Trees, Forests, and Climate Change
Provided by: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative|Published on: April 27, 2021|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Chemistry, Biology, Earth and Space Sciences
Authors: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
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 →
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
- This comprehensive lesson plan includes a podcast, a kinesthetic carbon cycle game, and an interactive map investigation into tree cover and carbon density.
- The lesson covers many topics, including the carbon cycle, carbon sequestration, eddy-flux measurements of CO2, the current scientific uncertainty about how much carbon a forest can store, where to plant trees, and what happens to a tree at the end of its life cycle.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The game will get students up and moving around, while helping them understand the carbon cycle.
- Students will use their critical thinking skills to evaluate carbon sequestration rates and the factors that affect the rate of carbon sequestration in forests around the world.
Additional Prerequisites
- The guide includes tips for adapting the material for a number of subjects and the worksheets can be printed or shared electronically.
Differentiation
- For smaller classes or groups playing the game, consider having students leave place-holder cards at the various stations to identify where the carbon is stored and have students take turns placing the cards in their locations.
- You could listen to the podcast in class or assign it for completion outside of class and then have a class discussion and play the carbon cycle game in class.
- Science classes can explore the many other benefits of forests including providing habitat for the vast majority of species on land, producing oxygen, regulating the water cycle, filtering the air, providing shade, and stabilizing the soil.
- Other resources about trees include this video about natural solutions to climate change, this video by the Years project, and this interactive table of solutions.
This resource introduces the concept of natural resources and biodiversity conservation. This is insightful for students to learn this technology and thus, the resource is valid and recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
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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