Last updated: March 10, 2020
Lesson Plan
Fire Frenzy: Southern California Fire Ecology Grades 9-12
- Grade Level:
- High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade
- Subject:
- Science
- Lesson Duration:
- 90 Minutes
- State Standards:
- Grade 7-MS-ESS3-2, Grade 7-MS-LS2-4, Grade 7-MS-LS2-5, Grade 8-MS-ESS3-4, Grade 8- MS-ETS1-1, HS-PS1-5,, HS-ETS1-1, HS-ETS1-2, HS-ETS1-3, HS-EST1-4, HS-LS2-1, HS-LS2-2, HS-LS2-6, HS-LS2-7, HS-LS4-5, HS-ESS3-1, HS-ESS3-3, HS-ESS3-4, HS-ESS3-5, HS-ESS3-6
- Thinking Skills:
- Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Applying: Apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to a prior experience. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts.
Essential Question
Why do wildfires occur in Southern California and how do we preserve the chaparral ecosystems while keeping communities safe?
Objective
1. During a wildfire occurrence, students will take notice of wildfire behavior conditions (Santa Ana winds, temperature, humidity) and understand how they are affecting the wildfire.
2. After a wildfire occurrence, students will recall the strategies that chaparral plants are using to recover.
3. Students will discuss the ways they can prepare for a wildfire with their families and will seek additional information.
Background
All of the materials for this lesson plan, and related lessons, are also available on a thumb drive. To request a thumb drive, please e-mail us using the contact information below and we will mail you one.
- Plant communities that you could see include:
- Wildland fire behavior is affected by many conditions, including weather, topography, and fuels.
- The Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is the area where homes and wildlands meet.
Preparation
1. Choose a Hiking Trail
The field trip can take place in any recent burn scar in your area or the Santa Monica Mountains. Find a trail to take your students hiking on. Call the visitor center at (805) 370-2301 to make sure trails are open and safe.
Suggested Trails
| Area | Trail Name | Year Burned |
| Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa | Satwiwa Loop (1.5 miles) | 2019 Wendy fire & 2013 Springs fire |
| Paramount Ranch | Coyote Canyon Trail to Hacienda Trail Loop (1.0 mile) | 2018 Woolsey fire |
| Solstice Canyon | Solstice Canyon Trail (2.1 miles roundtrip) | 2018 Woolsey fire |
| Rocky Oaks | Rocky Oaks Loop Trail (1.1 miles) | 2018 Woolsey fire |
2. Plan Hike Stopping Points
Stopping points are at the discretion of the teacher. Feel free to add you own activities into the hike or simply walk along and experience the Mediterranean ecosystems.
3. Print Student Field Journals & Plant Community Keys. Download the Teacher Guide for Student Field Journals and the Teacher Key for the Scavenger Hunt.
4. Gather Optional Materials (if desired)
Optional materials that may enhance this lesson include magnifying glasses, binoculars, compasses, anemometers, sling psychrometers, and thermometers.
5. Discuss Trail Safety with Students
Discuss staying together as a group, staying on the trail, carrying a first-aid kit, being aware of potentially dangerous flora and fauna, practicing Leave No Trace principles, putting away electronic devices, and knowing the name of the site you are visiting.
Materials
High School Student Field Journal
Download High School Student Field Journal
Plant Communities Guide
Download Plant Communities Guide
Teacher Guide for Field Journal
Download Teacher Guide for Field Journal
Teacher Key for Scavenger Hunt
Download Teacher Key for Scavenger Hunt
Chaparral Powerpoint - Related Lesson
Fire Ecology Powerpoint - Related Lesson
Download Fire Ecology Powerpoint
Mediterranean Powerpoint - Related Lesson
Download Mediterranean Powerpoint
Natural History Powerpoint - Related Lesson
Download Natural History Powerpoint
Wildland Fire Careers Powerpoint - Related Lesson
Download Wildland Fire Careers Powerpoint
Wildland Fire Powerpoint - Related Lesson
Download Wildland Fire Powerpoint
Wildland Urban Interface Powerpoint - Related Lesson
Procedure
- Once you reach the trailhead, pass out Student Field Journals, Plant Community Keys, and any optional materials that you brought.
- Discuss trail safety with students.
- Begin hiking.
- For this activity, pick a location where you can see at least two plant communities, such as chaparral, coastal sage scrub, grassland, oak woodland, etc.
- Have students observe the plant communities around them.
- Use the plant community key or have a discussion to identify as many communities as possible.
- Have the students use their senses, or scientific instruments if available, to answer the questions in their field journals.
- Pick a place along the trail to start and stop the scavenger hunt. Ideally, you will choose a place where there are a variety of plants.
- After a short rest, tell the students they will be participating in a scavenger hunt.
- Have a discussion about the background information, instructions, and answer any questions they may have.
- With each find, the students are to write the name of the flora or fauna and answer the questions, share the provided information with their group, or complete the task associated with it.
- Students can use the Scavenger Hunt Word Bank for identification purposes.
- Continue the scavenger hunt along the trail until your next stop.
- iNaturalist is a citizen science project and online social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe.
- Find it in your app store or visit inaturalist.org. You can create a classroom account. It is free.
- During their visit, have the students take pictures of at least three plants or animals in the chaparral and you can upload them to a class inaturalist account for identification.
- When you return, you can analyze the data collected to help determine how healthy the ecosystems in the park are based on biodiversity data collected.
- If available, have the students observe a wildland urban interface. Discuss the risks and impacts involved in living in the WUI and the actions that stakeholders can take to reduce these risks.
- Have students fill in the blanks of the WUI activity using the key.
- After lunch, in class, or at home, have students reflect on their hike and/or visit.
- Have the students write in their reflection page of their field journal. They can use the questions as a guide, share what they learned, or just share what was special to them about the visit.
- (Optional) Have students use their phones to record a 30 second Public Service Announcement (PSA), using the same guidance as the step above.
Vocabulary
- Wildfire Suppression: a response to wildland fire that results in curtailment of fire spread and eliminates all identified threats from direct and indirect effects of the fire and/or management actions.
- Backfire: a fire set along the inner edge of a fireline to consume the fuel in the path or a wildfire and/or change the direction of force of the fire's convection column.
- Wildland Urban Interface: the area where homes and wildlands meet. It is a significant area for wildfire impact and management.
- Chaparral: a diverse, woody and evergreen shrub-dominated plant community shaped by a Mediterranean-type climate with summer drought, mild, wet winters, and naturally recurring fires every 30-150 years.
Additional Resources
All of the materials for this lesson plan, and related lessons, are also available on a thumb drive. To request a thumb drive, please e-mail us using the contact information below and we will mail you one.
Related Lessons or Education Materials
We have created many units for the High School Fire Frenzy program that will complement this trip to a burn scar. Please go to the materials section of this page to find powerpoint lessons on the following topics:
- Chaparral
- Fire Ecology
- Mediterranean Ecosystems
- Natural History of the Santa Monica Mountains
- Wildland Fire in the Santa Monica Mountains
- Wildland Fire Careers
- Wildland Fire
- Wildland Urban Interfaces (WUI)