Students will construct a chart listing the components needed for fire in the New Jersey Pinelands and draw the conclusion, based on these components, that the forests of the New Jersey Pinelands are fire prone. Students will discuss ways in which fire hazards can be reduced in the region.
Have students discuss the three things necessary for a fire (oxygen, fuel, and heat). Explain that if one or more of these is removed, the fire will be extinguished or "starved".
Hand out "Pinelands Fire Facts" and discuss with the students why the forests of the Pinelands are fire prone.
Hand out the worksheet entitled "Feeding a Pinelands Fire". Discuss with the students the fuels that could feed a forest fire in the Pinelands (duff, litter, wood, pine cones and needles, and leaves of evergreen shrubs like sheep laurel, mountain laurel, and leatherleaf). Have the students list these on their worksheets. Supply answers that students miss and eliminate inaccurate responses.
Discuss and list on the worksheet with students the possible sources of heat in the Pinelands (lightning, unattended campfires, discarded cigarettes, arson, sunlight magnified by broken glass, sparks from machinery, unattended burning of leaves or trash, etc.).
Lead the students to conclude that the sources of heat, and the types and abundance of fuels present create an environment in the Pinelands that is fire prone.
Using the chart as a reference, ask the students to discuss the ways in which a wildfire in the Pinelands may be prevented (reduce litter by practicing prescribed burning, be careful with campfires, educate people about the hazards of fire, etc.).
EVALUATION:
Use five minutes at the end of the class period to have each student write an answer to the following question:
Why is the New Jersey Pinelands a fire prone forest?
Students may use the back of their worksheet to answer this question. Have selected students read their answers out loud to insure that the concepts of the lesson were understood.
FOLLOW-UP:
1. Bring vegetation into the classroom which shows fire damage. Help students to locate tree rings, bark, unburned sections, insect or animal remains within the material, and the seeds of the vegetation.
2. Visit an area of the New Jersey Pinelands which shows signs of fire damage. The fire warden's office at New Lisbon, New Jersey (609) 726-9010 should be able to recommend appropriate areas. Once there, have students work in small groups to inventory fire damage and signs of life.
This lesson will introduce the students to the following vocabulary words:(click on the word to see its definition-use your browser's back button to return to this page)
Science standards:
5.1-All students will learn to identify systems of interacting components and understand how their interactions combine to produce the overall behavior of the system.
5.2-All students will develop problem solving, decision making, and inquiry skills, reflected by formulating useable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting systematic observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating results.
5.9-All students will gain an understanding of natural laws as they apply to motion, forces, and energy transformations
5.12-All students will gain an understanding of the environment as a system of interdependent components affected by human activity and natural phenomena.
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