Finding My Forest

Click here to download the curriculum.

Whether you are a classroom teacher or an outdoor educator, Finding My Forest will fit into your curriculum and your schedule. The interdisciplinary lessons are designed to easily integrate into 3rd through 8th grade curricula and connect with diverse learning styles. All lessons have a Science and Environmental Education focus and incorporate other subject areas:

English Language Arts: Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4

Math: Lessons 2, 3

Music/Art: Lessons 1, 4

Social Studies: Lessons 3, 4

Each lesson has Wonder, Discover, Act, and Connect components that engage your students in “showing what they know.” The lessons are easy to teach, and include Advance Prep sections and Helpful Resources to make the most out of each one.

National Standards & 21st Century Outcomes

Each lesson is aligned with Grade 4 and Grade 8 benchmarks of the North American Association for Environmental Education’s (NAAEE) Excellence in Environmental Education—Guidelines for Learning (Pre K-12). The NAAEE Guidelines are indexed with national standards for Arts, Civics and Government, Economics, English Language Arts, Geography, History, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. See the full text of the standards, indexed by lesson. Click here to view the standards grid PDF.

We also highlight how each lesson meets the themes and skills identified as 21st Century Student Outcomes by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. See the full text of the outcomes, indexed by lesson. Click here to view the Outcomes grid PDF.

Online learning experiences and citizen science programs:

• Delve into the Natural Inquirer, a science journal for middle school students, with scientist interviews, research articles, activities, and more: http://www.naturalinquirer.org/
• Become a weather observer with the all-volunteer Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (COCORAHS): http://www.cocorahs.org/
• Share your plant observations with Project BudBurst: http://budburst.ucar.edu/
• Join an international network of scientists, teachers, and students working together to research our planet: http://globe.gov/, budburst.ucar.edu/
• Experience the Biomes of the World from the Missouri Botanical Garden: http://www.mbgnet.net/
• Get to Know nature. Take a virtual hike, participate in a BioBlitz, and discover other programs and best practices for getting youth excited about the outdoors. http://www.gettoknow.ca/

Links to online animal information and field guides:

• Search an extensive database on birds by location, shape, size, or color: http://whatbird.com
• Listen to bird songs: naturesongs.com
• Take a nature “soundwalk” across California with the Oakland Museum: http://museumca.org/naturalsounds/home.html
• Track the migration of Monarch butterflies on MonarchLIVE: http://monarch.pwnet.org/
• PollinatorLIVE - http://pollinatorlive.pwnet.org/

Links to forest-related career information:

• Explore an archive of interviews of Forest Service employees from a variety of occupations, interviewed to mark the 100th anniversary of the Forest Service: http://www.foresthistory.org/Events/folklife2005.html
• Access in-depth information for middle and high school students about careers in forests and forestry: http://Forestrycareers.org
• Organizations that hire young people for forest work:

  • Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), a paid summer program for 15- to 18-year-olds: http://www.nps.gov/gettinginvolved/youthprograms/ycc.htm
  • Job Corps, a free education, GED, and job training program for youth 16 years and up: http://www.jobcorps.gov/
  • Student Educational Employment Program for summer employment with federal agencies: http://www.opm.gov/employ/students/index.asp
  • Current Forest Service opportunities: http://www.fs.fed.us/fsjobs/forestservice/employ.html
• Links to other “green” careers:

  • Society of Environmental Journalists: http://www.sejarchive.org/careers/index.htm
  • Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University’s School of Journalism: http://www.ej.msu.edu/about.php
• Information about careers in ecology, including career exploration information for high school students, from the Ecological Society of America: http://www.esa.org/education_diversity/explore.php
• Student Conservation Association - http://www.thesca.org/employment
• US Forest Service career opportunities - http://www.fs.fed.us/fsjobs/

Professional development webinars for educators about forest-related topics:

• Natural Inquirer training: http://www.naturalinquirer.org/babs-mcdonald-v-27.html
• Leave No Trace Educator training: http://www.lnt.org/training/educationaltraining.php
• National Science Teachers Association webinars: http://Learningcenter.nsta.org/search.aspx (search for “forest”)

Forest research from government agencies, nonprofits, and universities:

• Forest Service research: http://www.fs.fed.us/research/
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research: http://www.noaa.gov/research.html
• Forest Service Center for Urban Forests Research, UC Davis: http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/cufr/research/