorks Library 
Appendix 4—Links to Montana State Educational Standards 

This appendix lists the Montana education standards met by activities in FireWorks. Benchmarks for students completing 

grade 4 are listed in table A-1; for students in grade 8, table A-2; for students in grade 12, table A-3.

Table A-1--Links of FireWorks activities to Montana standards for grades K-485

Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 2 1 3 5 1 2 3 4 1 1 2 3 5 6 7 1 3 2 1 

Science Standard 1. Design, conduct, evaluate, communicate scientific investigations 1) Plan & conduct investigations with identified variables 

 X X X X X 

2) Measure, process & analyze results X X X X X X 3) Communicate evidence of investigations 

 X X X X X X X X 

4) Record changes & change patterns X 5) Construct models, compare to reality X X X X X X 6) Communicate results X X X X X X X X Science Standard 2. Understand physical & chemical systems 3) Model & explain states of matter X X 4) Identify what changes & doesn’t change 

 X 

6) Describe characteristics of light, heat X X X Science Standard 3. Understand living things 1) Identify plant & animal structures & systems 

X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

3) Develop models that trace life cycles X X X 4) Explain cause & effect X X X X X X X X X X X 5) Classify X X X X X X X Science Standard 5. Understand how science & technology impact society 2) Communicate ideas & solutions X X X 3) Make inferences or propose solutions X X X X X X X 85 Standards are included only if they apply to FireWorks activities. Most are paraphrased or abridged from the original. Complete standards are available 

(Montana Office of Public Instruction [no date]). 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 2 1 3 5 1 2 3 4 1 1 2 3 5 6 7 1 3 2 1 

Science Standard 6. Know about history of science & technology 2) Describe how science has produced knowledge 

 X 

Mathematics Standard 1. Problem solving, reasoning 1) Solve problems using variety of strategies 

 X 

2) Use estimation X X 3) Communicate X X X 4) Recognize relevance of mathematics X X X 5) Select & use appropriate technology X X X Mathematics Standard 2. Understanding of numbers, operations 1) Connect concrete & symbolic representation 

 X X X 

2) Count, group, apply place value X X 3) Use basic facts & operations, +- X X X 4) Explain */ X Mathematics Standard 4. Understanding of shape & geometry 1) Describe 2- & 3-dimensional shapes X X 2) Investigate shape changes X Mathematics Standard 5. Use measurement 1) Measure length, time, temp. X X X 2) Relate measurement & units of measure 

 X X X 

3) Apply measurement skills X X X Mathematics Standard 6. Use data analysis, probability, statistics 1) Collect, organize, display data X X X 2) Use displays of data X X X 3) Formulate & solve problems with data X X X Reading Standard 1. Construct meaning 1) Connect new material & experience X X X X X X X 2) Apply new information X X X X X X X 3) Respond to ideas & feelings generated X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 2 1 3 5 1 2 3 4 1 1 2 3 5 6 7 1 3 2 1 

4) Understand main ideas X X X X X X 5) Retell key elements X X X X X X Reading Standard 2. Apply range of skills& strategies 1) Decode unknown words X X X X X X X X X 2) Adjust reading style to material X X X X X X X 6) Develop vocabulary X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 7) Apply reading strategies X X X 8) Ask questions, check predictions X X X Reading Standard 4. Use material for variety of purposes 1) Identify variety of purposes X 2) Answer question through reading X X X X 3) Use reading for variety of purposes X X X X X X X 6) Read from technical documents X X X X X X X X X X Reading Standard 5. Use variety of sources, synthesize, evaluate, communicate findings 2) Integrate information, multiple sources 

 X X X X 

Writing Standard 1. Write clearly & effectively 1) Organize in paragraphs X X X 2) Use supporting details X X X X X X X X 4) Follow conventions X X X X X X X Writing Standard 2. Apply range of skills & strategies 1) Plan X 2) Write a draft X X 3) Revise using feedback X 4) Edit X 5) Share final product X Writing Standard 3. Evaluate writing skill 2) Share, listen to responses, offer comments 

X X 

Writing Standard 4. Write for variety of purposes & audiences 1) Identify & write for purpose X X X X 3) Write descriptive genre X X X Writing Standard 6. Use inquiry, problem-solving, & resources to synthesize & communicate 2) Use technologies & resources X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 2 1 3 5 1 2 3 4 1 1 2 3 5 6 7 1 3 2 1 

4) Share information appropriately X X X Speaking & Listening Standard 2. Use appropriate types of speaking & listening for variety of purposes 2) Demonstrate appropriate behaviors X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 3) Speak & listen effectively X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 4) Use storytelling, narrative, description X X X X X X X X 5) Use different types of listening X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Speaking & Listening Standard 3. Apply range of skills & strategies 1) Communicate in focused, organized way 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

2) Use appropriate language X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 3) Enhance presentations, manage anxiety 

 X X X X X X X 

5) Distinguish fact from opinion X X 6) Connect own experience with others’ X X X X X Speaking & Listening Standard 4. Identify, analyze, &evaluate effective speaking, evaluative listening 3) Show respect for feelings, values of others 

 X X 

Social Studies Standard 1. Access, synthesize, & evaluate information 2) Support statements, use group decision making 

 X 

Social Studies Standard 2. Understand operation of government 5) Identify individual’s responsibilities X X Social Studies Standard 3. Make informed decisions based on geographic understanding 5) Describe physical changes & impact on ecosystems 

 X X X X X X X X 

Social Studies Standard 4. Understand effect of time, continuity of change 1) Use various sources to reconstruct past 

 X X 

Technology Standard 4. Use technology responsibly 1) Safely use technology X X Technology Standard 6. Apply technology to construct new personal understanding 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 2 1 3 5 1 2 3 4 1 1 2 3 5 6 7 1 3 2 1 

1) Apply information to develop understanding 

 X 

4) Apply understanding & technology to solve problem 

 X 

Library Media Standard 1. Access, evaluate & use information 2) State question X X 3) Locate probable sources of information 

 X X 

5) Use information to create product X X Library Media Standard 2. Demonstrate responsibility in using information 3) Use information sources responsibly X X 4) Share information X X Arts Standard 1. Create, perform, & respond in the arts 1) Identify own ideas & images X X X X 2) Use variety of materials & sources X X X X X X X X X 3) Present work X X X X X X X Arts Standard 2. Apply concepts, structures, & processes in arts 1) Perform X 2) Demonstrate storytelling, dramatics X X X Arts Standard 3. Use art skills to express ideas 2) Use subject matter & symbols to communicate meaning 

X X X X X X 

4) Use mind, voice & body to tell stories X X X X Arts Standard 5. Understand role of arts in society 5) Demonstrate appropriate audience behavior 

 X X X X X 

Health Enhancement Standard 1. Understand concepts that promote comprehensive health 4) Identify injury prevention strategies X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 2 1 3 5 1 2 3 4 1 1 2 3 5 6 7 1 3 2 1 

Workplace Competencies Standard 1. Allocate workplace resources 1) Manage time effectively X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 3) Use materials & space efficiently X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Workplace Competencies Standard 2. Acquire & demonstrate workplace skills 1) Practice team player role X X X X X X X X X X X X X 3) Practice leadership X X X X X Workplace Competencies Standard 4. Understand how social &organizational systems work 1) Identify components of communities X X 2) Model how components of systems interact 

 X 

Workplace Competencies Standard 5. Work with variety of workplace technologies 2) Solve problems alone & with others X X X X X X X X 5) Care for technological tools X X Workplace Competencies Standard 6. Develop skills in career planning & workplace readiness 2) Show positive ways of working X X X X X X X 3) Describe how decisions affect self, others 

 X 
216

Table A-2—Links of FireWorks activities to Montana standards for grades 5-886. 

Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

Science Standard 1. Design, conduct, evaluate, & communicate scientific investigations 1) Design & conduct experiments, predict outcomes, analyze results 

 X X X X X X X X X 

2) Measure, process & analyze data 

 X X X X X X X X X 

3) Communicate & question results of investigations 

 X X X X X X X X X X X 

4) Infer cause & effect 

 X X X X X X X X X X X 

5) Construct models & use to predict change 

 X X X X X X X X X 

6) Distinguish between controlled & uncontrolled 

 X 

Science Standard 2. Understand physical & chemical systems 3) Explain that states of matter depend upon energy 

 X X 

4) Identify what changes & doesn’t change 

 X X 

6) Define energy, compare types 

 X X X X 

86 Standards are included only if they apply to FireWorks activities. Most are paraphrased or abridged from the original. Complete standards are available 

(Montana Office of Public Instruction [no date]). 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

Science Standard 3. Understand living things 2) Explain how living things obtain & use energy 

 X X X X X X X X X X 

4) Explain interdependence in biol. systems & how they are affected by people 

X X X X X X X X X X X X 

5) Classify local plants & animals 

 X X X X X X X X X X 

Science Standard 5. Understand how science & technology impact society 1) Identify occupations in science 

 X X X X X X X X X X 

2) Model collaborative problem solving & critiquing science 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X 

3) Investigate local problems & propose solutions 

 X X X X X X X 

4) Apply science to issues & events 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

Mathematics Standard 1. Problem solving, reasoning 2) Use estimation X X X 3) Communicate math. ideas & logical arguments 

 X X X X X X X 

4) Recognize & investigate relevance of mathematics 

 X X X X X X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

5) Select & use appropriate technology 

 X X X X X X X X X X 

Mathematics Standard 2. Understanding of numbers & operations 1) Use +-*/ X X X X X X 3) Apply ratio, proportion, % 

 X X X 

Mathematics Standard 3. Use algebraic concepts, processes, language 1) Understand variable, expression, equation 

 X 

2) Use tables, graphs, verbal rules, equations, models 

 X X X X X X X 

Mathematics Standard 4. Understanding of shape & geometry 4) Explore properties & transformations of shapes 

 X X X X X X 

5) Use geometry to describe physical world 

 X X X X X 

Mathematics Standard 5. Use measurement 1) Use measurements to compare & contrast 

 X X X X X X X 

2) Select & use appropriate measurements 

 X X X X 

3) Apply concepts: weight, mass, time, temp. 

