Timber!

Lesson Plans

Grades3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8Social Studies, Biology, Mathematics

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by Population Education

Open Resource

What it is

This game will allow students to observe how the starting population size of trees in a forest and the rate of deforestation affect forests over time.
Students will work in groups of four to complete the game, record the changes in the number of trees on the worksheet, and graph the data.

Teaching tips

Positives

This resource is interactive and involves role-playing skills.
The activity combines math, science, and social studies concepts.

Additional Prerequisites

Teachers need to enter their email addresses to download the lesson.
Teachers must gather supplies for the game.

Differentiation

Students can plot their graphs on graphing paper or use the linked digital graphing tool.
If students need support, the teacher could walk four students through the simulation as a demonstration for the whole class. Teachers could project the worksheet on the board and the class could work together to fill in the numbers.
Students could apply this concept to other natural resources that must be managed in a sustainable way.
Spanish classes could use this lesson to help students apply their knowledge in reading, writing, and speaking Spanish.
Other resources on this topic include this video on Indigenous sustainable forestry practices, this video that shows how nature can balance and restore ecosystems, and this activity on learning about climate history from tree stumps.

From the scientist review

The resource will build the capacity of students on forest resources management, including the analysis of the supply chain. This is recommended for classroom.

How we review resources

Ready to use it?

Hosted on populationeducation.org

Open Resource

Want this to fit your class?

Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.

At a glance

Grades: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Subjects: Social Studies, Biology, Mathematics
Other types: Worksheets, Games
Format: PDF
Language: English
Location: Earth
Provider: Population Education
Authors: Population Education
Published: June 10, 2022
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · D2.Geo.8.3-5 + 6 more

Core

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D2.Geo.8.3-5Explain how human settlements and movements relate to the locations and use of various natural resources.

Maine Climate Education Hub

Mathematics

5.G.A.1Use a pair of perpendicular number lines, called axes, to define a coordinate system, with the intersection of the lines (the origin) arranged to coincide with the 0 on each line and a given point in the plane located by using an ordered pair of numbers, called its coordinates. Understand that the first number indicates how far to travel from the origin in the direction of one axis, and the second number indicates how far to travel in the direction of the second axis, with the convention that the names of the two axes and the coordinates correspond (e.g., x-axis and x-coordinate, y-axis and y-coordinate).
5.G.A.2Represent real-world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane and interpret coordinate values of points in the context of the situation.

Science and Engineering

5-ESS3-1Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
MS-LS2-1Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

Social Studies

Economics:Students understand the basis of the economies of the community, Maine, the United States, and various regions of the world by examining different ways producers of goods and services help satisfy the wants and needs of consumers in a market economy by using entrepreneurship, natural, human and capital resources, as well as collaborating to make a decision.
Economics(D1): Students understand the principles and processes of personal economics, the influence of economics on personal life and business, and the economic systems of Maine, the United States, and various regions of the world by explaining how scarcity requires choices and relates to the market economy, entrepreneurship, supply and demand.

Cookie Preferences

What it is

Teaching tips

From the scientist review

Ready to use it?

Want this to fit your class?

Related Teaching Resources