FOREST ECOLOGY
In this lesson, we’ve learned quite a bit about the parts of an ecosystem-plants, animals, decomposers, and more. In this forest ecology lesson, we’re going to consider the ecosystem as a whole.
Today, we’re going to play a game called, “Oh Deer!” In this game, we’ll be on the hunt for resources. In your field journal write the top 3 things you would consider to be a deers’ basic resource needs. (In other words, what are some things a deer needs to survive?)
Today, we’re going to play a game called, “Oh Deer!” In this game, we’ll be on the hunt for resources. In your field journal write the top 3 things you would consider to be a deers’ basic resource needs. (In other words, what are some things a deer needs to survive?)
Answers could include food, water, shelter, air, sunlight, and more! (Answers should not include cheeseburgers, soda, cash, video games, and 4-poster beds!) We have two interactive games to share that focus on food, water, and shelter. If a deer doesn’t get the food, water, or shelter that it needs, it will die. If it does get its basic needs met, then it will survive, and likely reproduce!
What would this deer : resource interaction look like? Let’s play some games and find out, Oh Deer! We have two versions of the game Oh Deer! The first is an interactive web- based game and the second is an interactive dice game. Choose your adventure or try them both! |
Watch the Video Tutorial on How-to-Play below, and then use the link underneath the video to get the game rolling yourself.
Oh Deer! dice game:
Instructions: sign into your google account, open the Oh Deer! Template. Google sheets will ask you if you would like to make a copy of "oh Deer! Dice game Template? Click on the blue button "Make a Copy". Alternatively if you are led to a view only template, select FILE and in the dropdown menu select "Make a Copy". This should give you access to the document to record your data. Alternatively you could print this PDF version or Excel download.
Instructions: sign into your google account, open the Oh Deer! Template. Google sheets will ask you if you would like to make a copy of "oh Deer! Dice game Template? Click on the blue button "Make a Copy". Alternatively if you are led to a view only template, select FILE and in the dropdown menu select "Make a Copy". This should give you access to the document to record your data. Alternatively you could print this PDF version or Excel download.
Welcome back! Thanks for playing :)
After playing for 12 rounds, we saw a graph that looked something like this:
After playing for 12 rounds, we saw a graph that looked something like this:
What does this data mean? Write a paragraph in your field journal explaining why the deer and resource populations were so unstable! How do the deer and resource populations relate to each other? (Is there a math term to describe this: as 1 thing goes up, the other thing goes down proportionally...Hint: An _______ Relationship). Finally, make a hypothesis in your field journal for this question: Is there any way to stabilize the deer-resource relationship? |
Now let's watch this video about how Wolves saved Yellowstone National Park. When the video is over you'll take 5-15 minutes answering these questions in your field journal:
- When the wolves were absent from the park, and the deer had nothing hunting them, how did that affect other plants and animals in the park? What does this remind you of?
- What changed after the wolves were reintroduced?
- If there was a way to introduce wolves in our Oh Deer! dice game, how would that have affected the graph? Draw what you think a graph would look like in an Oh Deer! game that had wolves.
- The narrator of the video says this event was a “Trophic Cascade.” Describe this term in your own words.
Don't forget to answer the questions above in your field journal!
To finish our Forest Ecology Lesson, we’re going to watch the animated movie of the Lorax, a classic Dr. Suess allegory*. We’ll be watching the movie in 4 sections. Please pay attention to the times listed below. Be sure to pause the movie, come back to the lesson and consider the thought-seeds for that section of the story before moving forward.
Lorax Video Section 1: Begin the movie, PAUSE at 6:34 and come back to consider the questions below. Write your answers in your field journal.
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Lorax Video Section 3: Start watching again at 11:00 and watch to 17:27, then pause once more. Answer the following questions in your field journal:
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Lorax Video Section 4: Start watching at 17:27, and watch to the end. Finally, in your field journal, spend at least 20 minutes answering the following questions:
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Thanks for learning with us today! To end this forest ecology unit, we’d like you to fill in the Environmental Promise on the last page of your Field Journal.
And remember, UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing’s going to get better. It’s not.
Additional Resources:
Did you love the Oh Deer! game? Want to keep learning about these relationships? The Grand Ronde Tribe has created some very cool curriculum, including a deer lesson that’s a good extension to Oh Deer!. If you’re interested in playing, read these instructions.
And remember, UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing’s going to get better. It’s not.
Additional Resources:
Did you love the Oh Deer! game? Want to keep learning about these relationships? The Grand Ronde Tribe has created some very cool curriculum, including a deer lesson that’s a good extension to Oh Deer!. If you’re interested in playing, read these instructions.
Click on the Outdoor School Wood Cookie to discover the answers to this Forest Ecology Lesson