OVERVIEW
A forest plays an important role in maintaining and improving water quality. Forests help recharge underground aquifers, minimize erosion and sustain the water cycle. Forests also play a key role in the life cycle of certain fish and animals that depend on water for food, habitat and protection.
LEVELS
Grades 4-5
SUBJECTS
Science
Social Studies
Language Arts
Visual Arts |
CONCEPTS
In biological systems, materials
go through cycles.
Organisms depend on certain habitat conditions in order
to survive and thrive.
Elements in an ecosystem are interdependent, and changes
to any element could affect the overall ecosystem. |
SKILLS
Analyzing
Data Gathering
Discussing
Elaborating
Interpreting
Representing
Researching |
DISCUSSION AND STUDY TOPICS
The relationship between water and forests can be studied
in the context of many different areas of learning. Here are
some suggestions:
| Science |
| |
Think
of your schoolyard as a watershed. Where does the water
flow during a rainstorm? Is it absorbed into the playground
or the lawn? Does it run off the parking lot? Does it
form pools or puddles of water? What is the topography
of your schoolyard? How does it affect the flow of water?
(class activity, research project, art project) |
| |
Do all trees need
the same amount of water to survive? What trees can live
with very little water? What trees need a lot of water?
How does the amount of water a tree gets affect its growth
– too much water, too little water? (research
project, class presentation, art project) |
| Social Studies
|
| |
Study the water supply system for your community. Where
does the water for your community come from? Who does
the water system serve – business, industry, individuals,
families? Are there any limits on how much water they
can use? What kind of rules and regulations does your
community water treatment system have to follow? (field
trip, guest speakers, research project, art project) |
|
|
How
do you use water every day? What would you do if you were
limited in the amount of water you could use every day?
(class presentation, essay topic) |
| Language Arts |
|
|
What would happen to it? (play, video project, short
story, essay topic) |
| |
Activity Sheet
Which of the following are not bodies of water?
lake
pond
sea
plateau
mere
channel
branch
bayou |
stream
ocean
slough
lagoon
creek
pool
rivulet
tributary |
river
tundra
swamp
reservoir
puddle
mesa
canal
race |
1. I am made up of underground rivers and lakes. Cities and towns use my water for drinking, to run factories and even fill swimming pools. What am I?
2. I breathe, drink water and make it possible for many animals to live comfortably. I’m made up of more than 50 percent water, and my roots serve as an anchor for soil. What am I?
3. I am named after a common piece of furniture, but don’t belong in a house. Instead, I might be just under your house or your yard or your school. I need rain to keep me going, and forests help me to recharge. What am I?
Answers to Dictionary Detective: plateau, tundra, mesa
Answers to What Am I?: 1. aquifer 2. tree 3. water table
|
In addition to providing beauty and recreation, forests supply
raw materials to help meet society’s needs for housing,
paper, containers and thousands of other products used by consumers
every day. As one of the country’s leading forest products
providers, Georgia-Pacific
Corporation has a long-term
interest in and commitment to the health of our nation’s
forests.
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