
Smokey Bear Learning Module
This module will combine information about fire prevention along with Smokey Bear's role in spreading awareness of human contributions to wildfires. Then we'll look at the work of fire prevention specialists before examining the weather's effect on fire specifically. Finally, we'll be exploring some of the benefits of fire, particularly prescribed fire, and the researchers studying these effects.
Below you will find links to videos, experiments, and articles on all things Smokey Bear. If you would like to complete the entire module - it will take about a month. If you are looking for a more focused lesson the module includes four main units: Smokey Bear and Public Awareness Campaigns, Fire Prevention Specialists, How Weather and Climate Affect Wildland Fire, and Prescribed Fire. Follow the links below for activities and more within each section.
Smokey Bear Learning Module
Introduction to Smokey Bear
- To begin our module, check out this video from FSNatureLIVE about Smokey Bear, his history, and his fire prevention campaign.
- Brainstorm a list of questions you have while watching this video. What more would you like to know about Smokey Bear, fire prevention, and fire?
Smokey Bear and Public Awareness Campaigns
This sub-unit includes activities that should take about 2 days to complete.

-
1.5-2 Hours
Let’s rewind the clock a bit to look at how the U.S. Forest Service and the public in general used to view wildland fires and how that view influenced their approach to fighting these fires. Then we will examine when that approach began to change.
- Read “Fight or Light?” from Wildland Fire 2 NI about the history and impact of big fires out west in 1910
- Answer reflection section questions and check your answers here
- Compare and contrast with the fires of 1910 and complete this FACTivity from “Fight or Light?” and research and report on the impacts of a recent natural disturbance
1.5-2 Hours
Around the time the Forest Service began to change its approach to managing wildland fires, Smokey Bear is created. And then the real bear is found! Learn about the bear who became a live mascot, including his rescue by the Taos Snowballs, a firefighting team. Then learn about scientists measuring the effectiveness of public awareness campaigns like Smokey Bear’s.
- Watch “History of finding the Smokey Bear cub” from Smokey Bear LIVE
- Watch “Smokey Bear Lives at National Zoo and Returns to New Mexico” from Smokey Bear LIVE.
- Read “A Burning Question” an NI monograph about how effective Smokey Bear’s campaign is
- Answer reflection section questions as you read
- Choose an important environmental issue you care about, like recycling, conserving water, fuel conservation, etc.
- Design a mascot to promote your desired behaviors. Create a poster, commercial, social media post, or other kinds of media to introduce this mascot and your message. You may want to use Smokey Bear’s of Woodsy Owl’s various posters, commercials, and appearances as inspiration!
Fire Prevention Specialist
This subunit includes activities that should take about 4 days to complete.

-
1 to 1.5 hours
Now let’s take a look at the jobs of the men and women who work as a fire prevention specialist. What do they do and what tools do they need? What are their aims? How do they stay safe on the job? And, finally, how can they most effectively do their work?
- Watch “Fire Prevention Technicians Reduce Wildland Fires” from Smokey Bear LIVE
- Watch “Equipment Used to Prevent and Fight Wildfires” from Smokey Bear LIVE
- Read “Liar, Liar, House on Fire” from our Wildland Fire NI about studying how close fire can come to the wooden walls of a house before walls catch on fire
- Answer reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from “Liar, Liar, House on Fire” and assess a given landscape plan to determine how safe it is from wildfires, then design your own landscape plan that will also keep your home safe from fire
-
1 hour
- Read “Let’s Clear the Air” from Wildland Fire 1 NI about measuring the danger smoke poses to firefighters
- Answer reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from “Let’s Clear the Air” and determine how consistently you can measure the amount of smoke in a wildland fire and chart your results
-
1 hour
- Read “Trust is a Must” from Wildland Fire 2 NI about how much trust people put into forest managers to help prevent fires
- Answer reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Trust is a Must” and conduct your own survey on how much adults trust forest managers
-
1.5 to 2 hours
- Read “Keeping it Local” from Wildland Fire 2 NI about communities that made the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) part of their Community Wildfire Protection Plan
- Answer reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Keeping it Local” by creating an action plan to help solve a problem or challenge at your school or in your community
How Weather and Climate Change Affect Wildland Fire
This subunit should take about two days to complete.

