Lesson overview: Students prepare and produce three short plays. Each play depicts the role of fire, succession, and other changes over time in one of 3 ecosystems: forests dominated by ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir; lodgepole pine and subalpine fir; and whitebark pine and subalpine fir.

Goals: Increase students’ understanding of change in ecosystems over time-caused by fire, other disturbances, and succession without disturbance.

Objectives: Given reference materials on biology, ecology, and succession, students can produce a drama that illustrates succession, the role of fire, and other processes that change forest communities.