Skip to main content
Natural Inquirer - Homepage

Free Science Materials for K-12 Students

  • Bookmarks
  • Cart0
  • Account
  • Find Outdoors
  • USDA
  • USDA Forest Service logo.
Natural Inquirer - Homepage
  • About
    • About Natural Inquirer
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Press & Past Events
    • Contact Us
  • Resources
    • View All Resources
    • Grade Levels
      • PreK - 2nd Grade
      • Upper Elementary
      • Middle School
      • High School
      • All Grade Levels
    • Resource Types
      • Articles
      • Activities
      • Collector Cards
      • Coloring Books
      • Glossary
      • Lesson Plans
      • Scientists & Collaborators
      • Spotlights
      • Virtual Learning Adventures
      • All Types
    • Resource Topics
      • Wilderness
      • Wildlife
      • Water
      • Climate
      • Social Science
      • Fire
      • Agriculture
      • Recreation
      • Carbon
      • Insects
      • All Topics
    • Special Collections
      • Artemis Moon Trees
      • Experimental Forests & Ranges
      • Project Learning Tree Connections
      • Globe Connections
      • Smokey Bear
      • Spanish Editions
      • Woodsy Owl
      • World's Forests
      • All Special Collections
  • Order Materials
    • View All Products
    • Journals & Monographs
    • Readers
    • Collector Card Packs
    • Coloring Books
  • Educators
    • For Educators
      • Note to Educators
      • Educator Blog
      • Educator Newsletter
    • Classroom Ready Resources
      • Lesson Plans
      • Activities
      • Learning Modules
      • GLOBE Connections
      • Project Learning Tree
    • Get Involved
      • Volunteer Your Classroom
  • Virtual Learning Adventures
  • Bookmarks
  • Cart
  • Account
  • About
    • About Natural Inquirer
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Press & Past Events
    • Contact
  • Resources
        • View All Resources
        • By Grade
          • PreK - 2nd
          • Upper Elementary
          • Middle School
          • High School
        • By Type
          • Articles
          • Activities
          • Collector Cards
          • Coloring Books
          • Glossary
          • Lesson Plans
          • Learning Modules
          • Journals
          • Monographs
          • Readers
          • Scientists & Collaborators
          • Spotlights
          • Virtual Learning Adventures
          • All Types
        • By Topic
          • Agriculture
          • Carbon
          • Climate
          • Fire
          • Insects
          • Recreation
          • Social Science
          • Water
          • Wilderness
          • Wildlife
          • All Topics
        • Special Collections
          • Artemis Moon Trees
          • Experimental Forests and Ranges
          • GLOBE Connections
          • Project Learning Tree Connections
          • Smokey Bear
          • Spanish Editions
          • Woodsy Owl
          • World's Forests
          • All Special Collections
  • Order Materials
        • Download all resources - FREE!

          **Due to recent government funding changes, we currently are only able to process bulk orders.** We hope that we will be able to resolve this issue in the near future. In the meantime, please feel free to download our resources and explore the website for many great lesson plans and activities. Thank you!

          View All Products
        • Journals & Monographs

          Journals focus on a group of related articles, while monographs focus on one research article.

          Journals & Monographs
        • Collector Cards

          Learn about possible career opportunities in science!

          View All Card Packs
        • Readers

          For a PreK-2nd grade audience, each Reader focuses on one Forest Service scientist and their research.

          View All Readers
        • Coloring Books

          Learn more about science through our coloring books!

          View All Coloring Books
  • Educators
        • Overview
          • Educator Guide
        • Classroom Ready Resources
          • Learning Modules
          • Lesson Plans
          • Explore All
        • Order Materials
          • View All Free Products
          • Contact Us
        • For Educators
          • Educator Blog
          • Educator Newsletter
          • Project Learning Tree
        • Get Involved
          • Volunteer Your Classroom
  • Virtual Learning Adventures

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Resources
  • Fire and Water: Predicting Future Wildfires in a Changing Climate
Bookmark
Please login to bookmark Close

Please login to bookmark


Lost your password?

No account yet? Register

Fire and Water: Predicting Future Wildfires in a Changing Climate

  • Article
  • Middle School
  • 1 Classroom Period
  • Climate
  • Fire
  • Drought
  • Prescribed Fire
  • Wildfire
  • Wildland Fire
PDF preview of Fire and Water article cover. The background photo is the tops of a small group of trees.
SHARE
  • Copy Link
  • Facebook
  • X (Twitter)
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Google Classroom

Successfully predicting where and when wildfires might occur is important. This prediction is important because of possible environmental and economic damage. As the climate warms, the possibility of wildfires might increase. The scientists in this study wanted to predict where and in what seasons wildfires might occur.

 

Fire and Water: Predicting Future Wildfires in a Changing Climate

Part Of

Natural IQ Climate Change - Vol. 1 No. 1

Explore Full Journal
SHARE
  • Copy Link
  • Facebook
  • X (Twitter)
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Google Classroom
Download PDF
  • The question you will answer in this FACTivity is: How would I use technology to communicate wildland fire safety in the year 2050? Materials: Paper Pencil Poster board Markers Internet...