-
1 to 1.5 hours
An important part of a fire prevention specialist’s job is to gather data about weather conditions and climate to help prevent and fight wildfires. Let’s look at how weather and climate can affect wildland fires.
- Watch “National Fire Rating System” from Smokey Bear LIVE
- Watch “New Technology Helps with Predicting Weather” from Smokey Bear LIVE
- Read “Dew It” from our Wildland Fire 1 NI about which daily weather conditions are associated with large or dangerous wildfires
- Answer reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from “Dew It” by measuring your air’s dew point temperature using a can, spoon, some ice and a thermometer
-
1 to 1.5 hours
- Read “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire” an NI monograph about if and how climate and weather are connected to very large wildland fires
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire by discovering patterns that show a relationship between the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and very large wildland fires in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Prescribed Fire
This subunit includes activities that should take about 4 days to complete.

-
1 Hour
Now let’s transition from preventing and fighting fires to examining the effects of wildland fires, and prescribed fires in particular. How do these fires affect plants and animals living in areas prone to fire? Are there some benefits to fire?
- Read “Time Will Tell” from our Wildland Fire NI monograph about what effects fire has on prairies and how long it may take for prairies to recover after a fire
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from from “Time Will Tell” by comparing and contrasting the resiliency of things in your classroom, yard, or community
-
1-1.5 hours
- Read “Who Gives a Hoot” from our Wildland Fire 1 NI about whether taxpayers would agree to spend money on prescribed fires to protect an endangered owl’s habitat
- Answer reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from “Who Gives a Hoot” by examining how we value favorite possessions and whether those values vary among people
-
1-1.5 hours
- Read “Fighting Fire with Fire” from our Wildland Fire 1 NI about how prescribed fires affect the California gnatcatcher, a small bird, and its habitat
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from “Fighting Fire with Fire” by debating what should be done when protecting the habitat of a threatened bird is in conflict with protecting the safety of people’s homes
-
1-1.5 hours
- Read “Pecking Order” from our Wildland Fire 2 NI about what kind of post-fire habitats black-backed woodpeckers like best
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Pecking Order” about a creative writing assignment as a black-back woodpecker using the information you have researched about the woodpecker
Conclusion
This subunit includes activities that should take about a week to complete.

-
1.5-2 hours
- Read “Can We Grow Now?” from our Wildland Fire 2 NI about the best conditions for bristlecone pine trees seeds to take root and grow, especially their connection to fire
- Read the reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Can We Grow Now?” by observing and experimenting to discover ways seeds disperse through their environments
-
1-1.5 hours
- Read “Don’t Judge a Soil by its Color” from our Wildland Fire 2 NI about how soils change after a fire and what kinds of organisms prefer to live in those soils
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Don’t Judge a Soil by its Color” which includes a “Soildoku” puzzle to explore
-
3 hours
- Read “Snake, Rattle, and Roll” from our Wildland Fire 2 NI about how restoration efforts along the Rio Grande (undertaken to help prevent wildfires) affect native snake populations
- Answer the reflection section question as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Snake, Rattle, and Roll” by constructing pitfall traps and drift fences to collect insect samples and catalog the species in your yard or neighborhood
-
1-2 hours
- Read “aPods Rule!” in Wildland Fire 2 NI about what happens to anthropods following a fire
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “aPods Rule!” by creating your own arthropod after learning about the characteristics of arthropods
Finale

To conclude our study of fire prevention and fire benefits, let’s take a look at some question and answer sessions from Smokey Bear LIVE: A Distance Learning Adventure. Did any of the questions you came up with at the beginning of the unit get answered? Did any new questions arise? Where can we find out more?
- Watch these four clips from Smokey Bear LIVE where students were able to ask questions about Smokey Bear, fire prevention, and fire fighting to forest service experts
Additional Resources
Introduction to Smokey Bear
- To begin our module, check out this video from FSNatureLIVE about Smokey Bear, his history, and his fire prevention campaign.
- Brainstorm a list of questions you have while watching this video. What more would you like to know about Smokey Bear, fire prevention, and fire?
Smokey Bear and Public Awareness Campaigns
This sub-unit includes activities that should take about 2 days to complete.