 X X X X X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

Mathematics Standard 6. Use data analysis, probability, statistics 1) Collect, organize, display data 

 X X X X X X X 

2) Construct & use displays of data 

 X X X X X 

3) Evaluate arguments based on measures of central tendency 

 X 

5) Make predictions based on observations 

 X X X X X X X 

Mathematics Standard 7. Use patterns, relations & functions 2) Describe relationships with tables, graphs, rules 

 X X X X X X 

Reading Standard 1. Construct meaning 1) Connect new material & experience 

 X X X X X X X X X X X 

2) Compare new information with existing knowledge apply 

 X X X X 

3) Respond to ideas & feelings generated, compare with peers 

 X 

4) Understand main ideas, select important facts & details 

 X X X X X X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

5) Provide accurate, detailed summaries 

 X X X X X X 

Reading Standard 2. Apply range of skills & strategies 1) Decode unknown words 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

4) Use features & organization to comprehend 

 X X X X X X X X X 

5) Adjust reading style to material 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

6) Develop vocabulary 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

7) Use variety of reading strategies 

 X X X X X X X X X X X 

8) Ask questions, check predictions, summarize 

 X X X X X 

Reading Standard 4. Use material for variety of purposes 1) Establish & adjust purposes for reading 

 X X X X X X X X 

2) Read to organize, understand, investigate 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

3) Read for specific tasks 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

7) Identify, read & interpret information from variety of sources 

 X X X X X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

Reading Standard 5. Use variety of sources, synthesize, evaluate, communicate findings 2) Make connections, explain relationships among variety of sources 

 X X X X 

5) Express & defend point of view 

 X 

Writing Standard 1. Write clearly & effectively 1) Use paragraphs, transitions, logical sequence 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X 

2) Use supporting details to develop main idea 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

4) Follow conventions 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

Writing Standard 2. Apply range of skills & strategies 1) Plan X X X X X X 2) Write 1 or more drafts 

 X X X X X X 

3) Revise using feedback 

 X X 

4) Edit X 5) Share final product 

 X X 

Writing Standard 4. Write for variety of purposes & audiences 1) Identify & write for purpose 

 X X X X X X X X X X X 

3) Write narrative genre 

 X X X X X 

Writing Standard 6. Use inquiry problem-solving, & resources to synthesize & communicate 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

1) Pose questions X X 2) Use technologies & resources 

 X X X 

3) Draw a conclusion 

 X X X X X X X X 

4) Share information appropriately 

 X X X X X X X X 

Speaking & Listening Standard 2. Use appropriate types of speaking & listening for variety of purposes 2) Demonstrate appropriate behaviors with various audiences 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

3) Speak & listen effectively 

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

4) Use reports, drama, persuasive appeal 

 X X X X X 

5) Use different types of listening 

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

Speaking & Listening Standard 3. Apply range of skills & strategies 1) Communicate in focused, organized way, with support 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

2) Use appropriate language 

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

3) Enhance presentations, manage anxiety 

 X X X X X X X X X X X 

5) Distinguish information from persuasion, logic from emotion 

X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

6) Connect own experience with communicated message 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

Speaking & Listening Standard 4. Identify, analyze, & evaluate effective speaking, evaluative listening 1) Apply effective speaking & evaluative listening 

 X X X X X X X X 

Social Studies Standard 1. Access, synthesize & evaluate information 2) Support conclusions, use group decision making 

 X X X 

3) Help make decisions in real world scenarios 

 X X X X X X 

Social Studies Standard 2. Understand operation of government 6) Describe factors that contribute to conflict, cooperation 

 X 

8) Explain how citizens drive & define policy 

 X 

Social Studies Standard 3. Make informed decisions based on geographic understanding 1) Interpret geographic relationships 

 X X X X X X 

2) Explain effects of diverse land use on environment 

 X X X X X 

5) Describe physical processes’ effect on ecosystem patterns 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

Social Studies Standard 4. Understand effect of time, continuity & change 1) Use historic sources to make decisions 

 X X X 

2) Describe significant historical periods 

 X 

Social Studies Standard 5. Make informed decisions based on economic principles 5) Illustrate how money is used by individuals, businesses, institutions, governments 

 X X 

Technology Standard 1 & 2. Demonstrate understanding of basic operations of technologies 1) Use & refine skills 

 X X X X X 

2) Apply technology in a product 

 X X X X X X X 

Technology Standard 5. Apply variety of technologies to solve problems 2) Create original works using various technologies 

 X 

Technology Standard 6. Apply technology to construct new personal understanding 1) Apply information to develop understanding 

 X X X X 

4) Apply understanding & technology to solve problem 

 X X X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

Library Media Standard 1. Access, evaluate & use information 1) Use steps of inquiry to answer questions 

 X 

2) Formulate specific questions, identify information need 

 X X X 

3) Select multiple sources 

 X X X 

5) Use information in product or presentation 

 X X X X 

Library Media Standard 2. Demonstrate responsibility in using information 2) Avoid plagiarism & cite sources, use bibliographic form 

 X 

3) Use information sources responsibly 

 X X X X 

4) Acknowledge others’ contributions 

 X 

Library Media Standard 4. Use current & emerging technology in inquiry 1) Use appropriate media & technologies 

 X 

2) Use appropriate search strategies 

 X X 

3) Assess quality of information 

 X 

Arts Standard 1. Create, perform, & respond in the arts 1) Create own ideas & images 

 X X X X X X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

2) Select variety of materials & sources 

 X X X X X X X X X 

3) Rehearse & revise own work 

 X X 

4) Collaborate with others 

 X X X X X X 

Arts Standard 2. Apply concepts, structures, & processes in arts 1) Produce & perform in theatrical presentation 

 X X X 

2) Use 2- & 3-dimensional art forms 

 X X X X X X X X X 

3) Demonstrate storytelling & improvisation 

 X X X X X X 

Arts Standard 3. Use art skills to express ideas 2) Use subjects, themes & symbols to communicate meaning 

 X X X X X X X X 

4) Use sound, costume & makeup to communicate 

 X X 

Arts Standard 5. Understand role of arts in society 5) Demonstrate appropriate audience behavior 

 X X X X X X X X 

Media Literacy Standard 1. Recognize how media messages are constructed 1) Analyze how media content is influenced by form 

 X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

Health Enhancement Standard 1. Understand concepts that promote comprehensive health 4) Explain strategies for injury prevention 

 X X X X X X X X X X 

Workplace Competencies Standard 1. Allocate workplace resources 1) Manage time & prioritize effectively 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

3) Use materials & space efficiently 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

4) Manage personal & team resources for team goals 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

Workplace Competencies Standard 2. Acquire & demonstrate workplace skills 1) Work as member of team 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

4) Work toward agreements 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

5) Communicate in serving others 

 X X X X X X X X X X 

Workplace Competencies Standard 3. Acquire & use workplace information 3) Select & present information 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

4) Use information from electronic sources 

 X 

Workplace Competencies Standard 5. Work with variety of workplace technologies 1) Use technology for learning, communications, productivity 

 X X X X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 

Activity 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 

2) Use technology to observe, analyze, & draw conclusions 

 X X X X X X X 

3) Solve problems with technology 

 X X X X 

Workplace Competencies Standard 6. Develop skills in career planning & workplace readiness 1) Identify how skills taught in school relate to professions 

 X X X X X 

2) Show personal qualities needed for work 

 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

3) Identify possible outcomes & consequences of decisions 

 X X X X X X X X X 

5) Identify variety of occupations not limited by stereotypes 

 X X X X X X X X X 
Table A-3-- Links of FireWorks activities to Montana standards for grades 9-1287. 

Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 

Activity 1 4 6 7 2 3 4 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 

Science Standard 1. Design, conduct, evaluate, & communicate scientific investigations 1) Identify testable question, design & conduct experiment, analyze results 

 X X X X X 

3) Critique conclusions X X X 4) Apply concepts of change, equilibrium X X 5) Compare observations to model X X X 6) Investigate & evaluate science studies X X X Science Standard 2. Understand physical & chemical systems 2) Explain physical matter with conceptual models X X X 3) Analyze relationships of matter & energy X X X X 4) Describe chemical reactions with words & equations X Science Standard 3. Understand living things 4) Model factors that limit populations & contribute to species change 

 X 

5) Use classification to discuss species divergence in local ecosystems 

 X 

Science Standard 5. Understand how science & technology impact society 2) Model collaborative gathering & evaluating information 

 X X X X X X X X 

4) Give examples of scientific innovation challenging commonly held perceptions 

 X X X X 

Mathematics Standard 1. Problem solving, reasoning 2) Use estimation X X X 3) Express generalizations, communicate math. ideas & relationships 

 X X X X X X 

5) Select & use appropriate technology X X X X X Mathematics Standard 2. Understanding of numbers & operations 1) Use & understand real number system operations, notations 

 X X X 

87 Standards are included only if they apply to FireWorks activities. Most are paraphrased or abridged from the original. Complete standards are available 

(Montana Office of Public Instruction [no date]). 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 

Activity 1 4 6 7 2 3 4 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 

Mathematics Standard 3. Use algebraic concepts, processes, language 1) Use algebra to represent patterns of change X 2) Use basic operations with algebraic expressions X X X Mathematics Standard 5. Use measurement 3) Investigate derived measures X X X X X Mathematics Standard 6. Use data analysis, probability, statistics 2) Apply measure of central tendency, understand variability & correlation 

 X X 

3) Evaluate arguments based on measures of central tendency 

 X 

5) Make predictions based on observations X X X X X Reading Standard 1. Construct meaning 1) Describe connections within material & between new material & experience 

 X X X X 

2) Integrate new information, make application X X X X X X 3) Respond to ideas & feelings X 4) Understand main ideas, formulate arguments with supporting evidence 

 X X X X X 

5) Accurately paraphrase X X Reading Standard 2. Apply range of skills & strategies 1) Decode unknown words X X X X X X X X 4) Use features & organization to comprehend X X X X X 5) Adjust reading style to material X X X X X X X X 6) Develop vocabulary X X X X X X X X X X 7) Use variety of reading strategies X X X X 8) Ask questions, check predictions, summarize X X X X Reading Standard 4. Use material for variety of purposes 2) Read to evaluate resource for specific task X X 3) Locate, read, analyze & interpret for topic or issue X X 4) Read to perform complex tasks X X X X X X X X X 6) Read & create material related to social & civic responsibilities 

 X 

7) Locate, read & evaluate information from variety of sources 

 X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 

Activity 1 4 6 7 2 3 4 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 

Reading Standard 5. Use variety of sources, synthesize, evaluate, communicate findings 2) Logically synthesize information X X X 3) Apply basic principles of logic X X X X 4) Analyze use of evidence, logic, devices, bias X Writing Standard 1. Write clearly & effectively 1) Use paragraphs, transitions, logical sequence X X X X X X X X 2) Develop & elaborate main idea X X X X X X X X X 3) Demonstrate control of personal voice X X X X 4) Follow conventions X X X X X X X X X Writing Standard 2. Apply range of skills & strategies 1) Plan X X X X X X X X 2) Write 1 or more drafts X X X X X X X X 3) Revise using feedback X X X 4) Edit X 5) Share final product X X Writing Standard 3. Evaluate writing skill 2) Seek & use feedback & offer constructive criticism X X Writing Standard 4. Write for variety of purposes & audiences 1) Identify & articulate purpose, write appropriately X X X X X 3) Write narrative genre X X X Writing Standard 6. Use inquiry problem-solving, & resources to synthesize & communicate 1) Pose questions, identify problems X X X 2) Use technologies & sources X X X X X 3) Investigate alternative explanations, draw conclusion based on analysis & evaluation 

 X X X 

4) Share information appropriately X X X X X Speaking & Listening Standard 2. Use appropriate types of speaking & listening for variety of purposes 2) Adjust speaking & listening behaviors to situations X X X X X X X X X X 3) Speak & listen effectively X X X X X X X X X X X 4) Use impromptu, manuscript, interpersonal endeavors X X X X X X X X 5) Use different types of listening, including critical X X X X X X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 

Activity 1 4 6 7 2 3 4 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 

Speaking & Listening Standard 3. Apply range of skills & strategies 1) Communicate with clear thesis, logical sequence, transitions 

 X X X X X 

2) Use appropriate language for purpose, audience X X X X X X X X X X X 5) Recognize points of view, purposes, emotional appeals, logical fallacies 

 X X X X 

6) Connect own experience with communicated message X X X X X X X X Speaking & Listening Standard 4. Identify, analyze, & evaluate effective speaking, evaluative listening 1) Analyze & evaluate persuasive presentations X X 3) Analyze legal & ethical issues & responsible communication 

 X X 

Social Studies Standard 1. Access, synthesize & evaluate information 2) Synthesize to support convictions, participate in negotiations 

 X 

3) Help make decisions in real world scenarios or simulations 

 X X X X X X X 

Social Studies Standard 2. Understand operation of government 6) Describe factors that contribute to conflict, cooperation X X 7) Formulate strategies for public discussions on technology-society issues 

 X 

Social Studies Standard 3. Make informed decisions based on geographic understanding 5) Describe physical processes’ effect on creating, sustaining & modifying ecosystems 

