Forest Activity: Forest Layers (Grades 1-6)

Objective: After viewing teacher-bookmarked pages of the

Museumlink forest Module , including the landscape paintings, and

discussing the names and functions of the forest layers found in

these images, students will be able to draw or paint a landscape of a

forest type containing these layers and be able to identify and

describe these layers.

Time Required : 90 minute period Museumlink Web Sites:

Forest, Present Day and Recent

https://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/forest/htmls/pr.html

Materials:

sketch paper (approx. 5.5 by 8.5 inches)

painting paper (12 by 18 inches)

pencils

medium for final work: crayon, oil pastel, or tempera or watercolor paint, water, brushes

Procedure:

Using as an example the illustration of forest layers the photograph on the forest layers page of

Museumlink Forest and landscape paintings, students will make a landscape drawing or painting that

includes in its content layers of the forest. They could sketch outside on a field trip to a forest, or use the

Web site photos or other images they secure:

* make a sketch of the forest parts they are going to draw or paint, making alterations and changes on

the sketch paper before transferring final version to final paper.

*transfer their sketch onto final paper the tree shapes (canopies and trunks) first, then the shrubs, the

ground covers and litter. Include animals that live in this habitat from information they learned from

other sources in class, choosing the placement according to the animals' correct habitats.

Assessment : Students should be able to identify and describe each layer, what kinds of plants make up

each layer, functions of each layer, and how the animals use the forest layers to survive.

Illinois Goals and Standards addressed:

Science

Goal 12.B: Know and apply concepts that describe how living things interact with each other and with

their environment.

Early Elementary:12.B.1a : Describe and compare characteristics of living things in relation-

ship to their environments. 12.B.1b: Describe how living things depend on one another for

survival.

Late Elementary: 12.B.2a: Describe relationships among various organisms in their environ-

ments.

Fine Arts: Visual Arts

Goal 27.B: Understand how the arts shape and reflect history, society, and everyday life.

Early Elementary: 27.B.1 : Know how images...convey stories about people, places, and times.