Fueling the Fires of Industrialization

Set the stage for this activity by leading a group discussion answering the following questions:

1. What role did wood play in the American Industrial Revolution?
2. How can technology help conserve the environment?
3. Name two products derived from the forest 150 years ago. Name two products derived from the forest present-day.

Assign Worksheet 1 and Worksheet 2 and have students read the essay "Fueling the Fires of Industrialization" in order to answer the questions.

Distribute Worksheet 3, “Notes", and “Photos”. The Photos page was created to look like an authentic piece of evidence (written by hand, fragments, and errors such as a misspelling and a cross-out) so students would be exposed to the difficulties involved in examining historical sources. Optional: Worksheet 3 describes the contents of a box that has been found. Instead of merely handing out the contents (Notes and Photos), you could place these pages in a box to make the activity seem more realistic. Read aloud the scenario, problems, and assignment described on Worksheet 3 to familiarize the students with their work for the day. For this assignment students are asked to create a short television program describing the role wood played in the American Industrial Revolution. You might want to suggest some possibilities for completing the assignment such as a news report, documentary, interview, short movie, or even a music video. Additionally, allow students some flexibility when deciding how to create their program. For instance, some students may want to tape their show on a camcorder, others may choose to design a Power Point presentation, or some could act in a short movie or pretend to be news anchors. Depending upon the length of your class periods, this activity probably will run for 2 days (the first involving completion of the chart on Worksheet 3 and preparation of the television program and the second will allow time for each group of students to perform their program for the class).

Distribute “The Railroad and the Tie” worksheet. Ask for a volunteer to read Part I aloud to the class. If the students have no questions, move onto Part II. Before arranging students into groups to begin the activity, carefully explain the sample graph provided on “The Railroad and the Tie.” Remind students that when graphing they need to label the “x” and “y” axes, provide a title for the graph, and make sure to use equal intervals when drawing a graph (for example, the sample graph used intervals of 10 years and 10,000 miles of track). Instruct students that not all line graphs will include a point for each interval. So, even if they have 7 years on their graph, for instance, they might only have data that corresponds to 5 of the years shown on their graph. Divide students into groups and distribute Worksheet 4.

Allow students 20-25 minutes to draw their 2 graphs and answer the questions from Part IV of “The Railroad and the Tie.” Place a completed version of Worksheet 4 on an overhead projection to allow students the opportunity to check the accuracy of their 2 graphs. Ask a volunteer from each group to place the answers to the 3 questions from Part IV on the board. Go over the answers for each question so that students understand any errors they may have made.

Pre-class preparation: Click on “Object Cards.” Place the items listed on the cards in five separate numbered containers or boxes. For example, box one should contain a packet of instant hot chocolate, a small package of tissues, and a container of glue. Make sure that the boxes or containers have lids so that students cannot see the objects until they are instructed to do so. Cut out the five “object cards,” but do not place them in the corresponding boxes at this time.

At the beginning of class, divide students into 5 groups. Distribute one box to each group. Inform students that each of the items contained in their boxes are related somehow – allow students 5 minutes to hypothesize about the possible connection and instruct them not to show any of their items to anyone outside of their group! After 5 minutes, inform students that the connection between the objects is that they all come from trees; quickly review the vocabulary from Worksheet 1 that relates to this topic (resin, terpene, and cellulose) before proceeding any further.

Distribute the corresponding “object cards” and Worksheet 5. Instruct students that the cards contain additional information about each of their objects and the game they soon will play. Read the directions together on Worksheet 5 and allow the groups 15 minutes to complete the worksheet. Ask each group to come to the front of the room to play the “It Comes From A Tree” game – award the winning group a prize. Once the game has been completed assign students the following homework assignment:

Ask students to keep a week-long inventory of household items derived from trees that they and their family use on an everyday basis. The list should contain 15 items, but should not include any of the specific items already discussed in class. Instruct students that one way to discern if a product comes from a tree is by reading its ingredients. Write the following tree derivatives on the board or an overhead sheet for students to copy: cellulose (or any form of cellulose such as cellulose powder, gum, or methylcellulose); eucalyptus; cedar oil; pulp; balsam; lemon peel; citric acid; carnauba; resin; camphor; esters. Warn students that even though many household items contain one or more of the above derivatives, some products, most especially household cleaners like Windex and Palmolive, do not always reflect this information on the label. Encourage students to use “Goods from the Woods” and “Products from the Woods” from the Links section of the activity if they need help completing their inventory. At the end of the assignment ask students to share a few of the items from their list with the rest of the class.

Sample inventory of household items derived from trees:

Choose from one of three types of activity assessments.

• Application and Integration Exercise
• Test
• Reflective Exercise