 X X X X X X X X X X X 

6) Assess connections between physical & human systems X X X X X X X X Social Studies Standard 4. Understand effect of time, continuity & change 1) Interpret historical sources from multiple perspectives to make decisions 

 X X X 

Social Studies Standard 5. Make informed decisions based on economic principles 4) Assess how different values & beliefs influence economic decisions 

 X 

Technology Standard 1 & 2. Demonstrate understanding of basic operations of technologies 1) Use & refine skills X X X X X X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 

Activity 1 4 6 7 2 3 4 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 

2) Integrate technology in products X X X X X X 3) Match technology to task X X X X X X Technology Standard 4. Use technology responsibly 1) Safely use technology X X 2) Apply high standard of ethics for technology use X Technology Standard 5. Apply variety of technologies to solve problems 1) Use technology for problem solving X X X X X X 3) Analyze information from technical sources, communicate findings 

 X X X X X 

Technology Standard 6. Apply technology to construct new personal understanding 1) Evaluate information to develop understanding X X X X Library Media Standard 1. Access, evaluate & use information 1) Use steps of inquiry to answer individual & group information needs 

 X 

3) Develop plan to obtain information from multiple sources 

 X X 

4) Assess information sources X 5) Synthesize information to create new product X X Library Media Standard 2. Demonstrate responsibility in using information 3) Use information sources responsibly X X 4) Collaborate to identify information problems, seek solutions, generate new information 

 X X 

Library Media Standard 4. Use current & emerging technology in inquiry 1) Evaluate media & technologies X 2) Demonstrate research strategies X 3) Assess quality of information X X Arts Standard 1. Create, perform, & respond in the arts 2) Demonstrate imagination & technical skill in an art form 

 X X X 

4) Complete collaborative work X Arts Standard 2. Apply concepts, structures, & processes in arts 1) Produce & perform in theatrical presentation X 2) Use 2- & 3-dimensional art forms X 
Chapter Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 

Activity 1 4 6 7 2 3 4 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 

3) Demonstrate storytelling & improvisation X Arts Standard 5. Understand role of arts in society 5) Demonstrate appropriate audience behavior X X Media Literacy Standard 1. Recognize how media messages are constructed 1) Evaluate how media product are constructed for specific audiences 

 X 

Health Enhancement Standard 1. Understand concepts that promote comprehensive health 4) Develop personal strategies for injury prevention X X X X X Workplace Competencies Standard 1. Allocate workplace resources 1) Manage time & prioritize effectively X X X X X X X X X X 3) Allocate time & resources X X X X X X X X X X 4) Manage team effectively X X X X X X Workplace Competencies Standard 2. Acquire & demonstrate workplace skills 1) Recognize & practice team roles X X X X X X X X X X 3) Communicate ideas to persuade X X X X X X X X X 4) Practice & evaluate negotiating X X X X X X X Workplace Competencies Standard 3. Acquire & use workplace information 3) Select & present information X X X X X X X 4) Use information from electronic sources X X Workplace Competencies Standard 4. Understand how social & organizational systems work 3) Manage existing systems, including optimizing outputs & adjusting 

 X X 

Workplace Competencies Standard 5. Work with variety of workplace technologies 1) Choose procedures & technology to complete task X X X 3) Solve problems with technology X X X X X X Workplace Competencies Standard 6. Develop skills in career planning & workplace readiness 1) Identify how skills taught in school relate to career goals 

 X X X 

2) Display workplace readiness X X X X X X X X X X X 
239 

Appendix 5—Glossary 

Definitions are taken from Brown and Smith (2000), Brum and McKane (1989), U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory (2000, July), New International Webster’s Comprehensive 

Dictionary of the English Language (1996), Raven and Curtis (1970), Schroeder and 

Buck (1970), Starr (1991), and Student Page 12 of FireWorks. 

adaptation: something about an organism that helps it survive and reproduce; an aspect 

of its form, function, or behavior that helps it out-compete other organisms 

animal: organism that eats or absorbs nutrients from other organisms; heterotroph 

bark: the tissue covering stems, branches, and roots of a tree or shrub, extending from 

the cambium to the outer surface. FireWorks compares a tree’s bark to an animal’s 

skin. 

botanist: a person who studies plants 

branch: limb of a tree or shrub that grows out from the trunk or main stem 

broad-leafed: a tree that has wide, flat leaves, as opposed to needle- or awl-shaped 

leaves. Most broad-leafed trees in the northern U.S. drop their leaves in the fall. 

bud: Plants have two kinds of buds. One kind is the flower bud, which is the developing 

flower—not yet open. The other kind, and the meaning used in FireWorks, is any 

starting point for plant growth. This kind of bud is often called a growing point; a 

technical term for it is meristem tissue. It may grow at the tips of tree and shrub 

branches, at the tips of roots, in the cambium layer of trees, at the bases of flower and 

plant stems, and in many other locations. Buds are composed of living cells.

bulb: an underground storage organ in a plant. A bulb has roots on its lower surface and 

fleshy leaves above. Perennial plants are able to reproduce from their bulbs. 

burrow: a hole in the ground used by an animal for shelter

cambium: a thin layer of living cells beneath a tree or shrub's bark. The cambium layer 

produces two kinds of cells: those that carry water and minerals from roots to leaves 

(xylem), and those that carry sugars and other nutrients from leaves throughout the 

plant (phloem). 

cavity: a hole in a tree stem; often used by animals for nesting and shelter 

cavity nester: an animal that raises its young in a tree cavity 

carbon dioxide: one of many gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced 

by combustion and respiration 

cell: the basic unit of living things, the smallest living part of an organism that can make 

new living parts. Some organisms have only one cell, but most plants and animals 

that we are familiar with contain millions of cells. In a complex organism, some cells 

are alive, and some are no longer alive but are used by the organism for structural 

support or other functions. 

charred fuel: fuel that is partly burned, with its outside surface blackened 

chemist: a person who studies the structure and composition of substances and how they 

interact (chemistry) or uses chemistry in his or her work 

combustion: the process of burning; the process of combining a substance with oxygen 

and a heat source, which produces heat and light 
240 

community: in ecology, all of the living things that occupy a habitat; the populations of 

all species in a given habitat. In social science, all of the people who reside in one 

area, are subject to the same laws, and have the same interests. 

condensation: the change of a gas to liquid or solid form; the change of a liquid to solid 

form 

cone: the "package" in which a conifer stores its seeds; reproductive structure of a conifer 

conifer: a cone-bearing tree 

control: the aspects of an experiment that are held constant so they will not affect the 

experiment’s outcome; a standard of comparison against which scientists check the 

outcome of experimental treatments 

convection: the diffusion of heat through a liquid or gas by means of molecular motion. 

Because gases expand when heated, much of the heat from a fire diffuses upward 

from a burning surface through the process of convection. 

corm: an underground storage organ of a plant. Perennials may reproduce from corms. 

crown: a tree's top, where most of the leaves and above-ground buds are found 

crown fire: fire that spreads in the crowns of trees and shrubs. Crown fires are usually 

ignited by surface fire. They are common in coniferous forests and chaparral-type 

shrublands. 

deciduous: a kind of plant that is able to shed its leaves in the fall or when it becomes 

very dry 

dendrochronology: the use of tree growth rings to learn about the approximate dates of 

past events 

density: the number of plants or animals in a given area, for instance, trees/m2 

dispersion: the process of scattering or spreading, often used to refer to the way in which 

smoke disperses through the atmosphere

duff: partially decomposed organic matter lying beneath the litter layer and above the 

mineral soil 

ecologist: a person who studies the relationships between organisms and their 

environment 

ecosystem: a community of organisms interacting with one another and with their 

environment through a flow of energy and cycling of materials 

elevation: height above sea level, expressed in meters or feet 

embryo: a plant or animal in the early stages of development after fertilization. 

energy: the power to make things move or change. Physicists call energy the ability to 

overcome inertia and to do work. Energy is transferred in many ways, including by 

heat, light, and chemical reactions including those of photosynthesis and 

respiration. 

exoskeleton: the hard material that forms the outside of an insect’s body and provides its 

support 

experiment: an activity in which observations are used to test an hypothesis. An 

experiment is often designed with two groups of subjects. One group is subjected to a 

treatment to discover its effects; the other group, the control, is not subjected to the 

treatment and is used as a basis for comparison. 

field site: location in an ecosystem where plants and animals can be observed, measured, 

or studied 
241 

filled seed: seed that contains a plant embryo so a new plant can grow from it. Unfilled 

seed did not complete the process of fertilization and embryo development, so it 

cannot develop into a new plant. 

fire management: Actions to prevent wildland fires, suppress them, or manage them for 

particular purposes, like improvement of wildlife habitat 

fire regime: the pattern of fire occurrence, size, and severity in an area or ecosystem. An 

ecosystem’s fire regime is like a story about the forces of fire, climate, human use, 

and species adaptations—all interacting to affect the ecosystem over thousands of 

years.

fire scar: a wound at the base of a tree caused by heat damage to the cambium. Fire scars 

are usually shaped a little bit like triangles. They are often blackened in the center and 

pitchy around the edges. The tree continues to grow, so its bark gradually curls over 

the edges of the scar and sometimes buries the scar completely. 

fire triangle: the three things necessary for fire: fuel, oxygen, and a source of heat 

firestorm: a wildland fire that results from biolent convection. This is caused by a very 

large, intense fire or many fires that burn together. A firestorm usually produces a 

towering smoke column, spot fires, and spinning, tornado-like winds. 

flammability: the ease with which something will start on fire 

flower: blossom; bloom; the reproductive part of a plant 

foliage: the leaves of a plant 

food web: a network of organisms that supply and consume energy in an ecosystem; 

composed of producers, consumers, and decomposers 

forester: a person who studies forests and is concerned with their management, use, and 

enjoyment 

fuel: the living and dead vegetation that can be burned in a wildland fire. Fuel includes 

dead woody material, leaves of trees and shrubs, litter, duff, grasses, and other plants. 

fuel moisture: the amount of moisture in fuels, expressed as a percent or fraction of oven 

dry weight. Fuel moisture is the most important fuel property controlling 

flammability. 

fungus: a consumer organism that decomposes living and dead organisms by digesting 

their tissues and absorbing the nutrients they contain. Mushrooms and mold are kinds 

of fungus. 

gas: a state of matter in which molecules can move quite freely, can expand indefinitely, 

and are not bound in a particular structure. If cooled sufficiently, gases form liquids 

or solids. 

ground fire: fire that burns in dead, decomposing fuels on the forest floor, mostly by 

smoldering combustion. Fires in duff, peat, dead moss and lichens, and punky wood 

are typically ground fires.

growing point: see bud

growth ring: annual layer of growth in a tree. Ecologists and foresters use growth rings 

to learn about the climate and fire history of a forest. 

habitat: the kind of place where an organism normally lives 

heartwood: central woody core a tree trunk. Heartwood provides structural support to 

the tree. It is made up of dead xylem cells; it contains no living cells and does not 

help transport water, as sapwood does. 

heat: a form of energy that raises the temperature of matter 
242 

heterotroph: organism that obtains nutrition from plants and animals; heterotrophs are 

not capable of photosynthesis. 

histogram: a graph of the frequency distribution of observations 

hypothesis: a tentative explanation for something that is observed and can be tested; a 

guess at what the outcome of an experiment will be 

insulation: material that absorbs heat slowly and releases it slowly, so it can be used to 

protect an object from rapid heating or cooling 

inversion: atmospheric conditions in which temperature increases with height above the 

ground 

ladder fuels: shrubs and small trees that fill the space between the forest floor and tree 

crowns with flammable material, so a fire might be able to “climb the ladder” from 

surface fuels into the treetops 

leaf: a plant structure that can capture energy from sunlight and store it in the chemical 

bonds of sugars and similar compounds; the main location of photosynthesis in 

plants 

liquid: a state of matter in which molecules can move quite freely and can flow, but do 

not expand indefinitely, as a gas can do. If cooled sufficiently, liquids form solids. 

litter: the top layer of the forest floor, not yet rotten. Litter includes freshly fallen leaves, 

needles, fine twigs, bark flakes, fruits, matted dead grass and other plant parts that are 

little altered by decomposition.

management goals: the conditions desired for a wildland area in the future 

management plan: the methods to be used for meeting management goals 

maximum: the greatest number in a set of numbers 

mean: average; a numerical value intermediate between two extremes, calculated as the 

sum of all observations divided by the number of observations 

median: the middle value in a set of numbers sorted from smallest to greatest 

meristem: plant cells that are not specialized yet, so they can develop into many different 

kinds of cell. Buds contain meristem tissue. 

meteorologist: a person who studies weather and changes in the atmosphere. 

