Forest succession and disturbance regimes are the focus of this Grade 6 Science resource on Trees and Forests. Students examine how fire, insects, wind, flooding, and human activity can change forest structure over time and how these disturbances influence regeneration, habitat mosaics, and long-term ecosystem trajectories.

Explore how forests change over time

This resource moves beyond simply identifying types of forest disturbance. Students consider how disturbance frequency, intensity, and spatial extent affect regeneration and help shape different forest patterns. They also interpret disturbance regimes in boreal and mountain forests and use key vocabulary to distinguish disturbance effects from succession patterns.

Questions ask students to explain relationships between disturbance and forest succession, recognize important terminology, and apply scientific ideas to ecosystem change. A reading passage and evidence-based tasks give students opportunities to connect information from text with conservation and forest ecology concepts.

What students work with

• Multiple-choice and true-false questions covering disturbance effects and succession patterns
• Short-answer responses requiring scientific explanations
• A reading passage focused on forest disturbance and ecosystem change
• A matching activity for reinforcing key vocabulary and concepts
• A cloze passage that develops accurate use of scientific terminology
• An essay requiring students to communicate ideas about forest change
• A Did You Know feature that adds focused topic information

Included teacher supports

• Student Notes & Lesson Summary supplement for reinforcing the central ideas
• Separate Teacher Guide with Learning Objectives, Teaching Tips, Discussion Questions, and Common Mistakes

Use it for instruction, practice, or review

The worksheet can support a Grade 6 lesson on forest ecosystems, provide structured independent work after instruction, or serve as a review activity for forest succession and disturbance. The varied response formats give teachers multiple ways to check whether students can connect disturbance characteristics with changes in forest structure and regeneration.

For teachers working within the Alberta framework, the resource provides a focused way to address Trees and Forests content while building scientific vocabulary, explanation, interpretation, and evidence-based reasoning. The accompanying notes and teacher guide also make it easier to prepare discussion and address common misconceptions during instruction.