Ojibwe Lifeway: Maple Sugaring and Birchbark Harvesting

Notes from our reviewers

The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials.

• Teaching Tips
  Teachers should be aware that some activities reference scenarios from the previous generations of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reports. In other parts of the scientific sources, the projections are more up to date. Consider how to bring this in to a unit about the cultural significance of natural resources. Be sure to follow the links at the bottom of each page in order to get to the next section.
• About the Science
  This resource features a lot of specific scientific data focused on how climate change will impact paper birch and sugar maple trees in Wisconsin. It guides students to create a hypothesis and test it by investigating the data provided. It also includes information about the importance of paper birch and sugar maple trees to Ojibwe culture. The science in this resource is sound; the resource provides detail and links to interactive maps and tools, which are relevant to the topic at hand. This material does an exceptional job linking large-scale climate change to tangible local outcomes without losing scientific rigor. The resource features both Traditional Ecological Knowledge and the scientific method and brings them together in a way that compliments both. Students are encouraged to conduct their own scientific investigations. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
• About the Pedagogy
  In this resource, students will investigate many aspects of climate change. The activities walk students through looking at climate projection maps and reading about impacts on paper birch and sugar maple trees, helping them develop hypotheses about how climate change will impact the trees, ecosystems, and culture. This resource functions as an online activity guide followed by online activities and suggested actions. There is a breadth of material so the instructor should be aware to pick a specific focus since it could otherwise be overwhelming for the students. The activities focus on paper birch and sugar maple trees, so is likely most applicable to students who live in regions with these species. No lesson times are provided, so teachers will need to consider how to use this resource in a way that makes sense for their classroom.
• Technical Details/Ease of Use
  Teachers will need to look through the information and try out the activities beforehand in order to have lessons prepared for students. Links to the various parts of the lesson are included at the bottom of each page, but the links back to other parts are at the top of each page.