Meteorologists sometimes use their skills to forecast weather and fuel conditions that 

affect wildland fire behavior. 

mineral soil: soil that contains no organic matter 

minimum: the smallest value in a set of values 

model: an object made to represent something that already exists or is being designed, or 

a set of mathematical equations that represents hypothesized relationships 

moisture requirement: the amount of moisture needed for an organism to survive 

natural selection: the way evolution works; the process in which organisms that are well 

suited to their environment reproduce successfully and are more numerous in the next 

generation, and organisms of that are poorly suited to their environment do not 

succeed as well 

needle: a long, narrow kind of leaf 

observation: information obtained from an experience, which can be used to test an 

hypothesis. Observations are usually measured and recorded during an experiment, 

then analyzed to see if they support the hypothesis. 
243 

organic matter: the material that comprises living and dead things; also the name for 

complex chemical compounds that contain carbon. Decaying organic matter is an 

important part of soil. 

oxygen: one of many gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Oxygen is produced by 

photosynthesis and is used in both combustion and respiration. 

parasite: an organism that obtains nutrients directly from a host plant or animal. A 

parasite does not usually benefit its host organism. 

phloem: the outer layer of cells produced by a woody plant’s cambium. Phloem cells 

carry sugars and other nutrients from photosynthetic tissue (mainly leaves) to other 

parts of the plant. 

photosynthesis: the process in which plants trap energy from sunlight and store it in 

molecules made from carbon dioxide and water 

physicist: a person who studies matter and energy. Physicists investigate light, sound, 

heat, mechanics, electricity, radiation, and magnetism. 

plant: a many-celled organism that uses photosynthesis to capture energy from sunlight 

and store it in the chemical bonds of sugars or other food molecules 

PM-2.5, PM-10: the weight (in micrograms) of smoke particles less than 2.5 (or 10) 

microns in diameter per cubic meter of air 

prescribed fire: a wildland fire ignited by managers to meet particular goals. A lot of 

planning is needed to get ready for a prescribed fire. The people who use prescribed 

fire usually work closely with neighbors and safety experts to make sure the fire will 

meet their goals safely. 

range manager: a person who manages grasslands or areas containing a lot of grass. 

Range managers often plan and control grazing of grasslands. 

reproduction: the process by which a plant, animal, or fungus produces a new organism 

of the same species 

respiration: the process in which living cells obtain energy by breaking down carbon 

compounds and combining them with oxygen, releasing carbon dioxide and water 

rhizome: a creeping stem of a plant that grows in the duff or soil. Rhizomes contain 

buds, also called growing points, from which new plants can grow. 

riparian: living near the banks of a river or creek 

root: the underground portion of a plant that absorbs moisture, obtains nutrients from the 

soil (and may store them too), and provides support 

safety zone: an area around a building that contains little fuel and is large enough to 

protect the building from wildland fire 

sapling: a young tree 

sapwood: the outer woody part of a tree trunk, which surrounds the dead, woody center 

(heartwood). The cells of sapwood, also called xylem cells, carry nutrients and water 

up from the roots to branches and leaves. 

seed: offspring of a plant. Each seed contains a tiny, living plant called an embryo and 

its protective covering, which is filled with nutrients. If a seed forms without an 

embryo, it is called unfilled seed. Seeds need just the right temperature, water, 

sunlight, and soil conditions before they can grow; some also need to be heated, 

cooled, or cracked open before they can grow. 

serotiny: a property of tree cones, in which their scales are sealed by resin and they 

cannot release seeds until the resin is melted by heat 
244 

slope: the steepness of a land area 

soil: the covering of Earth’s surface. Soil consists of fine rock particles mixed with pieces 

of decayed organisms. 

solid: a state of matter in which molecules are bound in a particular structure. If heated 

sufficiently, solids usually form liquids or gases. 

species: a particular kind of living thing; the populations of organisms whose members 

interbreed under natural conditions and produce fertile offspring 

spot fire: a new fire that starts when burning material is carried by wind or convection 

ahead of an existing fire 

sprout: to put forth new growth on a plant; to grow a new plant from buds on an existing 

plant

stable conditions: atmospheric conditions that do not change without energy or 

disturbance from outside. An atmospheric inversion is very stable. 

stem: the part of a plant that holds leaves and flowers up and connects them to roots. 

Most stems are found aboveground but some, like rhizomes, occur belowground. 

sublimation: the process in which matter changes from solid form to gas form 

succession: the process of change in a community. After a severe fire, this is the way 

succession often works: Grasses and wildflowers may be the most obvious plants for 

a few years; then shrubs dominate, and finally trees. The first tree species to occur 

may be replaced by other species as succession continues. 

surface area: the total area of the outside of an object 

surface fire: a fire that burns in the litter, duff, grasses, and wildflowers on the forest 

floor but does not burn in the crowns of trees. In FireWorks, we use the term to 

describe fires that do not kill the mature trees in a forest. 

survival: length of life; ability to outlive other organisms 

temperature: hotness or coldness of an object 

thermocouple: a tool used to measure temperature. A thermocouple is a junction of two 

metals whose voltage varies with temperature. 

thermometer: a tool used to measure temperature 

thin: to cut some, but not all, trees in an area. Foresters often thin trees that are growing 

slowly so the remaining trees can grow more vigorously and better resist insects and 

fungi that would kill them or decay their wood. 

trait: an inherited characteristic 

treatment: the aspect of an experiment that is changed so its effects can be observed and 

measured; usually compared with an experimental control, in which the same aspect 

of the experiment is kept constant for a standard of comparison 

tree: a woody plant that, when fully grown, has a large central stem called a trunk

trunk: central woody stem of a tree 

unfilled seed: seed that forms without an embryo and therefore cannot grow into a new 

plant 

unstable conditions: atmospheric conditions that change readily, without energy or 

disturbance from outside. Thunderstorms develop in unstable conditions. 

value: the desirability or worth of a thing 

viable: capable of living and developing normally 

visibility: a condition of the atmosphere that describes the ease with which objects at a 

distance can be seen and identified 
245 

volatile: evaporating rapidly at room temperature 

volume: the amount of space occupied by an object 

wildland: an area where the species present and the processes occurring are relatively 

unchanged from times before settlement by European Americans. Wildlands are often 

contrasted with agricultural and urban lands. 

wildland fire: any fire, other than prescribed fire, occurring in a wildland 

wildlife biologist: a person who studies wild animals and their habitat 

wood: the tough, fibrous material that comprises tree stems and branches under the bark 

xylem: the inner layer of cells produced by a woody plant’s cambium. Also called 

sapwood. Xylem cells carry water and nutrients (mainly minerals) from roots to 

leaves. 

zoologist: a person who studies animals 
246 

Appendix 6—List of FireWorks Handouts 

 

Here is a list of handouts needed for teaching all of the activities in FireWorks. The list 

shows the number of copies suggested in the curriculum. However, the number that you 

actually use depends a lot on your teaching style. You may copy this page and then use 

the right-hand column to note the number of copies you will need; this can serve as an 

“order form” for your photocopying needs. 

 Activity and 

Page No. Grade level(s) 88 Suggested number No. needed 

Student Page 1 2-2 (E) (1 per student) ___________ 

Student Page 2 3-2 (M) (1 per student) ___________ 

Student Page 3 3-3 (M) (1 per team, 4 teams) ___________ 

Student Page 4 3-3 (M) (1 per team, 4 teams) ___________ 

Student Page 5 3-4 (M,H) (1 per team, 4 teams) ___________ 

Student Page 6 3-6 (H) (1 per class) ___________ 

Student Page 7 3-6 (H) (1 per class) ___________ 

Student Page 8 3-6 (H) (1 per class) ___________ 

Student Page 9 3-6 (H) (1 per class) ___________ 

Student Page 10 3-7 (M,H) (1 per team, 4 teams) ___________ 

Student Page 1 1 3-7 (H) (1 per student) ___________ 

Student Page 1 2 4-2 (E,M) (1 per student) ___________ 

Student Page 1 3 4-4 (E,M) (1 per team, 9 teams) ___________ 

Student Page 1 4 4-4 (E,M) (1 per team, 9 teams) ___________ 

Student Page 1 5 5-2 (M,H) (1 per tree cookie) ___________ 

Student Page 1 6 6-4 (M,H) (depends on teaching method) _________ 

Student Page 1 7 6-4 (M,H) (depends on teaching method) _________ 

Student Page 1 8 6-5 (E,M) (1 per student—optional) ___________ 

Student Page 1 9 6-5 (E,M) (1 per student— optional) ___________ 

Student Page 20 7-1 (E) (1 per student) ___________ 

Student Page 21 7-2 (M,H) (1 per team, 3 teams) ___________ 

Student Page 22 7-2 (M,H) (1 per team, 3 teams) ___________ 

Student Page 23 7-2 (M,H) (1 per team, 3 teams) ___________ 

Student Page 24 8-2 (E,M,H) (depends on teaching method) ________ 

Student Page 25 8-3 (M,H) (depends on teaching method) ________ 

Student Page 26 8-4 (M,H) (1 per student team) ___________ 

Student Page 27 8-6 (H) (1 per student pair) ___________ 

Student Page 28 9-1 (E) (1 per team, number of 

teams depends on teaching method) ______ 

Student Page 29 9-2 (M) (6 per class) ___________ 

Class Page 5 4-4 (E,M) (1 per class) ___________ 

Class Page 13 7-1 (E) (1 per class) ___________ 

Class Page 14 8-4 (M,H) (1 per team, 4 teams) ___________ 

Class page 15 9-2 (M) (1 per class) ___________ 

 

88 P=Primary, E=Elementary, M=Middle, H=High School. 
247 

Appendix 7—FireWorks Contents and Trunk Checklists

FireWorks can be packaged in two ways (at least). We use the following for the 

trunks assembled in 1998-2000. For up-to-date information, visit the Fire Sciences 

Laboratory’s Web site: 

www.firelab.org/fep/research/fireworks/fireworks.htm

or contact the authors. 

Packing Arrangement 1: two tubs—one large tub with casters, plus a 

smaller one without casters. Checklist is on pages 248-252. 

Packing Arrangement 2: three cartons (no casters): two are medium-sized, 

one smaller. Checklist is on pages 253-257. 

