Global Connections: Forests of the World (Project Learning Tree: Secondary Environmental Education Module), Second Edition

Washington, D.C.: Project Learning Tree, 2013. Paperback. As New. Pristine inside and out. Not from a library. Not damaged. 152 pages.

Nearly 30% of the land area on our planet is covered by forests. In this Project Learning Tree high school module, students learn about their connections to the forests of the world and the challenges impacting this critical global natural resource. The curriculum's structure is based on the framework of the Montreal Process, an international effort to implement criteria and indicators for forest conservation and sustainable management. It is designed for use in biology, geography, agriculture, and other science and social studies courses at the high school or early college level. The module helps students understand their connections to the forests of the world as they learn about cultural, economic, environmental, and political aspects of the world's forests. The activities provide students with opportunities to apply scientific processes and higher order thinking skills while investigating world forestry issues and conducting service-learning action projects.

What's included:
Activity 1 – Making the Global ConnectionIn this activity, students will conduct a survey to help them assess what they and others know about forests and to consider ways that people are linked to forests around the world.
Activity 2 – What Is a Forest?Dozens of official definitions of the term forest are in use throughout the world. In this activity, students will analyze various definitions of this term and then consider different cultural perspectives that affect people's perception of forests.
Activity 3 – Mapping the World's ForestsIdentifying, documenting, classifying, and accurately mapping the diversity of forests found around the world is an active, ongoing process. A holistic system of global ecological zones related to simple, well-known climate characteristics and vegetation types is now used to classify the world's forests. In this activity, students will examine this system to see how temperature and moisture determine the type of forest in a given locale.
Activity 4 – Analyzing Patterns of Forest ChangeHuman activities and other forces can change forests in a variety of different ways. Students will identify global trends in forest cover; through maps and historical accounts they will analyze how particular forests have changed over time.
Activity 5 – Understanding the Effects of Forest UsesIn this activity, students will analyze the effects of different ways that people use the world's forests and determine which effects may be sustainable according to one definition.
Activity 6 – Seeking Sustainability: A Global ResponseIn this activity, students will consider possible indicators that a forest is sustainable, and learn about one international initiative for monitoring forest sustainability. They will find out what is being done locally and in other countries to determine whether forests are managed in a sustainable way.
Activity 7 – Exploring the World MarketplaceIn this activity, students will conduct a simulation in which countries use their forest resources to "manufacture" products and to sell them to an international trader. Through the simulation, students will experience what can happen when forest resources are unevenly distributed around the world and will explore some of the tradeoffs of resource use.
Activity 8 – Making Consumer ChoicesUsing paper as an example, students will analyze the life cycle and consumption patterns of forest products, and they will identify the international dimensions of product use. Using their findings, they will then draw conclusions about consuming forest products in a way that is more intelligent and takes into account the global consequences.
Activity 9 – Researching Forests Around the WorldIn this activity, students will explore their connections to the world's forests by researching a forest in another country or region, and by creating a profile about that forest.
Forests of the World poster (24" x 36") depicts global forest coverage, describes common forest types, and shows ecological zones across the Earth. Suggestions for using the poster are listed in specific activities throughout the module.
Global Ecological Zones Map (11" x 17") shows the locations of Earth's ecological zones. It is intended for use by individual teams in Activity 3: Mapping the World's Forests.