-
1.5-2 Hours
Let’s rewind the clock a bit to look at how the U.S. Forest Service and the public in general used to view wildland fires and how that view influenced their approach to fighting these fires. Then we will examine when that approach began to change.
- Read “Fight or Light?” from Wildland Fire 2 NI about the history and impact of big fires out west in 1910
- Answer reflection section questions and check your answers here
- Compare and contrast with the fires of 1910 and complete this FACTivity from “Fight or Light?” and research and report on the impacts of a recent natural disturbance
1.5-2 Hours
Around the time the Forest Service began to change its approach to managing wildland fires, Smokey Bear is created. And then the real bear is found! Learn about the bear who became a live mascot, including his rescue by the Taos Snowballs, a firefighting team. Then learn about scientists measuring the effectiveness of public awareness campaigns like Smokey Bear’s.
- Watch “History of finding the Smokey Bear cub” from Smokey Bear LIVE
- Watch “Smokey Bear Lives at National Zoo and Returns to New Mexico” from Smokey Bear LIVE.
- Read “A Burning Question” an NI monograph about how effective Smokey Bear’s campaign is
- Answer reflection section questions as you read
- Choose an important environmental issue you care about, like recycling, conserving water, fuel conservation, etc.
- Design a mascot to promote your desired behaviors. Create a poster, commercial, social media post, or other kinds of media to introduce this mascot and your message. You may want to use Smokey Bear’s of Woodsy Owl’s various posters, commercials, and appearances as inspiration!
Fire Prevention Specialist
This subunit includes activities that should take about 4 days to complete.

-
1 to 1.5 hours
Now let’s take a look at the jobs of the men and women who work as a fire prevention specialist. What do they do and what tools do they need? What are their aims? How do they stay safe on the job? And, finally, how can they most effectively do their work?
- Watch “Fire Prevention Technicians Reduce Wildland Fires” from Smokey Bear LIVE
- Watch “Equipment Used to Prevent and Fight Wildfires” from Smokey Bear LIVE
- Read “Liar, Liar, House on Fire” from our Wildland Fire NI about studying how close fire can come to the wooden walls of a house before walls catch on fire
- Answer reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from “Liar, Liar, House on Fire” and assess a given landscape plan to determine how safe it is from wildfires, then design your own landscape plan that will also keep your home safe from fire
-
1 hour
- Read “Let’s Clear the Air” from Wildland Fire 1 NI about measuring the danger smoke poses to firefighters
- Answer reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from “Let’s Clear the Air” and determine how consistently you can measure the amount of smoke in a wildland fire and chart your results
-
1 hour
- Read “Trust is a Must” from Wildland Fire 2 NI about how much trust people put into forest managers to help prevent fires
- Answer reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Trust is a Must” and conduct your own survey on how much adults trust forest managers
-
1.5 to 2 hours
- Read “Keeping it Local” from Wildland Fire 2 NI about communities that made the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) part of their Community Wildfire Protection Plan
- Answer reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Keeping it Local” by creating an action plan to help solve a problem or challenge at your school or in your community
How Weather and Climate Change Affect Wildland Fire
This subunit should take about two days to complete.

