Lesson overview: In this activity, students assemble a graphic model of a forest community in the north western Sierra Nevada and then discuss species distributions in the context of climate change.

Lesson Goal: Increase students’ understanding that forest communities develop under specific environmental conditions and that species distributions and community composition may change as climate conditions change.

Objectives:

• Students can list tree species that are likely to occur together.
• Students can predict possible effects of changing climate conditions on the distribution of tree species .
• Students can express their thoughts and observations about one potential way to mitigate the effects of climate change - assisted migration - in a speaking and listening activity.