These checklists and the assembly instructions (Appendix 8) are for the entire 

FireWorks trunk as described in this curriculum. If you wish to build a scaleddown trunk—without materials for extension activities, or focused on only one 

grade level—check this list against the supplies listed for each activity you plan to 

include, and leave the rest out. 
248 

For packing in large tub with casters, plus smaller teacher box:

1) In the Main Trunk—big tub with casters:

Item Quantity Checked In

Buried Treasures Box (9 specimens) 1 

Cookie sheet ("Burning Tray") 4 

Fire extinguisher 1 

Hair dryer 1 

Mystery Trees Box 1 

Ancient tree 1 

Fire Triangle 1 

Fire Safety 1 

Tree Portrait 1 

Posters 

80 Years of Change 1 

Visiting Wildland Fire slides set of 21 

You Decide! Smoke Impact slides set of 5 

Slide 

Carousel 

"Wildland Homes" slides set of 11 

Chemistry support stand post 

Support stand base 

Support 

Stand 

Box Rod segments, 10-20 

4 

Tree Cones Box (specimens from 9 species) 1 

Tree cookies. Write their numbers below and total at right. 

"Tree Skin" insulation (1 plain & 5 quilted pieces) 1 set 

Tree trunk sections 9 
249 

2) In the Hardware Box (inside Main Trunk): 

Item Quantity Checked In

Ashtray for burnt matches 4 

Beaker, 500 mL 8 

Candle, votive 4 

Clamp for chemistry support stand 4 

Coffee can (1.5 lb) 1 

Freezer container, 1 qt size 4 

Goggles, safety 4 pair 

Hand lenses 10 

Masonite boards, square, drilled (4) 

6 bolts (3 long), 4 nuts, 4 washers 

Matchstick 

Forest 

Kit 

4 nails 

1 kit 

Measuring tape 1 

Oven mitt 4 

Pins in film canister 1 canister 

Rod segments with alligator clips 4 

Rulers, plastic, 15 cm 10 

Spray bottle 2 

String 1 ball 

Thermometer, digital 1 

Tongs, for dry ice 1 pair 
250 

3) In the FireWorks Library (inside Main Trunk):

Title No. Checked 

In

Book of Fire by William H. Cottrell, Jr. (1989) 1

Discover magazine (July 1997) vol., 18 no. 7: see pp. 100-115, Heaven s 

New Fires by Carl Zimmer 

1

Evergreen magazine (September/October 1996): see pp. 4-50, Montana s 

Forests: Paradise Lost or Paradise Found by Jim Peterson 

1

Field Guide to Forest Plants of Northern Idaho by Pattterson, Neiman, & 

Tonn (1985: U.S.D.A. Forest Service General Technical Report INT-180) 

1

Fire and Vegetative Trends in the Northern Rockies by George E. Gruell 

(1983: U.S.D.A. Forest Service General Technical Report INT-158.) 

1

Fire, a Force of Nature by Jack de Golia 1

Fire Ecology of Montana Forest Habitat Types East of the Continental 

Divide by Fischer & Clayton (1983: U.S.D.A. Forest Service General 

Technical Report INT-141) 

and/or 

Fire Ecology of Western Montana Forest Habitat Types by Fischer & Bradley 

 (1987. U.S.D.A. Forest Service General Technical Report INT-180.) 

and/or 

Fire Ecology of the Forest Habitat Types or Northern Idaho by Smith & 

Fischer (1997: U.S.D.A. Forest Service General Technical Report INT-363.) 

1

Fire in Floridas Ecosystems edited by Jim Brenner (1996) 1

Fire in the Forest by Laurence Pringle (1995) 1

FireWorks Glossary 1

Graced by Pines by Alexandra Murphy (1994) 1

Is Smokey Wrong? by Jimmye L. Turner (1997: From Fire Management 

Notes, vol. 57 no. 3: p. 17) 

1

Legends of Earth, Air, Fire and Water by Eric and Tessa Hadley (1985) 1

Made for Each Other (about Clark s Nutcracker) by Ronald Lanner (1996) 1

Managing Wildland Fire booklets 20 

National Geographic vol. 190, No. 3 (Sept. 1996): see pp. 116-139, The 

Essential Element of Fire by Michael Parfit 

1

National Geographic vol. 175, No. 2 (Feb. 1989): see pp. 255-273, The Great 

Yellowstone Fires by David Jeffery 

1

Pathways in Time booklet—Ponderosa Pine 1

Pathways in Time booklet—Lodgepole Pine 1

Pathways in Time booklet—Whitebark Pine 1
251 

Plant Survival by Brian Capon (1994) 1

Protecting Your Home from Wildfire by National Fire Protection Association 

(1991) 

5

Rocky Mountain Tree Finder by Tom Watts (1972) 4

The Use of Fire in Forest Restoration edited by Hardy & Arno (1996: 

U.S.D.A. Forest Service General Technical Report INT-GTR-341) 

1

Tree Basics by Alex L. Shigo 1 

Wildfire by Patrick Cone (1997) 1

Yellowstone on Fire by the Staff of the Billings Gazette (1989) 1

4) In the Fuels Box (inside main trunk)— 

Materials in this box need not be returned.

Item No. 

packages* 

Checked 

Dead, dry needles of ponderosa pine 1 

Fine branches (< 1/2 cm thick) 1 

Thick branches (> 2 cm thick) 1 

Duff (peat) 1 

Mineral soil (sand) 1 

Lodgepole pine cones (35 per bag) 1 bag 

* Each package contains enough for 4 teams to complete the experiment.
252 

5) In the Teacher Box:

Title Quantity Check

"Bucket Brigade" Kit (in brown accordion folder) 1 

Designer Trees Game Kit (in brown accordion folder) 1 

Ecosystem Matters curriculum (1995: U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain 

Region) 

1 

Exploring Wood by Jean Warren (1993) 1 

"Evaluation" Kit (tests and quizzes from FireWorks teachers) 1 

Feltboard Background (blue, with hills & sun) 3 

Roaring Tree-Top Fires (Looseleaf Notebook for Lodgepole 

Pine forest) 

1 

Creepy Crawly Fires (Looseleaf Notebook for Ponderosa Pine 

forest) 

1 

Feltboard 

Materials

Rollercoaster Fires (Looseleaf Notebook for Whitebark Pine 

forest) 

1 

Fire Ecology Resource Management Education Unit (1995) 1 

FireWorks Cookie Book 1 

FireWorks Curriculum (bound with black spiral) 1 

FireWorks Notebook (Looseleaf—removable pages in protective sleeves) 1 

Fuels... Tree & Soil Parts, and Fire Targets Labels Kit (in brown folder) 1 

Living with Fire CD-ROM 1 

People in Fires Homeland photos Kit (set of 22 prints in brown accordion 

folder) 

1 

Puzzling It Out Kit—(4 puzzle sets and 3 keys in brown accordion folder) 1 

Smokeygrams Kit (4 laminated pages in brown accordion folder) 1 

Tinker Trees Kit—(4 badges & 4 rosettes in brown accordion folder) 4 each 

Value Choices Kit (11 laminated pages in brown accordion folder) 1 

Fire and Wildlife (1989) 1 

International Crown Fire Modelling Experiments (1997) 1 

“Kinds of Fire” (2000) 1 

“Managing Wildland Fire: A matter of choice” (2000) 1 

"Unfinished Song" (1990) 1 

Videos

Yellowstone Aflame (1989) 1 

Visual Aids & Handouts—Looseleaf Notebook with removable pages 1 

Woods Hunt Kit (in brown accordion folder) 1 

Woodsy Owl Activity Guide (1997) 1 

You Decide! Kit—(5 brochures in brown accordion folder) 1 

ZIP Game box 1 

For packing in three plastic cartons: 
253 

1) In Box A:

Item Quantity Checked In

Buried Treasures Box (9 specimens) 1 

Cookie sheet ("Burning Tray") 4 

Hair dryer 1 

Chemistry support stand post 

Support stand base 

Support 

Stand 

Box Rod segments, 10-20 

4 

Tree Cones Box (specimens from 9 species) 1 

"Tree Skin" insulation (1 plain & 5 quilted pieces) 1 set 

Tree trunk sections 9 

Hardware Box (inside Box A):

Ashtray for burnt matches 4 

Beaker, 500 mL 8 

Candle, votive 4 

Clamp for chemistry support stand 4 

Coffee can (1.5 lb) 1 

Freezer container, 1 qt size 4 

Goggles, safety 4 pair 

Hand lenses 10 

Masonite boards, square, drilled (4) 

6 bolts (3 long), 4 nuts, 4 washers 

Matchstick 

Forest 

Kit 4 nails 

1 kit 

Measuring tape 1 

Oven mitt 4 

Pins in film canister 1 canister 

Rod segments with alligator clips 4 

Rulers, plastic, 15 cm 10 

Spray bottle 2 

String 1 ball 

Thermometer, digital 1 

Tongs, for dry ice 1 pair 
254 

2) In Box B:

Item Quantity Checked In

Fire extinguisher 1 

Mystery Trees Box 1 

Ancient tree 1 

Fire Triangle 1 

Fire Safety 1 

Tree Portrait 1 

Posters 

80 Years of Change 1 

Tree cookies. Write their numbers below and total at 

right. 

 

Fuels Box--use what you need, return the rest (inside Box B):

Dead, dry needles of ponderosa pine 1 

Fine branches (< 1/2 cm thick) 1 

Thick branches (> 2 cm thick) 1 

Duff (peat) 1 

Mineral soil (sand) 1 

Lodgepole pine cones (30-50 per bag) 1 bag 

FireWorks Library (inside Box B): No. Checked 

In

Book of Fire by William H. Cottrell, Jr. (1989) 1

Discover magazine (July 1997) vol. 18 no. 7: see pp. 100-115, Heaven s New 

Fires by Carl Zimmer 

1

Evergreen magazine (September/October 1996): see pp. 4-50, Montana s 

Forests: Paradise Lost or Paradise Found by Jim Peterson 

1

Field Guide to Forest Plants of Northern Idaho by Pattterson, Neiman, & 

Tonn (1985: U.S.D.A. Forest Service General Technical Report INT-180) 

1

Fire and Vegetative Trends in the Northern Rockies by George E. Gruell 

(1983: U.S.D.A. Forest Service General Technical Report INT-158.) 

