MiniPage activities meet many state and national educational standards. This week's standards:

MiniPage activities meet many state and national educational standards. This week's standards: Students understand the character and life cycles of organisms. (Science: Life Science)
Students understand the relationship of organisms to their environment. (Science: Life Science) Students understand changes in the environment. (Science: Personal and Social Perspectives)
Activities:
1. Divide a piece of paper into three equal parts. In one section, draw a forest the way it would look to a flying bird. In the second section, draw the forest the way it would look to a squirrel in a tree. In the third section, draw the forest the way it would look to a rabbit on the ground.
2. Ask family members and friends to tell you how they think the forests help us all. Make a list of their answers. Compare the answers to today's MiniPage. Did your family and friends name all the good things forests do?
3. Find at least 10 examples of products made from wood in the newspaper. List your items on a piece of paper. Now circle all the items that are also made from other products, such as plastic or metal. How can these substitutes help save the forests?
4. What solutions would you propose for these dangers to forests: (a) too much brush on the forest floor, (b) plants and insects that are not native to this country, (c) off-road vehicles, and (d) housing and business development?
5. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about forests near you. Use these questions to guide your research: Where is the nearest forest? What plants would you find in the canopy, shrub layer and low-plant layer? What animals would you find in the forest? Is the forest protected in any way? How do people use the forest? Is the forest endangered in any way?