Trees, Forests, and Climate Change

Notes from our reviewers

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• Teaching Tips
  Consider playing the carbon game with and without a fossil fuels station to compare the changes in carbon residency time. Have students first plot their data in small groups to familiarize them with how to create a bar graph. Consider doing the Global Forest Watch activity as a class to familiarize students with the simulation parameters before allowing students to explore their own simulations as homework. Be careful not to let students cultivate unjustified blame for certain regions that experience forest-loss at higher rates, and explain that products of forestry industries are often distributed globally.
• About the Science
  This resource from the MIT Climate Portal includes a 13-minute podcast with an MIT environmental engineer, an interactive dice-based carbon game, and a Global Forest Watch simulation to teach concepts about the carbon cycle and forest cover. Students will learn about how new and old growth forests relate to the carbon cycle as either a source or a sink, approaches to understand carbon flux in forests, and considerations of other unique ecosytems that act as carbon sinks such as peatlands. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
• About the Pedagogy
  This resource may appeal to auditory, visual, and tactile learners. Global Forest Watch simulation activity may be most suitable for technologically inclined learners. Students should know that trees grow from sunlight, CO2, water, and nutrients in the soil. Students should also know that releasing CO2 increases greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which is causing climate change. The podcast discusses both nature-based solutions to carbon storage, and the uncertainties that exist with this science. Both are opportunities for deeper thinking and class discussions. This activity is well organized and has a complete teacher's guide. A podcast transcript is available. Students have the opportunity to learn independently from listening to a podcast, through playing a game, and through a research-based worksheet. It could be helpful to allow more time during the research portion of the lesson so that students who need more time are able to complete their analysis while students who finish quickly can continue researching. It could also be helpful for students to work in groups here.
• Technical Details/Ease of Use
  The carbon game requires enough classroom space for 7 stations and movement between them. This game has the potential to be moved to a remote format by using online die rolls and breakout rooms as stations.