Manitoba Education & Curriculum Development
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KEY to the Forest – A New Science Enrichment Program for Grade 11 Students in Winnipeg
Are you currently in Grade 11 and attending a high school in Winnipeg? Are you interested in environmental sciences and are looking for a cool way to learn about the environment in a hands-on way? Would you like to spend an awesome week in the boreal forest in eastern Manitoba, learning how to conduct environmental monitoring studies? If so, have we got a program for you! Click here for more information and a copy of the application form. Applications and a letter of support from one of your science teachers are due June 1, 2012. Apply early! Bob Austman, MBMF Education Coordinator Phone: (204) 268-1140 |
Opportunity for Teachers to Learn About and Experience the Boreal Forest Are you a school teacher that would like to know how to inject more locally-relevant information about our boreal forest and natural resource management into your lesson plans? Would you like to learn about the boreal forest first-hand by spending 3 days in the heart of the boreal forest in eastern Manitoba, and receive Manitoba-specific curriculum supplements on the boreal forest? If so, have we got a program for you! Join the staff of the Manitoba Model Forest for the Manitoba Model Forest Summer Institute for Teachers, a 3 day professional development workshop at Shoe Lake (Nopiming Provincial Park) in July, 2012. Register early, as space is limited (Cost $100). Bob Austman, MBMF Education Coordinator Phone: (204) 268-1140 |
In an effort to promote the understanding of boreal forest ecosystem functions and natural resource management, the Manitoba Model Forest (MBMF) continues to develop curriculum packages for teachers that are accredited by
Manitoba Education. The MBMF has developed four curriculum packages, to date, for junior high and high school courses in an effort to provide boreal forest educational material for students living in urban and rural environments. The
MBMF Education Coordinator offers professional development in-service training to assist teachers in the implementation of these curricula. He also works with student teachers in their final year, in the Faculty of Education, in order to distribute our educational materials to them and assist them with their implementation as they begin their teaching career. Printed copies are provided free of charge to participating teachers and the curriculum documents are also available for downloading. The following provincially- accredited curricula have been developed:
Interactions with Forest Ecosystems – Grade 7 Science
Interactions Within Forest Ecosystems contains educational material on plant and animal life in the Boreal forest, ecological cycles of the forest and humans use of the forest. The curriculum package meets the Manitoba Education requirements for Grade 7 Science.
Sustainable Forest Ecosystems – Grade 10 Science
Sustainable Forest Ecosystems contains an introduction to the Boreal forest and forest ecology, information on the dynamics of forest ecosystems and explains sustainable forest management. The curriculum package meets the Manitoba Education curriculum requirements for Grade 10 Science.
Woodland Caribou – Grade 12 Biology and Grade 10 to 12 Topics in Science
The Wonderful World of the Woodland Caribou contains educational material on the life requisites of Woodland Caribou and their status as a Threatened species, First Nation peoples relationship to caribou, educational games and a video. The curriculum package meets the Manitoba Education requirements for Grade 10 -12 Topics in Science and Grade 12 Biology. The curriculum Le Monde Merveilleux du Caribou des Bois de la Foret Boreal is also available in French. The video used in the curriculum package, titled Shadows of the Forest, was developed by the Eastern Manitoba Woodland Caribou Advisory Committee to tell the story of Manitoba’s woodland caribou and the work being done to protect them. Additional VHF or DVD copies of the Shadows of the Forest (English only) video are available by contacting the Model Forest office.
Natural Resources, Forestry – Grade 10 Social Studies
In Manitoba High Schools, students learn about Natural Resource Management in the Grade 10 Social Studies course. The prescribed textbook, “Geographic Issues of the 21st Century”, has chapters devoted to mining, forestry, fisheries, energy, agriculture, and other earth resources. To enhance the chapter on Forestry, we have produced a curriculum supplement (A Focus on Forestry), which meets all Manitoba Department of Education outcomes while at the same time providing teachers and their students a broader perspective on forest management in Canada and Manitoba. Designed to fill in gaps in the current textbook, the curriculum supplement provides students and teachers with a backgrounder on forest management, and the best practices in use today to ensure that our forest resources continue to be sustainable. The supplement also examines challenges facing the forest industry today, and the economics that shape lumber, pulp, and paper production in the context of global competition. Students and teachers will find a diversity of approaches taken in the chapter assignments and ideas for further research, as well as topics for discussion, which cover controversial topics such as the role of clear-cutting in forest management. First Nations perspectives of sustainability are also included in the curriculum supplement, as well as coverage of natural and man-made issues facing our forest resources. Finally, students will have an opportunity to complete the required GIS project using real data from an actual Woodland Caribou Management Plan carried out within the Manitoba Model Forest area of eastern Manitoba. Students will plot caribou GPS location data and then analyze the factors that provide for ideal Caribou habitat within the Boreal Forest of eastern Manitoba.
There are 4 parts to the lesson and are available in .zip format here:
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A Focus on Forestry - Curriculum Supplement Grade 10 Social Studies (.pdf)
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Focus on Forestry Lessons (download .zip)
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Focus on Forestry Data (download .zip)
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Focus on Forestry Answers (download .zip)
We are certain that students and teachers who use this supplement will come away with a greater insight to the complex issues surrounding the management of one of Canada’s greatest and most abundant natural resources – the Boreal Forest, and perhaps a greater awareness of its sustainability for many generations to come.