4-6, Unit Six: "Skyscrapers: Cities in the Old Growth Forest"

Introduction & Teacher Background

This unit includes classroom activities and includes a trip to the Trail of the Cedars, located approximately 14 miles from the Apgar Visitor Center along the Going To The Sun Road. (Canadian teachers unable to visit the U. S. for the day should check with the Waterton Lakes interpretive division for a substitute trip west of Waterton.) Students will walk the 1/2 mile long Trail of the Cedars, exploring the varied and abundant life forms that make up an old growth forest. Decomposition and the many organisms involved will be examined closely. The following material provides the teacher with background information and activity suggestions. More...

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Activity 1: Mature Forest Mime
Grades: 4-6
Method: Students interpret and identify ecological concepts related to a forest through use of a pantomime.
Time: 1 hour
Subjects: Language arts, life science, physical education

Activity 2: Trees: the Inside Story
Grades: 4-6
Method: Students identify the basic parts of trees and understand how each part helps the tree to live and grow.
Time: 1 hour
Subects: Life science, visual arts

Activity 3: Old Growth Forest Mural
Grades: 4-6
Method: Students identify the four components of an old growth forest and apply understanding of the forest community to conservation issues.
Time: 1 hour
Subjects: Life science, visual arts, economics

Activity 4: Eco-enrichers
Grades: 4-6
Method: Students evaluate the importance of plant and animal matter as contributors to soil; and recognize that wildlife in many forms contributes to the diversity and balance of ecological systems.
Time: 1 hour
Subjects: Life science

Activity 5: Build a Tree
Grades: 4-6
Method: Students reinforce what they learned about the different parts of a tree and the role each part plays in the growth of a tree, using role-playing theatre.
Time: 1 hour
Subjects: Life science, dramatic arts, physical education

Activity 6: Up the Down Tree House
Grades: 4-6
Method: Students explain the process of decomposition, identify a variety of organisms involved in decomposition and discuss food chains associated with a fallen tree.
Time: 1 hour
Subjects: Dramatic arts, Life science

Activity 7: Forest Poetry
Grades: 4-6
Method: Students share highlights of their forest experience with their classmates, and express their observations and feelings about the forest in a poem.
Time: 1 hour
Subjects: Language arts, life science

Activity 8: Meet a Tree
Grades: 4-6
Method: Students experience the forest as a collection of individual trees. Blindfolded pairs of students take turns exploring a tree.
Time: 1 hour
Subjects: Language arts, Life science

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