-
1 to 1.5 hours
An important part of a fire prevention specialist’s job is to gather data about weather conditions and climate to help prevent and fight wildfires. Let’s look at how weather and climate can affect wildland fires.
- Watch “National Fire Rating System” from Smokey Bear LIVE
- Watch “New Technology Helps with Predicting Weather” from Smokey Bear LIVE
- Read “Dew It” from our Wildland Fire 1 NI about which daily weather conditions are associated with large or dangerous wildfires
- Answer reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from “Dew It” by measuring your air’s dew point temperature using a can, spoon, some ice and a thermometer
-
1 to 1.5 hours
- Read “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire” an NI monograph about if and how climate and weather are connected to very large wildland fires
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire by discovering patterns that show a relationship between the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and very large wildland fires in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Prescribed Fire
This subunit includes activities that should take about 4 days to complete.

-
1 Hour
Now let’s transition from preventing and fighting fires to examining the effects of wildland fires, and prescribed fires in particular. How do these fires affect plants and animals living in areas prone to fire? Are there some benefits to fire?
- Read “Time Will Tell” from our Wildland Fire NI monograph about what effects fire has on prairies and how long it may take for prairies to recover after a fire
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from from “Time Will Tell” by comparing and contrasting the resiliency of things in your classroom, yard, or community
-
1-1.5 hours
- Read “Who Gives a Hoot” from our Wildland Fire 1 NI about whether taxpayers would agree to spend money on prescribed fires to protect an endangered owl’s habitat
- Answer reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from “Who Gives a Hoot” by examining how we value favorite possessions and whether those values vary among people
-
1-1.5 hours
- Read “Fighting Fire with Fire” from our Wildland Fire 1 NI about how prescribed fires affect the California gnatcatcher, a small bird, and its habitat
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read
- Complete the FACTivity from “Fighting Fire with Fire” by debating what should be done when protecting the habitat of a threatened bird is in conflict with protecting the safety of people’s homes
-
1-1.5 hours
- Read “Pecking Order” from our Wildland Fire 2 NI about what kind of post-fire habitats black-backed woodpeckers like best
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Pecking Order” about a creative writing assignment as a black-back woodpecker using the information you have researched about the woodpecker
Conclusion
This subunit includes activities that should take about a week to complete.

-
1.5-2 hours
- Read “Can We Grow Now?” from our Wildland Fire 2 NI about the best conditions for bristlecone pine trees seeds to take root and grow, especially their connection to fire
- Read the reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Can We Grow Now?” by observing and experimenting to discover ways seeds disperse through their environments
-
1-1.5 hours
- Read “Don’t Judge a Soil by its Color” from our Wildland Fire 2 NI about how soils change after a fire and what kinds of organisms prefer to live in those soils
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Don’t Judge a Soil by its Color” which includes a “Soildoku” puzzle to explore
-
3 hours
- Read “Snake, Rattle, and Roll” from our Wildland Fire 2 NI about how restoration efforts along the Rio Grande (undertaken to help prevent wildfires) affect native snake populations
- Answer the reflection section question as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “Snake, Rattle, and Roll” by constructing pitfall traps and drift fences to collect insect samples and catalog the species in your yard or neighborhood
-
1-2 hours
- Read “aPods Rule!” in Wildland Fire 2 NI about what happens to anthropods following a fire
- Answer the reflection section questions as you read and review your answers here
- Complete the FACTivity from “aPods Rule!” by creating your own arthropod after learning about the characteristics of arthropods
Finale

To conclude our study of fire prevention and fire benefits, let’s take a look at some question and answer sessions from Smokey Bear LIVE: A Distance Learning Adventure. Did any of the questions you came up with at the beginning of the unit get answered? Did any new questions arise? Where can we find out more?
- Watch these four clips from Smokey Bear LIVE where students were able to ask questions about Smokey Bear, fire prevention, and fire fighting to forest service experts
Additional Resources
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.

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.

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Meet the Scientists
Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
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What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?
Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
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Thinking About Science
Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
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Thinking About the Environment
Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
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Introduction
Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
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Method
Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
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Findings & Discussion
Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
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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.
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Number Crunches
Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
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Glossary
Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
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Citation
Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
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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
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Contact
Jessica Nickelsen
Director, Natural Inquirer program -
Email