Why are wildfires near Tustin worse now than they were 100 years ago?
Overview
Unit: Chemical Reaction
Topic: The equilibrium and rate of chemical reaction
Grade Level(s): 9-12 high school
Duration of the unit: about 5 weeks
Unit Materials: Click here.
This unit begins with students relating their personal experiences with local wildfires--especially the Canyon 2 Fire that resulted in a cancelled school day in the 2017-18 school year. They compare the way Tustin looks today to how it looked about 100 years ago when Tustin High School opened (1921) and propose an initial model for why wildfires are worse now than they were 100 years ago in relation to the change of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Over the course of the unit, students are guided to expand/revise their ideas by engaging in various activities. Specifically, they learn about systems thinking and the chemistry concepts of rates and equilibrium. Students explored how temperature and concentration affect the rate of a chemical reaction (the rate of wildfire outbreak and spread) via a small “rocket” launch activity. They use the carbon cycle to explain the changing equilibrium and predict the results of stresses added to that system. Students investigate climate change by determining their own carbon footprint as well as considering climate change denier claims and using evidence from data tables, graphs, and charts to disprove them. Throughout the unit, students revised their initial explanatory model a few times as they gather new ideas and evidence. Students are also introduced indigenous people’s sense-making about the recent wildfire in CA--how they make sense of it and how they have been harmoniously living and managing the ecosystem as a part of the nature using “controlled burn.” Students construct a final model and then propose a solution to lessen the severity of wildfires. Read more about this unit here.
Topic: The equilibrium and rate of chemical reaction
Grade Level(s): 9-12 high school
Duration of the unit: about 5 weeks
Unit Materials: Click here.
This unit begins with students relating their personal experiences with local wildfires--especially the Canyon 2 Fire that resulted in a cancelled school day in the 2017-18 school year. They compare the way Tustin looks today to how it looked about 100 years ago when Tustin High School opened (1921) and propose an initial model for why wildfires are worse now than they were 100 years ago in relation to the change of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Over the course of the unit, students are guided to expand/revise their ideas by engaging in various activities. Specifically, they learn about systems thinking and the chemistry concepts of rates and equilibrium. Students explored how temperature and concentration affect the rate of a chemical reaction (the rate of wildfire outbreak and spread) via a small “rocket” launch activity. They use the carbon cycle to explain the changing equilibrium and predict the results of stresses added to that system. Students investigate climate change by determining their own carbon footprint as well as considering climate change denier claims and using evidence from data tables, graphs, and charts to disprove them. Throughout the unit, students revised their initial explanatory model a few times as they gather new ideas and evidence. Students are also introduced indigenous people’s sense-making about the recent wildfire in CA--how they make sense of it and how they have been harmoniously living and managing the ecosystem as a part of the nature using “controlled burn.” Students construct a final model and then propose a solution to lessen the severity of wildfires. Read more about this unit here.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS):
HS-PS1-5:
HS-PS1-6:
HS-ESS2-2:
HS-ESS3-5:
HS-ESS2-4:
HS-PS1-6:
HS-ESS2-2:
HS-ESS3-5:
HS-ESS2-4:
chemical reactions and equilibrium storyline
unit summary table
In this table, we have summarized a few activities that we did for this unit by specifying:
- What students observe? (observations/patters)
- What did we learn?
- How will this (activity) help us answer our essential question?
Assessment materials
- Initial Assessment
- Final assessment
- Students' presentation video
- Students work examples
Google drive unit materials
Click here to see Google Drive unit materials.
Curriculum Development
people
- Co-designing the unit storyline & assessment: Lidsay Fay, Abbey Zinsser and , Paul Tschida at Tustin High School, Gregg Leslie at Foothill High School, & Hosun Kang at UCI
- Implementing the curriculum and assessment in classroom: Lidsay Fay, Abbey Zinsser and Alicia Fortier at Tustin High School.
- Curriculum writing: Paul Tschida, Lidsay Fay, and Abbey Zinsser at Tustin High School
- Reviewing the curriculum: Lauren Snow, Stephen Skoropad, and Hosun Kang at UCI
WHAT STUDENT SAY:
- “I'm kind of just like interested in a way because I want to see how the difference was before 100 years ago and now. You kind of see how crazy it got and you're just like ‘woah all these humans could be killed. All the animals, the dry land, the pollution and all these different things could be a cause.’ So it's very fascinating how you see the big difference and the big gap of how things have changed really quickly over time.”
- “I really like this one and I think it's because it’s more of like real life. I feel like this is more useful to me knowing like now that I know how to prevent it and how it even starts not even by a human but by the weather and how it can all start. Yah I like this unit a lot.”