This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

• identify agents that have an impact on forest health
• identify the roles of various insects and diseases in forest ecosystems
• describe how forest management decisions are affected by insects and diseases
• assess forest health management methods

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Review concepts of forest health. Then ask students to create forest health web charts.
• Have students research (using various print, video, and electronic sources) and report on forest insects or diseases. Each report should include a discussion of the positive and negative effects of the insect or disease, its life cycle, and control methods, and should be supported by photographs, descriptions, and scientific and common names. Students might offer their reports as part of a presentation at a public meeting.
• Set up stations depicting forest insects and diseases and their effects. (To illustrate the visible effects, include wood, bark, or foliage samples that have been damaged by them.) Challenge students to apply prior knowledge and research to identify each pathogen.
• As a class, brainstorm insect control methods (e.g., direct control, tree disposal, traps, chemicals, biological methods, silviculture, genetically engineered trees). Ask a forester or an entomologist to speak to the class about the applications of these methods.
• Have students design reconnaissance plans on maps of a local forested area to determine the extent of possible insect or disease infestations. Provide opportunities for students to carry out their plans in the field.
• Ask students to work in groups to create plans to manage a forest in terms of wildlife, insects, disease, or fire. As part of their plans, students should include the pros and cons of intervention. Invite a forester, forest technician, or wildlife biologist to critique students' plans.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• Before students begin their research on insects and diseases, work with them to establish criteria for their reports. Criteria might include:
  • a clear description and explanation of the biological cycle of the organism
  • a precise description of the environmental conditions required by the organism
  • an analysis of the impact of the organism on the forest and forest industries
  • identification and explanation of control methods for the organism, as well as the strengths and problems associated with each method
  Use self-, peer, and teacher assessment forms to provide feedback.
• As students work with insect and disease samples at various stations, note the extent to which they are able to:
  • identify insects and diseases using the specimens provided
  • match evidence of insect or disease presence with the correct organisms
  • identify an organism's impact (positive, negative, or mixed) on an area
• As students design and construct reconnaissance plans to determine the extent of disease or insect infestation in a given area, circulate and ask them to:
  • define the terms they use
  • list the resources they will require and how they will be used
  • explain why one reconnaissance technique was selected over another
• As students conduct their reconnaissance plans, assess the extent to which they are able to:
  • determine the extent of the infestations
  • explain how the presence and degree of infestation affects forest management decisions
  • suggest appropriate forest health management methods
  • estimate losses in terms of wood volume and revenues

• Balancing Act: Environmental Issues in Forestry
• Forest Practices Code Guidebooks
• Regenerating British Columbia's Forests

• The Introduction to Forest Health Video
• The Upper Bowron River Story

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