Overview
Lesson 1: Introduction to Relationships between Humans and the Environment
Lesson 2: Forest Succession (Primary)
Lesson 3: Native Americans and Berries
Lesson 4: Native Americans and Science
Lesson 5: Dangers to Wild Berries; Responsibility of Peopl
Lesson 2, Day 1
Standards
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
EL.06.RE.01—Read aloud grade-level narrative text and informational text fluently and accurately with effective pacing, intonation, and expression.
EL.06.RE.05—Demonstrate listening comprehension of more complex text through class and/or small group interpretive discussions across the subject areas.
CD Segments to Play
Background
Suggested Strategies
In preparation for this lesson, gather some lichen, moss, rock, fern, grass, any kind of small plants and some dirt. Bring in enough so you can break the class into small groups. Each group will need some of each item listed above.
Activities
1. Discuss
Begin by naming each of the things that are in the middle of each of the tables. Talk to the class about forest succession. Tell the class to imagine a volcano erupts and covers a forest with lava. After the lava gets hard, it becomes like rock. This is the beginning of a Primary Forest Successional cycle. Tell the class that they have in front of them everything they need to create a forest. Have each group bring the rock from the middle of their table; this rock represents a hardened lava flow.
Ask: How does a forest begin from this rock which is representative of a hardened lava flow?
Lichens are special plants called pioneer species because they grow in areas where other plants cannot grow. There are over 30,000 different kinds of lichen. Lichens actually work together with fungus and algae (fungus is able to make their own food) and they are not really a member of the plant kingdom. Lichens can grow on a hardened lava flow. They are able to grow without dirt because they don’t have roots that need to anchor within the soil, nor do they need the roots to bring water and nutrients to the plant since the fungus makes their own food. Lichens release acids which aid in breaking down the rock. Lichens are commonly seen on trees, a healthy forest is indicated when there are lichens growing. When air pollution is a serious problem, lichens will not grow since they require clean air, light and moisture. When the wind blows dirt gets trapped in the lichens, and when they die, they also leave behind dirt-like stuff.
Have each of the students in the group illustrate a lava flow and then the lichens populating (colonizing) the lava. An easy way for to do so is to simply write or draw a hardened lava flow with an arrow pointing to lichen; however allow the students to be creative.
Ask: What is the next thing to populate after the lava?
Moss follows very quickly after the lichen. Moss also helps to make soil and when they die, they leave behind dirt-like stuff called organic matter. Organic matter is key to plant development. After lichens have successfully populated an area, the moss is able to anchor itself with a very small root system. Recall the dead lichens, well the moss holds this organic matter together. The moss becomes the “topsoil” for plants to grow in. Moss also requires moisture in the air to feed itself, so moss prefers shaded areas ; however, moss has special adaptations that allow it to continue to grow in times of dryness. Moss and other living organisms (insects) die and leave behind organic material that all contribute to a nutrient rich soil which can support more sophisticated plant life.
Have each student in the group illustrate the moss into their primary forest succession model.
Ask: Given the remaining items, what comes next?
It actually depends upon the area, as to what comes next. Grasses usually come in and replace the lichen community; ferns also come in around this time.
What specific plants that populate the community are dependent upon what spores for the ferns and which seeds for the grasses are around the area. Additional factors include the climate, moisture level, shade, etc.
It takes a very long time for the area to regenerate and create a thick enough layer of soil for the small plants to come in. It then takes many generations of small plant life for soil that is deep enough and fertile enough for larger plants with deep roots to live. Many more generations of these plants occur before shrubs and trees with shallow roots are able to live. Finally deciduous (trees with leaves that fall off) and conifers (trees with needles) are able to live. Eventually the larger trees take over an area and a forest reaches its final stage which is called a climax community. This takes hundreds of years to occur. Have each student in the group illustrate these changes.
Lesson 2, Day 2
Standards
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
EL.06.RE.01—Read aloud grade-level narrative text and informational text fluently and accurately with effective pacing, intonation, and expression.
EL.06.RE.05—Demonstrate listening comprehension of more complex text through class and/or small group interpretive discussions across the subject areas.
EL.06.RE.20—Clarify understanding of informational texts by creating simple outlines, graphic organizers, diagrams, logical notes, or summaries.
CD Segments to Play
Background
The people of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs lived in their areas for thousands of years. During that time, they learned many things about the plants and animals. One of the things they learned is that the big trees will grow and eventually the berries will not survive.
To show respect to the berries, special events are held. Before anyone can begin picking huckleberries, a Huckleberry Feast is held. To care for all things, no one ever pick all of the berries, they leave some for the birds and animals. To care for the plants, they never damage the shrub, but very carefully pick only the berries. They have special berry picking baskets they use and special hats they wear at Huckleberry Feasts. To make sure that the berries would come back the next year, they set fires to keep the small trees from growing so big that they took all the food, water and sunlight. The ashes from the fires also put nutrients back into the soil, and the fires also keep insect and disease infestations from occurring. After a fire the first plants to grow back are favorite foods for the deer and elk, so the fires also helped the animals.
Suggested Strategies
Activities
1. Review
Review primary forest succession: lichen-moss-fern-grass-small plant-shrub-trees. The plants, shrubs and trees are always fighting for sunlight, food and water. Some trees can grow in the shade and some trees must have light. Berries like the 3 Sisters of the Pacific Northwest grow on shrubs. In a forest that has no fire, no logging, no volcano eruptions or any other disturbance, the big trees end up taking over the area and the shrubs and plants that need sunlight die because the big trees cover the ground with shade.
Ask: Has anyone ever taken a walk in an old forest? What did you see?
In an old-growth forest there is a large tree canopy. A canopy can be compared to a large umbrella; each tree has an umbrella (canopy). When there are many trees there is no sunlight reaching the ground. In an old growth forest, there are generally lots of fern and mushrooms and very little ground cover (other plants). The ground is covered with needles and cones falling from the trees. The trees typically have lots of lichens and moss growing on them. There are not many shrubs that grow fruit found in an old growth forest.
Ask: If all of the big trees take away all of the water, sunlight and food from the shrubs, then how come the whole earth isn’t covered with a big forest?
One thing that is important to understand is that there are different kind of environments, there are many different kinds of forests, there are desert lands, prairies, wetlands, etc. all that have their own unique climax community, meaning different kinds of plants that end up dominating an area.
For this lesson, we are only discussing the forested lands that are the homelands of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Remind the class how Native American people believe that all things are related to each other and how we must respect all things and help all things.
2. Read
Read the book The Forest and the Fire.
3. Discuss
Talk about natural fires that sometimes happen from lightning strikes. Talk about strong wind storms that knock over trees and open up an area for plants to re-grow. These kinds of things take a forest back to secondary succession. Secondary succession means that a disturbance occurs, but it does not remove all of the soil such as a lava flow would do. When the first towns were formed in Oregon, the new government made a law that said the Native Americans could no longer set fires. This changed the way that forests grew and also changed the way that natural fires burned. The change in the way natural fires burned was because the forest would get a big build-up of flammable things, so that when a fire occurred, the fires would be very hot and cause huge fires.
4. Draw
Have the students draw a fire and the effect of the fire on plants.