    FACTivity – Fire and Water

    • Activity
    • Middle School
    • 1 Classroom Period
    • Climate
    • Fire
    • Fire
    • Graphic Organizer
    • Group Project
    • Presentation
    • Research
    The question you will answer in this FACTivity is: How would I use technology to communicate wildland fire safety in the year 2050? Materials: Paper Pencil Poster board Markers Internet...
    • Explore Activity
    • Download FACTivity (PDF)
    • Explore Activity
    • Download FACTivity (PDF)

    Part Of

    Fire and Water: Predicting Future Wildfires in a Changing Climate

Download PDF

Glossary

View All Glossary
  • assume

    (ə süm): To take information as granted or true.

  • assumption

    (ǝ sǝm(p) shǝn): A fact or statement taken for granted (that it is true).

  • drought

    (drau̇t): A long period of dry weather.

  • economic

    (ek ǝ nä mik): Of, relating to, or based on the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

  • evident

    (ev ə dent): Clear to the sight or the mind.

  • extinguish

    (ik stiŋ gwish): (1) To cause to stop burning; (2) to bring to an end.

  • ignite

    (ig nīt): To cause to burn.

  • leaf litter

    (lēf li tər): Dead plant material, like leaves and twigs.

  • precipitation

    (pri si pə tā shən): A deposit on the Earth of hail, mist, rain, sleet, or snow.

  • project

    (prə jekt): (verb) To plan, figure, or estimate for the future.

  • topographic

    (tō pə gra fik): Of, related to, or concerned with the physical features that make up the topography (tə pä grə fē) of an area, such as mountains, valleys, plains, and bodies of water.

  • variable

    (ver ē ə bəl): (1) A factor, trait, or condition that can be changed or controlled; (2) a quantity that may assume any one of a set of values.

  • wildland

    (wī(ǝ)l(d) land): An area in which few or no people live that is not used for farming and is more or less in its natural state.

  • Photo of Scott Goodrick in front of a sign titled 'Researching Weather'.

    Scott Goodrick

    Meteorologist

    My favorite discovery is that the atmosphere connects all parts of the globe. Colder than normal ocean temperatures along the equator in the Pacific Ocean can change weather patterns over...
    View Profile
  • Photo of John Stanturf, he's turned away from camera and is looking at a group of young children.

    John Stanturf

    Ecology

    My favorite science experience is getting to meet all kinds of people in many countries and seeing different kinds of forests.  
    View Profile

Jump To

  • Education Standards
  • Educator Guide
  • Education Files
  • Project Learning Tree

Standards addressed in this Article:

Social Studies Standards

Social Studies Standards are educational guidelines outlining the essential knowledge, skills, and concepts students should learn in subjects such as history, geography, civics, and economics, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of societal structures, historical events, and global perspectives.
  • Global Connections
  • People, Places, and Environments
  • Science, Technology, and Society
  • Time, Continuity, and Change

Note To Educators

The Forest Service's Mission

The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.

USDA and Forest Service Logos

What Is the Natural Inquirer?

Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.

Natural Inquirer bee sitting at a desk with paper and pencil

  • Meet the Scientists

    Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.

  • What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?

    Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.

  • Thinking About Science

    Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.

  • Thinking About the Environment

    Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.

  • Introduction

    Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.

  • Method

    Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.

  • Findings & Discussion

    Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.

  • Reflection Section

    Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.

  • Number Crunches

    Presents an easy math problem related to the research.

  • Glossary

    Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.

  • Citation

    Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.

  • FACTivity

    Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.


Science Education Standards

You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.


We Welcome Feedback

  • Contact

    Jessica Nickelsen
    Director, Natural Inquirer program

  • Email

    Contact us here.

Education Files

Project Learning Tree

If you are a trained Project Learning Tree educator, you may use Living with Fire as an additional resource.

Jump To

  • Additional Resources

Additional Resources

  • "Seeing the risk before the flames: Modeling big-picture wildfire risk"

    Learn more about a new modeling tool that the Forest Service is using to assess wildfire risk and to allocate resources accordingly.

    Read Article
  • Smokey Bear

    Learn more about fire safety tips and ways you can prevent wildfires.

    Visit Website
  • Firewise Communities Information

    Every year, devastating wildfires burn across the United States. At the same time, a growing number of people are living where wildfires are a real risk. While these fires will continue to happen, there are things you can do to protect your home and neighborhood as well as your family’s safety. The Firewise USA® program is here to help you get started.

    Visit Website
  • Fire Adapted Communities

    Learn about fire adapted communities, find tools and resources, and get inspired by community wildfire adaptation work. This site will be periodically updated with new resources, additional Spanish resources and translations, and more; check back often for updates!

    Visit Website
Back to Top
  • Natural Inquirer - Homepage
  • Find Outdoors
  • USDA
  • USDA Forest Service logo.

The Natural Inquirer program produces a variety of science education materials for PreK through grade 12. Natural Inquirer products are produced by the USDA Forest Service, FIND Outdoors, and other cooperators and partners.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
* denotes mandatory fields
Loading
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • X, formerly Twitter
  • YouTube
  • About Natural Inquirer
  • Team
  • Partners
  • Press & Past Events
  • Contact Us
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Shipping Policy
© 2025 - Natural Inquirer | Website Credit