Minnesota's Firewise in the Classroom is a free curriculum for grades 6-12 correlated to national and Minnesota geography, science, and social studies standards.
Who should use it
Minnesota teachers of grade 6-12 science, geography, or social studies.
Access the curriculum
Fill out the Firewise in the Classroom form to request access to this free curriculum.
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Curriculum Description
Students will play a critical role in helping their communities reduce wildfire risk while gaining knowledge, applying new skills, being exposed to potential careers, and providing valuable wildfire risk data to their communities and state.
The curriculum consists of five 45-minute modules and one multi-day community project that can be adapted to accommodate class length or remote learning. Modules include videos, a GIS application, PowerPoints, and simple classroom items you already have. Teachers are encouraged to engage their local Firewise specialist as part of the unit.
- The Science of Wildland Fire – students identify scientific variables that contribute to wildland fires.
- The Geography of Wildland Fire - students learn geographic variables and hypothesize risk on specific landscapes
- Minnesota History of Wildland Fires – students learn what caused devasting wildfires in Minnesota.
- The Public Land Survey System – an introduction
- Firewise Level 1 Risk Assessments – learning an assessment process and assign wildfire ratings to their community using GIS.
- Developing a Community Firewise Report – students create and present their reports.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources provides this curriculum as part of Firewise USA®, a national program helping communities adapt to living with the risk of wildland fire.
For questions, email [email protected].