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Resource Warfare

A simulation to give students an understanding of the conditions that trees need to live and grow and to help them learn that trees often must compete for their needs.
 

Duration
Less than 1 hour
Lesson Type
Traditional Lesson

Lesson Created By: Savannah River Ecology Lab

Essential Question

What resources do plants need that are limited by their environment?

Grade(s):

  • 1

Subject(s):

Recommended Technology:

Other Instructional Materials or Notes:

Paper plates/ white paper
3" x 3" squares of colored paper (blue, yellow, red, & black)

Lesson Progression

Getting Ready:

  • Prepare small squares of blue, yellow, and green paper (enough to give 2 to each student) that will represent water, light, and nutrients respectively.

The Activity:

  • Place paper plates on the floor about 3ft. apart, have students stand in the center of them.
  • Place resource squares equally around the students.
  • Signal students to collect resources for ~30 sec. They are not allowed to leave their plate, they can only collect resources within reach.
  • After the first collection round is over, have students record the number of each type of resource they collected. Discuss the results of the first round.
    • How many resources did they acquire?
    • Were they missing any?
    • What would happen to a tree if they were lacking one of those resources?
    • Can a plant have too much of one type of resource?
  • Repeat the resource collection round, but this time have 3-5 students share a space.
  • Compare what happened this round to the previous.
  • Discuss how these findings might be related to foresters caring for trees.
  • Try several more rounds, but change the dynamic each time:
    • Fewer water squares to simulate drought
    • Fewer sunlight squares to simulate shading of younger trees due to overcrowding
    • Fewer nutrient squares to show poor soil quality
    • Add a mysterious new square (black or red) don’t tell students what it is. At the end of the round tell them it represented fire or insect infestation.

Teacher Notes

Trees, just like people need all sorts of resources to grow. They need water, air, and nutrients to grow up strong and healthy. But unlike people, trees make their own food instead of eating it. They use the sun's energy, taking in carbon dioxide through their leaves and produce the food they need. Trees also need nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, which they take up through their roots from the soil. Just as humans are affected by a lack of proper food and water, so are trees. If they do not receive enough sun, water, or those nutrients from the soil, they often die.