"Forest Forensics" Lesson Plan

Keywords: forest history, reading the land, iron production, hot-blast furnace

Prepared by: Sanford S. Smith, School of Forest Resources, Penn State

Grade Level: ninth through twelfth grade (could be modified for college students)

Total Time Required for Lesson: 50 minutes as one continuous time block

Setting: forested area near old iron furnace (adapted for the Monroe Furnace site)

Subjects Covered: social studies, history, (forest) biology

Topics: forest history, geography, past land use, forest ecology, hot-blast iron production

Goals for the Lesson

• Students will develop their investigative skills in looking for clues of past forest use.
• Students will explore how forests have been used and sometimes misused in the past.
• Students will explain the role that disturbances play in forest succession.
• Students will reflect upon past and present uses of the forest and consider the concept of forest sustainability.

Materials Needed

• "Forest Forensics" clues sheets (Appendix 1); one copy for each student
• six station flags or numbers (visible from 30 feet away)
• six "Station Exploration" question sheets (Appendix 2); one per group
• 6 white business envelopes
• 1 "Station Information" sheet (Appendix 3); cut apart and put in the six envelopes

State Standards Addressed: E&E Standards: Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources (4.2); Agriculture and Society (4.4); and Humans and the Environment (4.8); History Standards: TBA

Teaching Model: Experiential Leaning Model (Experience, Share, Process, Generalize, Apply)

Experience Phase (30 minutes)

Preparation

1. Read over the entire lesson, including the appendices, and understand the general process of how a hot-blast furnace operated.
2. Place six station flags or numbers should be placed at the following locations at the furnace site:
   
   • Above the furnace on the storage sheds site (iron ore, charcoal and limestone should be obvious on the ground)
   • In the upper mill race ditch
   • On the site of the furnace, by the main arch
   • On the casting floor area below the main arch
   • On the slag piles near the "salamander" chunk
   • By a tree increment bore demonstration
3. Make one copy "Forest Forensics" clues sheet (Appendix 1) for each student. Make six copies of the "Station Exploration" question sheets (Appendix 2), and one copy of the "Station Information" sheet (Appendix 3). Cut the "Station Information" sheet apart and place in envelopes with the station number written on the outside. These envelopes should be placed at the appropriate station beneath the flag (or number).

Introduction

"Today's lesson is entitled 'Forest Forensics.' Our objective is to explore and discover what we can about this historic site in the forest. There are many clues in the forests of Pennsylvania that tell us about the past uses of the land. Some of these clues are obvious, others are more hidden or cryptic."

Experience and Share Stages

1. Give each student a copy of the "Forest Forensics" clues sheet (Appendix 1) and instruct them to read over the various clues listed. Discuss these briefly with the group. Tell them that they will see some of these clues today and they should use their best detective skills to try and determine what they are looking at here in the forest.
2. Divide the students into six groups and assign each group a station number to start at. Tell them that they will have five minutes to explore each spot as they rotate from station to station. One person should be selected from each group to be the "Question Reader" and they should be given a "Station Exploration" question sheet (Appendix 2). As they visit each station, the reader should read the questions out load for that spot. After about 4 minutes, the group should share what they have discovered at the spot, and then read over the information on the "Station Information" sheet (Appendix 3)in the envelope for that station. A different group member should read the "Station Information" sheet aloud at each site. The group is free to discuss the information at each station as they go along.
3. Each group will rotate through the six stations, spending 5 minutes at each spot. The direction they rotate is not important. The teacher/educator must keep the groups on track and not allow any groups to drag behind.

Share and Process Stages

1. After 30 minutes, and the groups have visited each station, have the six groups come together at Station 4. The teacher/educator should now try and help the group process what they learned at each station and then try and tie the stations together to understand the process of hot blast iron production. One way to do this would be to have each group roll play the function of a different station and have them do this all at one time in order. For example, one group would be the raw materials and loading group, another would be the furnace, another would be the water race and water mill with air tubs, and so on. Another way to tie the different stations together would be to have an easel with newsprint set up and have each group assigned to a station and draw what they think happened at their station.

Apply Stage

1. Now have the students go back to the "Forest Forensics" clues sheet they were given at the beginning. Look on this sheet for things they have seen today. Encourage them to use this sheet in a forested area they are familiar with, perhaps near their home or another favorite spot. Stress that while we cannot find clues to past land use in all forested areas of Pennsylvania, we can often find some evidence of what occurred in an area.
2. The charcoal iron industry that existed in Pennsylvania from the late 1700s into the very early 1900s made a major impact on the southern and central forests of the state. In 1810, there were 44 major iron furnaces across southern Pennsylvania. It took between 365 and 400 acres of land to provide the charcoal for one iron furnace each year. By the time of the Civil War, in the 1860s, there were 150 iron furnaces requiring about one and a half million acres of land in southern and central Pennsylvania devoted to charcoal production. Many areas were cut repeatedly every 20 to 25 years between the years of 1800 and 1900. After the early-1900s coke (produced from coal) furnaces replaced the charcoal fired method of producing iron.
3. This particular furnace (Monroe Furnace) we have studied today was started in 1844. By 1849 it was producing 900 tons of iron pigs annually. It employed 60 men and boys, most of whom worked making charcoal or driving wagons (teamsters). The furnace owned 30 horse and oxen to haul loads of iron, limestone and charcoal. Four to five men per shift ran the furnace when it was "in blast." There were economically hard times during its years of operation, and the furnace's ownership changed hands at least three times up to 1864. After this time it was shut down, but the forestlands (about 10,000 acres) were bought by the Freedom Iron Works for making charcoal. They operated Greenwood Furnace to the east. This firm used the lands until 1904 before shutting down (Fagley, 2001). The forests were left undisturbed after this time, with the exception of occasional cuttings or natural disturbances (wind storms, chestnut blight, and Gypsy Moth infestations). Natural plant succession restored the forest to its present state.
4. Discuss the concept of succession with the students and be sure they understand that the trees at this site started growing sometime after the lands were abandoned in 1904. They were not planted; they grew back naturally from seeds, stump sprouts and root suckers. With very few exceptions (11,000 acres) most of the forests we have in Pennsylvania today have grown back from past cutting(s). Cuttings were carried out across the state to make lumber or charcoal, or simply clear the land for growing crops and livestock.

Assessment

Take the students to another forested area and have them search for clues of past forest uses. Possibly an area that was pastured which may have obvious signs of barbed wire in the fencerow trees, and trees of similar ages. Tractor ruts or stone piles may also be present. Have the students write a paragraph about reading the forested landscape. They should discuss signs of past use and if this past use has impacted the present forest.

Conclusion

"This wraps up today's lesson. I hope that you've found this interesting and that you've gained a broader perspective on the way forests were utilized in the past and how clues of these practices."

References

Fagley, Paul (2001). Greenwood Furnace State Park. Personal Communication.

Watts, M. T. (1964). Reading the Landscape. New York: Macmillan.

Wessels, T. (1997). Reading the Forested Landscape, A Natural History of New England. Woodstock, Vt.: Countryman Press.