Fired Up Over Math: Studying Wildfires From Space
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Provided by: NASA|Published on: November 20, 2023
Lesson PlansScientist Reviewed
3-12
Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson, students will explore fire progression maps for various wildfires in California's history, the Sand Fire's burn scar, and the difficulties firefighters faced during the King Fire.
- Students will complete a worksheet that develops their critical thinking skills and interactive media that allows them to consider a "bird's-eye" view of an area.
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Mathematics
Authors: NASA
Region: North America, USA - West, United States, California
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The worksheet is well-organized and easy to follow, and its difficulty increases so that teachers of elementary or middle grades can easily remove questions that aren't appropriate for their grade level.
- This lesson includes many NASA videos that teachers can use for extension purposes.
Additional Prerequisites
- For high school students, Google Earth is necessary for this lesson.
- It may be helpful if students know the term burn scar.
- The fourth paragraph in the background section introduces many otherwise unfamiliar terms and may benefit students to read before starting the lesson.
- Some links embedded in the background text and under the extension section don't work but aren't necessary for understanding the subject matter.
Differentiation
- Older students can use the worksheet for a research project on the devastating nature of wildfires and how proper forest management can mitigate this destruction.
- Teachers can use this lesson as a conceptual introduction to natural hazards exacerbated by climate change.
- This lesson can support a classroom discussion on the social, economic, and health impacts of wildfires.
- Only high school students should be required to complete the entire worksheet.
This resource is from the CLEAN collection. “The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness.”
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Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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