1

Fire, a Force of Nature by Jack de Golia 1

Fire Ecology of Montana Forest Habitat Types East of the Continental 

Divide by Fischer & Clayton (1983: U.S.D.A. Forest Service General 

Technical Report INT-141) 

1
255 

and/or 

Fire Ecology of Western Montana Forest Habitat Types by Fischer & Bradley 

 (1987: U.S.D.A. Forest Service General Technical Report INT-180.) 

and/or 

Fire Ecology of the Forest Habitat Types or Northern Idaho by Smith & 

Fischer (1997: U.S.D.A. Forest Service General Technical Report INT-363) 

Fire in Floridas Ecosystems edited by Jim Brenner (1996) 1

Fire in the Forest by Laurence Pringle (1995) 1

FireWorks Glossary 1

Graced by Pines by Alexandra Murphy (1994) 1

Is Smokey Wrong? by Jimmye L. Turner (1997: From Fire Management 

Notes, vol. 57 no. 3: p. 17) 

1

Legends of Earth, Air, Fire and Water by Eric and Tessa Hadley (1985) 1

Made for Each Other (about Clark s Nutcracker) by Ronald Lanner (1996) 1

Managing Wildland Fire booklets 20 

National Geographic (Sept. 1996) vol. 190 no. 3: see pp. 116-139, The 

Essential Element of Fire by Michael Parfit 

1

National Geographic (Feb. 1989) vol. 175 no. 2: see pp. 255-273, The Great 

Yellowstone Fires by David Jeffery 

1

Pathways in Time booklet—Ponderosa Pine 1

Pathways in Time booklet—Lodgepole Pine 1

Pathways in Time booklet—Whitebark Pine 1

Plant Survival by Brian Capon (1994) 1

Protecting Your Home from Wildfire by National Fire Protection Association 

(1991) 

5

Rocky Mountain Tree Finder by Tom Watts (1972) 4

The Use of Fire in Forest Restoration edited by Hardy & Arno (1996: 

U.S.D.A. Forest Service General Technical Report INT-GTR-341) 

1

Tree Basics by Alex L. Shigo 1 

Wildfire by Patrick Cone (1997) 1

Yellowstone on Fire by the Staff of the Billings Gazette (1989) 1
256 

3) In Box C: Teacher Box 

Title Quantity Checked 

In

"Bucket Brigade" Kit (in brown accordion folder) 1 

Designer Trees Game Kit (in brown accordion folder) 1 

Ecosystem Matters curriculum (1995: U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Rocky 

Mountain Region) 

1 

Exploring Wood by Jean Warren (1993) 1 

"Evaluation" Kit (tests and quizzes from FireWorks teachers) 1 

Feltboard Background (blue, with hills & sun) 3 

Roaring Tree-Top Fires (Looseleaf Notebook 

for Lodgepole Pine forest) 

1 

Creepy Crawly Fires (Looseleaf Notebook for 

Ponderosa Pine forest) 

1 

Feltboard 

Materials 

Rollercoaster Fires (Looseleaf Notebook for 

Whitebark Pine forest) 

1 

Fire Ecology Resource Management Education Unit (1995) 1 

FireWorks Cookie Book 1 

FireWorks Curriculum (bound with black spiral) 1 

FireWorks Notebook (Looseleaf—with removable pages, each page in a 

protective sleeve) 

1 

Fuels... Tree & Soil Parts, and Fire Targets Labels Kit (in brown 

folder) 

1 

Living with Fire CD-ROM 1 

People in Fires Homeland photos Kit (set of 22 prints in brown 

accordion folder) 

1 

Puzzling It Out Kit—(4 puzzle sets and 3 keys in brown accordion 

folder) 

1 

Visiting Wildland Fire slides set of 21 

You Decide! Smoke Impact slides set of 5 

Slide Carousel 

"Wildland Homes" slides set of 11 

Smokeygrams Kit (4 laminated pages in brown accordion folder) 1 

Tinker Trees Kit—(badges & rosettes in brown accordion folder) 4 each 

Value Choices Kit (11 laminated pages in brown accordion folder) 1 

Fire and Wildlife (1989) 1 

International Crown Fire Modelling 

Experiments (1997) 

1 

Videotapes

“Kinds of Fire” (2000) 1 
257 

“Managing Wildland Fire: a matter of choice” 

 (2000) 

1 

"Unfinished Song" (1990) 1 

Yellowstone Aflame (1989) 1 

Visual Aids & Handouts—Looseleaf Notebook with removable pages 1 

Woods Hunt Kit (in brown accordion folder) 1 

Woodsy Owl Activity Guide (1997) 1 

You Decide! Kit—(5 brochures in brown accordion folder) 1 

ZIP Game box 1 
258 

Appendix 8—Assembling a FireWorks trunk

FireWorks Trunk Cost Estimate, 1999 prices

and availability. Cost of labor is not included. For up-to-date information, visit the Fire Sciences 

Laboratory’s Web site: 

www.firelab.org/fep/research/fireworks/fireworks.htm

or contact the authors. 

Items Low estimate High estimate 

Trunks (Packing Arrangement 1—2 

tubs-- is lower cost, Arrangement 2—3 

cartons-- is higher) 

$113 $171 

Containers 47 47 

Hardware & supplies 505 505 

Books for FireWorks Library 150 150 

Books & videos for Teacher Box 73 73 

Color copying (based on $.65/copy at 

low end, $1/copy at high end) 

117 180 

Wide laminating (commercial), based 

on 13' for posters only, 28' for posters 

plus puzzles 

39 84 

TOTAL $1044 $1210

Steps for Trunk Assembly 

1.0 Collect specimens

1.1 Herbs: Collect at least one specimen of each species listed below. Wash the arrowleaf 

balsamroot, beargrass, and serviceberry specimens and air-dry; hanging them upsidedown in a warm, dry location for a couple of months works well. Press the other 

specimens in a plant press. Then mount each on an 8.5 x 11” sheet of clear contact 

paper and cover with a clear transparency.89 Label each with permanent marker or a 

tag, using the code letters below. When specimens are dry, store in your Buried 

Treasures Box. While only one specimen of each species is needed for a FireWorks 

trunk, it is handy to have a few extras prepared in case a specimen needs replacing. 

 Arrowleaf balsamroot Plant 1 

 Beargrass Plant 2 

 Fireweed Plant 3 

 Glacier lily Plant 4 

 Pinegrass Plant 5 

 Saskatoon serviceberry (collect root crown only) Plant 6 

 

89 COST SAVING TIP: Use one layer of clear contact paper and one sheet of the acetate film used in “thermofax” 

machines to make transparencies; most offices have some stored and do not use it anymore. 
259 

 Smooth woodrush Plant 7 

 Snowbrush ceanothus (leaves) Plant 8 

 Wild onion Plant 9 

1.2 Flowers, seeds, cones: Collect 2 to 4 specimens from each tree species listed below 

(cones from conifers, flowers from deciduous species). Press black cottonwood and 

quaking aspen catkins in a plant press, then mount inside a 3.5 x 5 inch shadow box. 

Label the box with the tree's letter code (below). Dry the subalpine fir cone(s) in a 

warm, dry location, then place them in a shadow box with the cardboard backing 

inverted so the pieces are loose; label the box with the code for subalpine fir, the 

letter "C." For the other species, insert a small eye-screw in each cone, then attach the 

species code label using a 4- to 6-inch length of lanyard. When all cones are ready, 

store in your Tree Cones Box. 

 Black cottonwood Tree B 

 Douglas-fir Tree V 

 Engelmann spruce Tree H 

 Lodgepole pine Tree E 

 Quaking aspen Tree L 

 Ponderosa pine Tree O 

 Subalpine fir Tree C 

 Western larch Tree T 

 Whitebark pine Tree J 

Put a ponderosa pine cone in a bag labeled “For Woods Hunt” in Tree Cones Box. 

1.3 Foliage: Collect at least one specimen of branch and foliage, no larger than 8 x 12 

inches when pressed, of each tree species listed in 1.2 above. Press in a plant press. 

Then make each specimen into a "sandwich" between two layers of clear "Contact" 

paper.90 Using a permanent marker, label each specimen with the one-letter tree 

species code above. Only one specimen is needed in the trunk, but it is handy to have 

extras around because these specimens are somewhat fragile. 

1.4 Tree trunk sections: Collect at least one specimen of tree bole from each species 

listed in 1.2 above. Dimensions can vary, but length around 10 inches and width 

about 6-10 inches seem to work well. Using a permanent marker, label each specimen 

with its one-letter tree species code (1.2 above). Dry the specimens. If the bark comes 

loose, use wood glue and clamps to re-attach it. 

1.5 Tree cookies: Collect ONLY 1 of each. 

 Species 

 Any species, unscarred 

 Ponderosa pine, 2+ fire scars 

 Lodgepole pine, 2+ fire scars 

 Whitebark pine 

A whitebark pine cookie is not essential for teaching FireWorks. However, 

 

90 COST SAVING TIP: Use one layer of clear contact paper and one sheet of the acetate film used in “thermofax” 

machines to make transparencies; most offices have some stored and do not use it anymore. 
260 

it is helpful to include so students can compare it with ponderosa and 

lodgepole pine cookies. 

If tree cookies are fragile, severely checked, or just seem likely to break, be 

assured they will. Use body putty (“Bondo”) to attach to a piece of 1⁄4-inch 

plywood. Cookies look best and weigh least when the plywood is cut to 

approximately the same outline as the cookie and its edges are sanded smooth. 

Write the tree species name on the back of each cookie. On the unscarred cookie, 

write "Demonstration" to indicate that the teacher should use this cookie to 

explain tree growth rings. Sand or plane the front of each cookie to make scars 

and rings easier to identify. Spray each with lacquer finish. Using a hand lens or 

microscope, record the tree's history using the format shown in Appendix 9. Your 

collection of tree cookie records will become the FireWorks Cookie Book in your 

trunk. 

1.6 Fuels and Lodgepole Pine Cones: Collect enough of each of these that you can 

restock the trunk after every loan with a baggie full: 

 closed cones of lodgepole pine (use about 35/bag) 

 dead, dry ponderosa pine needles 

 fine branches (<1/2 cm) 

 thick branches (>2 cm) 

 peat moss (serves as duff) 

 sand (serves as mineral soil) 

2.0 Obtain containers 

This table describes the boxes and containers, approximate dimensions, and source(s) used 

for FireWorks trunks and the boxes that go inside them. Label each container—preferably 

using a laminated label, taped down along all four edges.

Container Dimensions* Possible Source Est. Cost 

Trunk 

 Option 1-- Packing Arrangement 1 (see Appendix 7): 

Main Trunk: Large tub 

(shipping trunk) with 4 

casters and hardware at 

2 ends 

23W x 35L x 

18H 

Regal Plastics, 4405 E. 

11th St., Kansas City MO 

64127 (800-852-1556, 

FAX 816-483-7948) 

$159 

Teacher Box 15W x19L x 

16H 

Local hardware or discount 

store 

$12 

 Option 2—Packing Arrangement 2 (see Appendix 7): 

 Two large cartons 

(Boxes A and B) 

19W x 26L x 

15H 

Hinged distribution 

containers from 

Consolidated Plastics 

$42.85 ea 

 One small carton 18.5W x 22L Hinged distribution 27.50 
261 

(Teacher Box, Box C) x 12H containers from 

Consolidated Plastics 

Hardware Box** 12W x 15.5L 

x 10H 

Local hardware or discount 

store 

$8 

FireWorks Library 9.5W x 14.5L 

x 6.5H 

Local hardware or discount 

store 

$5 

Fuels Box** 9.5W x 14.5L 

x 6.5H 

Local hardware or discount 

store 

$5 

Cones Box 5.5W x 12L x 

3.5H 

Local hardware or discount 

store 

$4 

Mystery Trees Box 9W x 13L x 

3.5H 

Local hardware or discount 

store 

$4 

Buried Treasures Box 9W x 13L x 

3.5H 

Local hardware or discount 

store 

$4 

Photo Album for People in 

Fire’s Homeland

holds 4x6" 

photos 

Local discount store $5 

THREE shadowboxes for 

aspen and cottonwood 

flowers, and fir cones 

3x5" Local discount store $4 ea 

* approximate inside dimensions (inches) 

** Does not need a cover 

3.0 Obtain hardware, laboratory materials, and fabrics

Purchase the following items. Some items need to be modified before placing in the trunk; 

instructions for these are referenced in the table by a number in square brackets [], and 

directions are given below. Label completed items and put in appropriate boxes. 

Item [key to instructions] Possible Source no./ 

trunk 

Cost 

each 

Total $ 

Alligator clips [3.1] Local hardware store 8 $0.65 $5.20

Ashtray for burnt matches Local hardware store 4 $0.59 $2.36

Baggies, 1 pint size, for fuels 

and lodgepole cones 

Local discount store Need about 2 

boxes/year 

$3.00

Baggies, 1 quart size, heavy, 

for matchstick forest kit and 

hand lenses 

Local discount store 2-- Get from somebody’s kitchen!

Beaker (plastic), 500 mL Apple Scientific, Inc. 

