Students will learn that fuel, heat, and oxygen are essential ingredients of any fire. Through class discussion, they will develop working definitions for each of these terms and be able to relate them to the "Fire Triangle". After discussion, students will also compile a list of the most common causes of forest fires in New Jersey's Pinelands and construct graphs using state forest service data.
"Frequency of Extensive Pine Barrens Fires" Information Sheet
PROCEDURE:
1. Copy and distribute to students the information sheets describing two 19th century Pinelands fires. Read and discuss these articles with the students. Ask questions like: How large an area was destroyed by these fires? How much damage was done? (take into account loss of life, as well as homes destroyed, crops and natural resources like lumber sources destroyed, industries destroyed) What were the weather conditions that might have enhanced the fires or helped to extinguish the fires?
Next, distribute the information sheet "Frequency of Extensive Pine Barrens Fires". Briefly discuss the frequency and extent of fires. Students should be able to see from this discussion that fires have always been part of the New Jersey Pinelands environment.
2. To provide a physical demonstration, the teacher should light a candle or other flame source and ask: What is fire? (Possible student responses might be: something that burns, a flame, a chemical reaction)
Distribute
the worksheet "The Fire Triangle" to the class.
Ask students to name the three ingredients needed to make a fire. Students
should arrive at the answers: a heat source, oxygen, and fuel. Have the
students identify potential heat sources (fire, sun, lightning) and fuel
sources (wood, coal, oil, gasoline). Have the students label the Fire
Triangle diagram and work with them in developing definitions for heat,
oxygen, and fuel.
3. Ask students to list some of the causes of forest fires and write them on the board. Have students determine what they believe to be the most and least common causes of forest fires. Using all the causes listed on the board, ask the students to list causes from the most common to the least common. Distribute the information sheet "Causes of Forest Fires in New Jersey" and compare it to the listing of causes that were developed on the board. Discuss the causes of forest fires listed on the information sheet. Distribute the "Forest Fire Math" worksheet to students and supply appropriate materials for the students to create their graphs.
4. Discuss the results of the students' graphs and display them around the classroom. Using the information given, ask students what percentage of New Jersey's forest fires are caused by people. (a large percentage of forest fires are caused directly or indirectly by people). Have students suggest reasons that this might be so (possible answers might include carelessness, accidents, lack of education about forest fires, maliciousness, etc.).
EVALUATION:
Review student worksheets and graphs for accuracy based on the given data.
FOLLOW-UP:
1. Create a classroom mural that illustrates some of the causes of forest fires.
2. Create posters that detail how to prevent forest fires.
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:
5.2-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.
Math standards:
4.1-All students will develop the ability to pose and sole mathematical problems in mathematics, other disciplines, and everyday experiences.
4.12-All students will develop an understanding of probability and statistics through experiences which enable them to systematically collect, organize, and describe sets of data, to use probability to model situations, and to make appropriate inferences and arguments.
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