Curriculum
Created in 2025 as a part of HistoryLink's Forest History Project, HistoryLink's Forest History curriculum offers three lesson plans with focused inquiries related to the history of Washington's forests.
-
Forest Fires
This lesson plan explores how fire changes more than just the landscape by investigating the history of forest fires in Washington and current prevention methods. Students will examine major historical fires and their impact on fire management, then research contemporary firefighting strategies in Washington. Finally, they will create a poster or infographic to inform their community about preparing for fire season.
-
Women in Forestry
This lesson explores the evolving roles of women in Washington's industrial forestry, focusing on their contributions throughout the 20th century, particularly as fire lookouts during WWII. Students will analyze historical sources to understand the challenges and contributions of these women, recognizing gaps in the historical record. The inquiry culminates in students creating an interactive community board to share their findings about women's representation in forestry.
-
Indigenous Relationships to the Land in the Olympic Peninsula
This lesson explores how human-plant interactions shape landscapes, focusing on Indigenous forest management on the Olympic Peninsula. Students will investigate traditional Indigenous forest practices, the impact of the "Stevens Treaties" on land ownership and forest health, and how traditional ecological knowledge can inform modern forest management. Through group work and analysis of primary/secondary sources, students will demonstrate understanding by designing a campaign poster or infographic advocating for a conservation or restoration effort on the Olympic Peninsula.
The standards and outcomes of these lesson plans collectively aim to promote critical thinking, historical literacy, and an understanding of diverse perspectives among Washington state middle school students.
Download:
Curriculum
Curriculum Resources (Handouts, Activity Sheets)
Additional Resources COMING SOON
Annotated Timeline of Washington Forestry
This annotated timeline of Washington forestry is presented in a spreadsheet, which may be sorted chronologically, regionally, or thematically to explore and understand key events in Washington forest history. Each entry is fully sourced and cited. Many entries also include links to HistoryLink articles for further reading. This spreadsheet also contains tabs for a directory of key people, organizations, and policies introduced in the timeline, a glossary of terms used, and a bibliography of sources used.
Download:
Excel Spreadsheet
The Forest History project was generously funded by the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.