8378 Mayfield Rd 

Chesterland, OH 

44026 

440-729-3056 

8 $3.40 $27.20

Candle, votive Local discount store 4 $0.69 $2.76

Clamp for chemistry support 

stand 

Fischer Scientific 

711 Forbes Ave., 

4 $7.29 $29.16
262 

Pittsburg, PA 15219-

4785 

800-766-7000 

Coffee can (1.5 lb) Someone’s recycling 

shelf 

1 $0.00 $0.00

Cookie sheet ("burning tray") Local discount store 4 $4.49 $17.96

Fire extinguisher-- get a 

rechargeable one, check it 

after every trunk loan, and 

have it checked 

professionally and recharged, 

if necessary, once a year 

(cost: about $9/year) 

Local hardware store 1 $29.99 $29.99

Fabric and fabric paint for 

feltboards 

Local fabric or craft 

store 

 $25.00

Freezer container, 1 qt size Local hardware store 4 $4.79 $19.16

Goggles, safety Fischer Scientific 

711 Forbes Ave., 

Pittsburg, PA 15219-

4785 

800-766-7000 

4 $6.66 $26.64

Hair dryer Local discount store 1 $9.99 $9.99

Hand lenses [3.2] College or university 

bookstore 

10 $7.65 $76.50

Matchstick 

Forest 

Kit 

[3.3] 

Masonite boards, 

square, drilled (4) 

Local hardware & 

lumber stores 

1 kit $1.60 $1.60

 6 1⁄4-inch bolts 

(three 4” long and 

three 2.5” long), 4 

nuts, 4 washers 

 

 4 nails 

Measuring tape, 1 m+ in 

length 

Fabric or discount 

store 

1 $1.86 $1.86

Oven mitt Local discount store 4 $2.61 $10.44

Pins-- straight or quilting 

(30+) in film canister 

Fabric or discount 

store 

1 

canister

$0.10 $0.10

Rod segments [3.1, 3.4] 15 ft $1.50

Rulers, plastic, 15 cm Local discount store 10 $0.49 $4.90

Spray bottle Local hardware store 2 $1.79 $3.58
263 

String Local hardware store 1 ball $1.29 $1.29

Support 

Stand 

Box 

[3.4] 

Chemistry support 

stand post, 15 to 

16 inches tall 

Apple Scientific, Inc. 

8378 Mayfield Rd 

Chesterland, OH 

44026 

440-729-3056 

4 $19.93 $79.72

 Support stand base 

Supplies for sanding & 

lacquering tree cookies 

Local hardware store about $30 

Thermometer, digital 

 Catalog # ZEH 421305 

 (heavy duty, single input) 

Davis Instruments, 

4701 Mount Hope 

Drive, Baltimore, MD 

21215 800-269-0299 

1 $79.00 $79.00

Tongs for handling dry ice local hardware or 

discount store 

1 $4.00

"Tree Skin" fabric and 

quilting (1 plain & 5 quilted 

pieces) [3.5] 

Local fabric store 1 set about $10

Welding rod, 0.95" diameter 

[3.1, 3.4] 

Welding/bolts store 9, 3' 

lengths 

 about $1

3.1 Alligator clips/Welding rod: Using a wire cutter, cut 4 lengths of welding rod, each 

about 8" long. (Thicker rod of some kind would also work.) Attach an alligator clip to 

both ends of each piece of rod. If the clip has an adjustable screw for tightening, use 

it. To fasten more firmly, obtain a small container of “water glass” from a chemistry 

laboratory. This is an alkaline solution of sodium silicate. Place a few drops on the 

barrel of each alligator clip to “glue” it in place on the welding rod. Store in a short 

mailing tube. 

3.2 Hand lenses: Tie a piece of lanyard 8 to 10 inches long on each one. This makes 

them a little easier to keep track of in a classroom. Package in a large baggie. 

3.3 Matchstick Forest Kit: The kit goes into a large, heavy-duty baggie. 

Cut four squares of 1/4-inch masonite, 6" on a side. Centered on this 6-inch square, 

use a 1/8 inch (or #30) bit to drill 7 rows of holes, 7 holes/row, 5/8" apart. These are 

to hold matches. In one of the margins, centered from left to right, drill a 1/4" hole. 

This is to hold the 1/4" bolt that leans the piece of masonite on its edge, giving it 

slope. 

 

Put the four masonite pieces into a large baggie. Add bolts, nuts, and washers. Add 

four nails, to poke burned match bases out of the masonite pieces. 

3.4 Support stand box: Make each support stand box into a “Tinker Tree”: 
264 

For each support stand, two, 3-foot lengths of welding rod (0.95” diameter) are 

needed. From each piece of welding rod, use wire cutters to cut the following lengths: 

 one 12" 

 one 10" 

 one 8" 

 one 6" 

 

In each support stand post, at 2-cm intervals from bottom to top, drill a hole big 

enough for the welding rod to go through easily. We used a drill bit 0.1” in diameter. 

Line holes up vertically, one above the other. This is not easy to do because the 

surface is curved. Here’s how we do it: 

 1) Mark the locations for drilling with a felt tip pen. 

 2) Use a spring-loaded punch to notch the post at each drill spot. 

 3) Place in a vise and use a drill press. 

 4) Drill. 

 5) Check for shavings & file off rough edges. 

3.5 "Tree Skin" Insulation: The materials go into a plastic shopping bag to be packed 

into the trunk. Cut out the following materials, all 6" by 18": six pieces of brown 

cotton or cotton-polyester fabric to serve as a thin outer layer of bark, and 30 pieces 

of cotton quilt batting to serve as inner bark. 

Leave one piece of brown fabric plain; this will represent very thin tree bark. 

Assemble the remaining pieces of brown fabric with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 layers of quilt 

batting to represent bark of various thicknesses. Lay the batting down, place the 

brown fabric on top, and tack together by stitching at 8-12 locations. 

4.0 Obtain Books and Videotapes 

4.1 FireWorks Library

4.1.1 Purchase 

Title (Source) No. Cost 

Discover magazine (July 1997) vol. 18, no. 7: see pp. 100-115: 

“Heaven’s New Fires” by Carl Zimmer. Order from Discover 

Magazine (attn: back issues), P.O. Box 37283, Boone, IA 50037; 

call 1-800-416-5140. 

1 $3.95 

Fire, a Force of Nature by Jack de Golia (Las Vegas: KC 

Publications, Box 15630, Las Vegas, NV 89114; ISBN 0-88714-

038-6 ) 

1 $10.00 

Fire in Florida’s Ecosystems edited by Jim Brenner. (1996. Florida 

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Forest 

Protection Bureau, Division of Forestry, 31225 Conner Blvd., 

Tallahassee, FL 32399-1650) 

1 $0 

Fire in the Forest by Laurence Pringle (1995. New York: 

Atheneum Bookos for Young Readers; ISBN 0-689-80394-X) 

1 $16.00 
265 

Graced by Pines by Alexandra Murphy (1994. Missoula, MT: 

Mountain Press Publishing Co.; ISBN 0-87842-307-9) 

1 $10.00 

Legends of Earth, Air, Fire and Water by Eric and Tessa Hadley 

(1985. New York: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge; 

ISBN 0-521-26311-5). Out of print. We got our last copy by 

checking barnesandnoble.com, where we learned about a bookstore 

in Michigan that had a used copy for $9. 

1 $15.95 

Made for Each Other (about Clark’s Nutcracker) by Ronald 

Lanner (1996. New York: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-19-

508903-0) 

1 $15.95 

National Geographic (Sept. 1996) vol. 190 No. 3: pp. 116-139, 

“The Essential Element of Fire” by Michael Parfit. Order from 

National Geographic, P.O. Box 63001, Tampa, FL 33663-3001; 

call 1-800-777-2800.91

1 $5.00 

National Geographic (Feb. 1989) vol. 175 No. 2: pp. 255-273, 

“The Great Yellowstone Fires” by David Jeffery. Order from 

address above.1

1 $5.00 

Plant Survival by Brian Capon (1994. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 

Inc.; ISBN 0-88192-283-8) 

1 $24.95 

Rocky Mountain Tree Finder by Tom Watts (1972. Rochester, 

NY: Nature Study Guild; ISBN 0-912550-05-8) 

4@$3

.00 ea

$12.00 

Wildfire by Patrick Cone (1997. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda 

Books Inc.; ISBN 1-57505-027-7) 

1 $7.95 

Yellowstone on Fire by the Staff of the Billings Gazette (1989. 

Billings, MT: The Billings Gazette; ISBN 0-9627618-7-7) 

1 $14.95 

4.1.2 Obtain from Forest Service 

Publications in print can be obtained at no cost from: Publications Department, Rocky 

Mountain Research Station, 240 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526-2098. 

Phone: 970-498-1392. 

Title (Source) No. 

Field Guide to Forest Plants of northern Idaho by Pattterson, 

Neiman, & Tonn (1985. Ogden, UT: U.S.D.A. Forest Service, 

Intermountain Research Station. General Technical Report INT180) 

1 

The Use of Fire in Forest Restoration edited by Hardy & Arno 

(1996. Ogden, UT: U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Intermountain 

Research Station. General Technical Report INT-GTR-341) 

1

4.1.2 Current source uncertain 

Contact Fire Sciences Laboratory for copy or information on obtaining one. 

 

91Don’t order this right away! First, check 2nd-hand stores in your area; they often carry a lot of old National 

Geographics, which you can pick up for $.25 or so. 
266 

Title (Source) No. Cost 

Book of Fire by William H. Cottrell, Jr. (1989. Missoula, MT: 

Mountain Press; ISBN 0-87842-255-2). Currently out of print and 

Fire Lab is out of copies. Contact the author at El Dorado 

Publishing, P.O. Box 840, Comino, CA 95709. Phone: 503-644-

8448 or email: whc@innercite.com 

1 $9.00 

Evergreen magazine (September/October 1996): pp. 4-50, 

“Montana’s Forests: Paradise Lost or Paradise Found” by Jim 

Peterson. Order from Evergreen Magazine; phone: 541-773-2247... 

but call the Fire Lab first, to see if we have extras. 

1 $2.00 

Fire and Vegetative Trends in the Northern Rockies by George E. 

Gruell (1983. Ogden, UT: U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Intermountain 

Forest and Range Experiment Station. General Technical Report 

INT-158.) Out of print--obtain a master copy from the Fire Lab. 

1 $0 

Fire Ecology of Montana Forest Habitat Types East of the 

Continental Divide by Fischer & Clayton (1983. Ogden, UT: 

U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station General 

Technical Report INT-141) Out of print—obtain a master copy from 

the Fire Lab. 

and/or 

Fire Ecology of the forest Habitat Types of Northern Idaho by 

Smith and Fischer (1997). Ogden, UT: U.S.D.A. Forest Service, 

Intermountain Research Station. General Technical Report INT-363. 

In print—obtain from Rocky Mountain Research Station. 

and/or 

Fire Ecology of Western Montana Forest Habitat Types by Fischer 

& Bradley (1987. Ogden, UT: U.S.D.A. Forest Service, 

Intermountain Research Station. General Technical Report INT180.) Out of print—obtain a master copy from the Fire Lab. 

1 $0 

“Is Smokey Wrong?” by Jimmye L. Turner (1997. Fire 

Management Notes, vol. 57 no. 3; p. 17). Obtain a copy from the 

Fire Lab. 

1 $0 

Protecting Your Home from Wildfire by National Fire Protection 

Association (1991. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection 

Association, ISBN ) Order from: International Association of 

Wildland Fire. Phone: 504-283-2397. (Fire Lab has a limited 

supply—check before ordering!) 

