The Impact of Fires on the Ecosystem

Abstract

In this unit, I want to use forest fires to teach my students comprehension skills. I want to focus on informational texts and to work on building vocabulary skills. In this unit, students will learn about the impact of forest fires, as well as the impact and contribution of forest fires to the forest ecosystem. Also, students will explore how climate change affects forests. The students will also explore the practices of historical and cultural burning. We will discuss how Native Americans used to use fire to manage their forests. I will ask students, “How is this different from fire suppression? How did fire suppression contribute to our current state of our forests and how does it contribute to fire damages?”
I will also teach students the Navajo philosophy about the four main elements: light, rain, pollen, and earth. These elements have the ability to give life or to take it away. For example, fire has positive forces and can do good things for human beings. We can use it for light, for heat to cook food, and for staying warm. However, if respect is not given to fire, it can also cause damage. The students will explore how Native Americans understood this philosophy and used it to manage the forest. Now, with our current policy of fire suppression, when fires occur, they cause more damage to the environment and emit dangerous smoke.