"Tree Products Scavenger Hunt" Lesson Plan

Keywords: forest products, sustainable forestry, consumers
Prepared by: Betty Kaldy, St. Joseph's Elementary School, Sharon, Pa.
Grade Level: sixth (MS)
Total Time for Lesson: 45 minutes (10 minutes to launch, 1 day and 35 minutes to discuss and make assignment)
Setting: home and school

Materials Needed

For each student:

• item list (taken from "Tree Treasure Chest" by Sanford S. Smith)
• one item from the list brought in by the student
• large sheet of paper
• art supplies (markers, crayons, scissors, glue, and so on)
• From the Forest: The Products We Get from Trees pamphlet

Concepts to Be Covered

• Many household items are made from wood or wood materials.
• There are many items that one would not easily recognize as coming from the forest.
• We need to take an active role in helping to conserve our forests.
• We need to make wise choices with our materials.

Goals for the Lesson

• The student will explore with their families how many everyday items come the forest.
• The student will compare finished products with the raw materials from which they they come.
• The student will determine how consumption will impact the availability of the natural resource found in the forest.
• The student will create an advertisement for one product, identifying the forest as a necessity in making that product.

Methods

1. Before any discussion of wood or forest, tell students that they will be going on a scavenger hunt at home.
2. They are to find as many items on the list as possible. Check off each item found. Bring one item from the list to school with you tomorrow. As you find each one, look at it to see if you can figure out what all of these items have in common.
3. When the students arrive and get settled ask students to show the items they brought from home. Ask if anyone knows what all of their items have in common? Allow a few minutes for students to guess.
4. Tell students that all of their items came from a tree and present them with the labeled scavenger hunt sheet. Allow time for student discussion.
5. Pass out From the Forest:The Products We Get from Trees to the students
6. Read the handout with the students. Discuss how we need to control our use of these materials so that the resources will be around for a long time.
7. Tell students that their job is to create a poster advertising the product they brought in to school. They must include the tree source of the item as well as reasons why we need to conserve.
8. Pass out paper and tell students that their advertisement is due in 1 week. They will need to be able to explain their ads.

Evaluation

Student will present their advertisements and explain them to the class. Posters will then be hung in the hall.

References

Sanford S. Smith. "Tree Treasure Chest."

Georgia Pacific. (1999). From the Forest: The Products We Get from Trees. Educational in Nature Series Number 2, Volume 1: Atlanta, Ga.: Georgia Pacific.