Yellowstone Fires of 1988 -- Novice Lessons

Fire in

Novice Lesson

Introduction:

What is fire?

Exploration

Lesson 1:
A quick review on map reading.
Teacher's guide to map reading.


Week ending July 23, 1988	Week ending July 30, 1988	Week ending August 6, 1988	Week ending August 13, 1988	Week ending August 20, 1988

Look at the maps above.

Lesson 2:

Study the maps given above.

Notice the shape of the fire region for the week ending July 30. What do you think could have caused the 'lobster claw' shape of the fire?
Discuss any relationship between wind and the path of the fire.
Discuss any connections between where the fire burned, elevation, and vegetation.

Lesson 3:

no data
through 7/30/88
7/31/88
8/1/88
8/2/88
8/3/88
8/4/88
8/5/88
8/6/88
Water

Look at the map of the North Fork Fire on August 5, 1988.

Explain how the fire could burn in two different places.
Locate the "fingers" extending South in the fire of August 5. What do you think caused them?
Estimate the distance between the August 4th fire and the fingers of the August 5th fire.
What direction was the fire moving? Why?
Where do you think the fire will burn next?
Do you think the North Fork fire will reach Old Fathful? Why?
What might cause the fire to reach Old Faithful?

Lesson 4:

How can fire help forests? Discuss and list some ways that fire can help the forest. Check your list with the one below.

Reduce the build-up of fuel, and thus the intensity of future burns.
Recycle nutrients bound up in litter.
Reduce competition, allowing existing trees to grow larger.
Leave snags that provide nesting spots for woodpeckers and other birds.
Sprout seeds of native plants. For example, the cones of many lodgepole pines -- the characteristic tree of Yellowstone -- will only open after exposure to fire.
Kill non-native plants that are not adapted to fire.

Extensions:

Describe the changes that took place in Yellowtone National Park over the last 10 years.
How can you protect yourself from a wildfire?
Teacher link, more activities about fire.
What did the animals do while the fire was in the Park?
Where did the animals go during the fire?

Glossary

vegetation: The types of plants that grow in a certain place. Some are tall and others are short. For example: