Forests
Background Information & Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Teach children about the natural world around us and help them understand how it is changing. This movie will explore woodlands and address both deciduous and coniferous forests. It will discuss how trees, animals, and other living things adapt to their environments and the seasons. It will also explain how forests are changing today and show ways children can become more ecologically conscious and conserve natural resources. We encourage you to explore other movies in our Habitats unit, particularly the Rainforests movie. We also recommend watching the Natural Resources movie in conjunction with this one.

Remind children that a forest is a type of habitat that has a dense growth of trees covering a large area. Help them understand that in addition to trees, there are other living and nonliving things in the forest, including soil, rocks, shrubs and bushes, ferns, flowers, fruit, and fungi. Different kinds of animals live in forests, too, and they all depend on their habitat to survive. An ecosystem is a community of living and nonliving things. Children can think of habitats as being like their homes, and ecosystems as being like communities within their city. Forests are very important ecosystems found on practically every continent and support a wide range of plant and animal life.

Help children understand that there are different types of forests, such as tropical forests and rainforests. Deciduous forests are found in places where the weather changes from season to season. Plants in deciduous forests are especially adapted to changes in weather. During the warm and sunny summer, plants can grow thick and green. In the fall, the weather cools down and plants grow more slowly. The leaves of many deciduous plants change color as decreasing sunlight reduces the amount of chlorophyll that is produced. As winter arrives, the weather gets colder and colder. To save energy and to compensate for less access to nutrients, deciduous trees shed their leaves. Many plants stop growing in the winter, and some die. Then in spring when the weather is warmer, sunlight increases and the ground thaws, so plants grow back. Some plants grow flowers, which after pollination give off seeds so new plants can grow. It might be useful to view the Plant Life Cycle movie so children can better understand how plants grow and change.

Animals in deciduous forests have different ways to adapt to the changing seasons. For example, some birds and butterflies migrate to warmer places, while many animals and reptiles hibernate and go into a deep sleep through the winter. Brown bears are especially adapted to different seasons because they are omnivorous and eat whatever is most available during each season. They have a widely varied diet consisting of fish, berries, plants, moths, and small animals. In the winter, they go into a deep sleep and wake up during warmer days to search for food. Beavers build lodges and store food inside them so they can eat all winter long. Deer use their sharp hooves to dig beneath the snow and feed on shoots of green plants, while snowshoe hares grow fur on their feet to stay mobile and warm. Explore other forest animals and investigate how they survive the changing seasons.

Like deciduous forests, coniferous forests are found in areas where weather changes from season to season. But, they are also found in areas that stay cold for most of the year, such as the taiga, which is the world’s largest biome (a biome is a community of ecosystems, which shares a region and a climate) and includes northern parts of Canada and Russia. Pine trees, firs, and spruce trees are all types of conifers. Many children may be familiar with Christmas trees, which are often coniferous. The leaves of coniferous trees look like long, thin needles. These help the trees save water during drier months and also protect them from the cold by decreasing evaporation. Unlike deciduous trees, coniferous trees grow their seeds within scaled, protected structures called cones. In some species the cones remain closed throughout winter as the seeds mature. Then during the warmer months, the cones open up and release their seeds. This increases the chance that seeds can grow into new plants under the more optimal spring and summer conditions.

Help children understand that trees are natural resources, and that forests are very important to plant, animal, and human life. Many items we use everyday come from trees, such as pencils, paper, and wood used in furniture and homes. To make these products, people called loggers have been clearing forests to get the wood, or to use the land for other purposes. Deforestation causes many living things to lose their habitats. Help children understand that their choices and habits affect our environment. Children should recycle paper and paper products to help conserve natural resources, and choose to use or purchase items made from recycled materials. They can write to government leaders and tell them to protect habitats or increase recycling in their communities. Help children become ecologically conscious citizens!

See more lesson plans and resources: BrainPOP Educators.

Forests Teacher Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Adopt a Tree

As a long term project, have each student pick a tree in the community for observation. This may be a deciduous or a coniferous tree. Have children make observations and take notes about their chosen tree. They can research their tree, and learn what kind of animal and insect life it supports. They may want to note its color, measure the size of its leaves, and observe if there is fruit or flowers growing. Encourage students to draw pictures or take photographs. Then, every other month, have students observe their tree and take notes. How does the tree change with the seasons? At the end of the project, have students share their tree observations with the class and describe their findings. They may even want to prepare a bar graph or pictograph to display their data.

Cones

If possible, bring in cones from coniferous trees for small groups of students to observe. Children may want to use hand lenses or tweezers to help them inspect the cones. How do the cones protect seeds? Do all cones from the same tree look the same? Explain to students that coniferous trees produce male cones and female cones, and that as the seeds mature within a female cone, the cones remain closed. When the weather gets warmer, the cones open and the seeds are released. Why might this adaptation be helpful? Guide students to make inferences and predictions.

Arbor Day

Teach students about Arbor Day, and celebrate it together. National Arbor Day in the United States is the last Friday in April, but many states observe it on different dates, according to their best tree-planting times. Have your class choose a tree they would like to plant, and research how to plant the seeds or seedlings. Celebrate the planting with poems written by the students. What might the tree see over its lifetime?

Forests Family Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Tree Study

What trees are in your community or yard? Take a walk together and study trees in your area. How are they alike or different? What types of trees are they? How do the trees help the community as a whole? How do they provide habitats for animals and other living things? Research at a library or on the Internet to find out. Guide your child to understand that each tree can be a habitat for countless animals, such as birds, insects, and small mammals.

Plant a Tree

If possible, plant a seedling in your yard or in a community garden or park. Seedlings can be affordable and widely available in most communities. Research what conditions are best for the seedling and find a safe place for it to grow. Monitor the seedling over time, noting the length or height and the color, feel, and size of its leaves. How does the seedling grow and change over time? How old will your child be when the tree is five feet tall? Make a prediction.