NUTSHELL:  In this lesson, students work in teams and use primary data sources, such as weather data and an emergency radio traffic log, to investigate the Cottonville Fire.  Using primary documents such as newspaper articles, students study how the fire was suppressed and evaluate successes and limitations to fighting the fire.  To conclude, teams are given post-fire landowner dilemmas to discuss.  
BIG IDEAS
In Wisconsin, there are two main types of wildland fire – wildfire and prescribed fire. Wildfires start without the intent of the landowner or land manager and are uncontrolled and unwanted. Prescribed fires are contained and are planned to meet the goals of a landowner or land manager.The ignition of wildland fire can be caused by human activity (e.g., debris burning and other outdoor burning, machine sparks, children playing with matches, power lines, fireworks) or natural sources (e.g., lightning, spontaneous combustion). Human activity is responsible for most wildland fires in Wisconsin.Fire requires oxygen, heat, and fuel to exist. Collectively these elements are known as the fire triangle. Under most conditions, the three elements can be manipulated to slow or stop the spread of fire.Fire behavior is influenced by topography, weather, and fuel characteristics. The fire season is determined by seasonal changes in weather and fuel.Wildland fire management has direct and indirect costs and benefits for the economy. Effective wildland fire management requires both financial and human resources.The wildland/urban interface is an area where human structures exist among wildland fuels. As people move into fire prone areas, the potential for ignition of wildland fire increases, and buildings and other human-made objects become a possible fuel source.
OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
Explore the ecologic, economic, and social affects of wildfire.Examine multiple data sources to make predictions and draw conclusions about a natural phenomenon.Discuss how wildfire behaves and the factors that influence this behavior.Analyze wildfire suppression efforts and evaluate challenges in each.
SUBJECT AREAS Geography, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
LESSON/ACTIVITY TIME
Total Lesson Time: 235 minutesTime Breakdown: Introduction--5 minutes; Activity 1--60 minutes; Activity 2--90 minutes; Activity 3 --40 minutes; Conclusion--40 minutes

In this lesson, students will identify the Earth's natural resources and classify them as renewable or non-renewable. They will simulate the distribution of resources and discuss the fairness and effectiveness of the distribution. Students will identify ways that they use and waste natural resources, and they will explore ways that engineers interact with natural resources.

Author: Tammy Moncel, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School Middle School, Integrated ScienceProtection of freshwater on Earth is a global responsibility but the Native American efforts to protect the Great Lakes Freshwater is of particular interest to the people throughout Wisconsin. The movie “Bad River” is a relevant perspective of some key arguments from the view of the water protectors in Native American communities. This documentary highlights Native speakers and the defiance of the Bad River tribe required to stand up to oil companies. This movie was used at the end of our school year (coinciding with the release date of the documentary) to promote understanding of the Native American perspective of issues that have been a great source of media attention throughout the state of Wisconsin. A major part of understanding the importance of freshwater protection includes an understanding of the water cycle. The very simplified version of the water cycle includes precipitation, evaporation and condensation. The handouts of these words with pictures and Ojibwemowin translations gives students a starting point to talk about water as a closed system with continuous recycling in nature. My students were able to connect the English vocabulary meaning to the descriptive Ojibwemowin translation.

Have we overstepped Mother Earth's boundaries? What are the consequences? In this video segment adapted from Haskell Indian Nations University, hear a Native perspective on our relationship with the natural environment.

Examines alternative economic, political, and social perspectives of property rights and their policy and planning implications. Focuses on institutional and governance structures, power and control mechanisms, distributional consequences of different property rights arrangements, and problems of incomplete contracts as presented in theory and practice. Deals with property-rights issues related to two or more of the following: land, natural resources, infrastructure, or industrial organization.

When most of us think of reindeer, images of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh come to mind. But dependency on reindeer isn't just the stuff of holiday songs. For some people living above the Arctic Circle, reindeer are crucial part of life, providing food, transportation, clothing and other essentials. Recent developments in human history have intruded on this traditional life, especially oil and gas production in the Arctic and climate change. Bruce Forbes from the University of Lapland and his colleagues have studied how these changes have impacted the Nenet, a group of reindeer herders who live in parts of Siberia. They have found that the Nenet, and the reindeer they depend on, are adapting well to these changes, and their culture and way of life endure.

This video segment adapted from Northwest Indian College reveals how Native American life and knowledge is connected to natural cycles.

In this video profile produced for Teachers' Domain, meet conservationist Steve MacLean, an Inupiaq from Barrow, Alaska, who works to preserve the health of the Bering Sea ecosystem.

With "Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation", first and second-year college students are introduced to this expanding new field, comprehensively exploring the essential concepts from every branch of knowldege Đ including engineering and the applied arts, natural and social sciences, and the humanities. As sustainability is a multi-disciplinary area of study, the text is the product of multiple authors drawn from the diverse faculty of the University of Illinois: each chapter is written by a recognized expert in the field. This text is designed to introduce the reader to the essential concepts of sustainability. This subject is of vital importance seeking as it does to uncover the principles of the long-term welfare of all the peoples of the planet but is only peripherally served by existing college textbooks.

This workshop investigates the current state of sustainability in regards to architecture, from the level of the tectonic detail to the urban environment. Current research and case studies will be investigated, and students will propose their own solutions as part of the final project.

Subject considers how the visual and material world of "nature" has been reshaped by industrial practices, beliefs, structures, and activities. Readings in historical geography, aesthetics, American history, environmental and ecological history, architecture, city planning, and landscape studies. Several field trips planned to visit local industrial landscapes. Assignments involve weekly short, written responses to the readings, and discussion-leading. Final project is a photo-essay on the student's choice of industrial site (photographic experience not necessary).

This course analyzes cooperative processes that shape the natural environment, now and in the geologic past. It emphasizes the development of theoretical models that relate the physical and biological worlds, the comparison of theory to observational data, and associated mathematical methods.

This course analyzes cooperative processes that shape the natural environment, now and in the geologic past. It emphasizes the development of theoretical models that relate the physical and biological worlds, the comparison of theory to observational data, and associated mathematical methods.

This activity allows students to explore the "tragedy of the commons" in which common usage of limited, potentially renwable resource invariably leads to its exploitation.  In this simulation the students imagine they are fisherman sharing access to a common fishing pond.

Wise management of tribal lands and natural resources is very important for the future of American Indian communities. Tribes depend on these resources to sustain their economies and cultures long into the future. Tribal leaders know that lands and natural resources are at risk of degradation and there is a need for good management to protect and restore those resources. Each tribe has its own unique and special natural gifts. Coastal tribes have the salmon, Alaska Natives tribes have the caribou, and Great Plains tribes have the bison. In the Great Lakes region there is wild rice and maple syrup. In the Northwest, there is the whale.

In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students examine how to use fractions to measure and help conserve freshwater resources.

In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students examine our growing waste problem and learn about strategies we can use to lessen the strain on our landfills and Earth's natural resources: reduce, reuse, recycle.

This lesson helps students think about ways humans use freshwater and how we can conserve this natural resource.

In this video segment adapted from Haskell Indian Nations University, meet Elders who describe dramatic changes that they have witnessed in their local environments.