5 25/$40 

Tree Basics by Dr. Alex L. Shigo. (Date? Shigo and Trees, 

Associates, P.O. Box 769, Durham, NH 03824-0769; ISBN 0-

943563-16-X). Order from the publisher. Phone: 603-868-7459. 

$4.90/copy when bought in package of 10. Fire Lab has a limited 

number of copies. 

1 $4.90 

plus 

shipping 
267 

4.2. Teacher Box

Title Quantity Cost 

Ecosystem Matters Curriculum. (1995. Denver, CO: U.S.D.A. 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region) 

1 $0 

Exploring Wood by Jean Warren (1993. Everett. WA: Warren 

Publishing House, Inc.; ISBN 0-911019-60-X). Out of print. Fire 

Lab has a limited number of copies. 

1 $3.00 

FireWorks featuring Ponderosa, Lodgepole, and Whitebark Pine 

Forests. (2000. Fort Collins, CO: U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Rocky 

Mountain Research Station)92

1 $0 

Fire Ecology Resource Management Education Unit (1995. Order 

from: Ecological Communications Lab, Ohio State University, 

2021 Coffey Rd, Columbus, OH 43210) 

1 $0 

“Living with Fire” CD-ROM. (2000. Missoula, MT: U.S.D.A. 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Effect 

Research Unit). Obtain from Fire Sciences Laboratory.

1 $0 

Videotapes

“Fire and Wildlife” (1989. Lolo, MT: Stoney-Wolf 

Video Productions.) 

1 $24.95 

“International Crown Fire Modelling Experiments”

(1997. Missoula, MT: U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Montana 

Technical Development Center) 

1 $0 

“Kinds of Fire” (2000. Missoula, MT: U.S.D.A. Forest 

Service, Fire Effects Research Unit). Obtain from Fire 

Sciences Laboratory. 

1 $0 

“Managing Wildland Fire: A Matter of Choice” 

(2000. Missoula, MT: U.S.D.A. Forest Service) Obtain 

from Fire Sciences Laboratory. 

1 $0 

"Unfinished Song" (1990. U.S.D.I. National Park 

Service Production distributed by Yellowstone 

Association, P.O. Box 117, Yellowstone National Park, 

WY 82190; phone: 307-344-2293) 

1 $19.95 plus 

shipping 

“Yellowstone Aflame” (1989. Order from FinleyHoliday Film Corp., P.O. Box 619, Whittier, CA 90608) 

1 $25 

Woodsy Owl Activity Guide (1997. U.S.D.A. Forest Service and 

Children’s Television Workshop). Contact Gloria Weisgerber, 

Forest Service Northern Region, to obtain a copy; phone: 406-329-

3094. 

1 $0 

“ZIP Game” box (U.S.D.I. National Park Service). Order from Pat 

Durland, Fire Management Specialist, Bureau of Land 

Management, 3833 S. Development Ave., Boise, ID 83705; phone: 

208-387-5162; fax: 208-387-5179. 

1 $0 

 

92 Order from Rocky Mountain Research Station (Publications Department, Rocky Mountain 

Research Station, 240 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526-2098. Phone: 970-498-

1392).
268 

5.0 Obtain color graphics and slides93

5.1 Posters: Request posters (Fire Triangle, Fire Safety, Tree Portrait, 80 Years of 

Change, and Ancient Tree) to be printed at the Fire Sciences Laboratory. Laminate at 

an office supplies/copier business. Cost of laminating is approximately $3/ft; you’ll 

need about 13 feet of laminating. 

5.2 Slides: Request originals of slides from the Fire Sciences Laboratory. Place in 

carousel, labeling the separate parts--“Visiting Wildland Fire”, “Smoke”, and “People 

in Fire’s Homeland.” Also, make two color prints from each “homeland” slide to 

place in the “People in Fire’s Homeland” kit in the Teacher Box. 

5.3 Copies--color and black-and-white: Request a set of masters from the Fire Sciences 

Laboratory. You’ll need to make about 270 black-and-white copies and 180 color 

copies. Shop around for a good price on color copying; prices can be as low as 

$0.65/page, but it’s usually closer to $1. Make copies & assemble according to the 

directions that come with the masters. Products made by copying include: 

 “Is Smokey Wrong?” in the FireWorks Library 

 “Pathways in Time” booklets (3) in the FireWorks Library 

 Most of the kits in the Teacher Box 

 Portions of looseleaf notebooks (3) for feltboards 

 FireWorks Notebook and FireWorks Glossary for the Teacher Box 

5.4 Jigsaw puzzles for “Puzzling It Out”: Request puzzles to be printed at the Fire 

Sciences Laboratory. Laminate. Commercial laminating on a 24" laminator, at a price 

of about $3/foot, totals about $45. You can use a smaller laminator by cutting one 

row of pieces apart from the others, laminating the smaller pieces, then trimming the 

cut edges. Cut out and place each set of three puzzles in a manila envelope; label it 

“Puzzling It Out” kit. 

6.0 Assemble FireWorks Library using checklist in Appendix 7. Label the box. 

7.0 Assemble Teacher Box using checklist in Appendix 7. Label the box. If you need accordion 

folders, looseleaf notebooks, file folders, or other office supplies, DO NOT BUY THEM 

YET! Look for re-usable supplies from agency offices. In the Northern Region, contact Mary 

Manning (mmanning@fs.fed.us). 

8.0 Assemble materials in Hardware Box and label it.

9.0 Obtain directions and patterns for feltboard materials from the Fire Sciences 

Laboratory. Cut out materials. Assemble feltboard notebooks (3), feltboard portion of 

Mystery Trees Box, and feltboard backgrounds (3). 

10.0 Finish assembly. Check that all boxes are labeled. 

 

93 Many of these materials are also available on CD-ROM from the Fire Sciences Laboratory. 
269 

Appendix 9—Blank Form for FireWorks Cookie Book

Complete the form on the next page for each tree cookie in your FireWorks trunk. Add lines to 

the table if your cookie has more than 7 fire scars. Label the collection FireWorks Cookie Book, 

bind it, and put in your Teacher Box. 
270 

Data about Tree Number _____

What kind of tree? ___________________________ 

Where was it found? __________________________ 

 

How many fire scars? _______________ 

How many years before the first scar? __________

What are the intervals between scars 

from the earliest one to the most recent? 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

... 

Median: 

Total: 

Average: 

How many years since the most recent scar? __________ 

Other information: 
271

"Burning Issues" Supplement to FireWorks 

Jun. 19, 2001 

 

After FireWorks went to press, a CD-ROM called Burning Issues1 was released by the 

U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. It is now included, with 

the Field Notebook (both the Educator’s Guide and Student’s Edition) in the Teacher Box 

of FireWorks trunks. Burning Issues is a multimedia program containing video segments 

describing the natural history of four ecosystems in the U.S. and simulations for 

investigating and managing them. Through these four “EcoVentures,” students learn 

about wildland fire in the longleaf pine forests of the Southeast, California chaparral, 

ponderosa pine forests, and sagebrush steppe in the Interior West. Burning Issues can be 

used for class presentations at the middle and high school levels, and portions of the CD 

make excellent extensions for FireWorks activities. Several are listed here. Each will 

require a minimum of 1⁄2 hour of computer time. 

More Plants & Animals: Extension to Activities 6-3 through 6-7 or 7-1 

• Use the “Resource Room” on the Burning Issues CD-ROM to investigate one 

organism that is not included in FireWorks. Summarize what you learn about the 

organism’s habitat and its relationship to fire. 

Cheatgrass Threatens Raptors in Sagebrush: Extension to Activity 7-2 or 8-4 

• Whitebark pine forests are threatened by a non-native fungus, white pine blister rust. 

Learn about another ecosystem threatened by a non-native species—the sagebrush 

steppe of the western states, where an imported annual grass is degrading habitat for 

predatory birds. Do the “Golden Eagle EcoVenture” on the Burning Issues CD-ROM. 

Write a letter to managers of the Snake River Birds of Prey Wildlife Refuge 

explaining what you think they should do to protect raptors. 

Professionals in Fire Suppression: Extension to Activity 8-1 

• Learn about the many kinds of work involved in fire suppression by doing the “Fire 

Suppression EcoVenture” on the Burning Issues CD-ROM. Tell the class about one 

kind of fire suppression work that you didn’t know about before. 

Protecting Homes from Fire in Chaparral: Extension to Activity 8-2 

• Learn about home safety in the California chaparral ecosystem by completing the “IZone EcoVenture” on the Burning Issues CD-ROM. Tell the class how fire in 

chaparral differs from fire in the three forests you have learned about in FireWorks.

Fires Save Longleaf Pine Forests in the South: Extension to Activity 8-3 

• Learn about the longleaf pine forests of the southeastern U.S. by doing the “Fire 

Power EcoVenture” on the Burning Issues CD-ROM. Write a 1-page essay that 

compares longleaf pine forest with the ponderosa pine forest featured in FireWorks. 

 

1 Burning Issues can be ordered from: Florida State University, C2200 University Center, Tallahassee, FL 

32306-2641; phone 850-644-0707; email imsp.fsu.edu. 
272

The FireWorks curriculum 

With color graphics 

is on-line at 

http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr65.html
The Authors 

Jane Kapler Smith is an Ecologist in the Prescribed Fire and Fire Effects Research Group at the 

Rocky Mountain Research Station’s Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. She has written 

“Fire Ecology of the Forest Habitat Types of Northern Idaho” and edited “Wildland Fire in 

Ecosystems—Effects of Fire on Fauna.” She manages the Fire Effects Information System and 

develops and assesses communications programs relating to wildland fire. She has worked in fire 

management and studied fire behavior and fire effects in aspen stands of north-central Colorado. 

She has taught biology and biostatistics and conducted research on succession and acid rain in 

the hardwood forests of western New York. Jane has a B.A. from Alverno College, Milwaukee, 

Wisconsin and an M.S. in Forest Ecology from Colorado State University. 

Nancy E. McMurray is a Biological Technician in the Prescribed Fire and Fire Effects Research 

Group at the Rocky Mountain Research Station’s Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. She 

maintains the Citation Retrieval System, the bibliographic database for the Fire Effects 

Information System, and develops and assesses communications materials relating to wildland 

fire. Nancy has worked on wildlife and forestry research projects, including grizzly bear research, 

for the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and the University of Montana. Nancy has a B.S. in Wildlife 

Biology from the University of Montana. 

 

FireWorks received the 

 Chief’s Outstanding Conservation 

 Education Achievement Award, 

 U.S.D.A. Forest Service, 

 Intermountain Region,1999.
Rocky Mountain 

Research Station 

 The Rocky Mountain Research Station develops scientific information and 

technology to improve management, protection, and use of forests and rangelands. 

Research is designed to meet the needs of National Forest managers, federal and 

state agencies, public and private organizations, academic institutions, industry, and 

individuals. 

 Studies accelerate solutions to problems involving ecosystems, range, 

forests, water, recreation, fire, resource inventory, land reclamation, community 

sustainability, forest engineering technology, multiple use economics, wildlife and fish 

habitat, and forest insects and diseases. Studies are conducted cooperatively, and 

applications can be found worldwide. 

Research Locations 

Flagstaff, Arizona Reno, Nevada 

Fort Collins, Colorado* Albuquerque, New Mexico 

Boise, Idaho Rapid City, South Dakota 

Moscow, Idaho Logan, Utah 

Bozeman, Montana Ogden, Utah 

Missoula, Montana Provo, Utah 

Lincoln, Nebraska Laramie, Wyoming 

*Station Headquarters, 2150 Centre Avenue, Building A, Fort Collins, CO 80526 

 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its 

programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, 

disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all 

prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, 

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and 

TDD). 

 To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil 

Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, 

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an 

equal employment opportunity provider and employer.