Fire in Florida's Ecosystems Curriculum and Educator Training Program

Fire in Florida’s Ecosystems (FIFE) is a curriculum and educator training program that gives teachers the information and tools to teach about fire in Florida. Supported by the Florida Division of Forestry, this program began in 1999 and has reached over 2,700 teachers in more than 90% of Florida counties.

Workshops are free to educators of all types – teachers, nature center or park staff, home school parents, Scout and 4-H leaders, camp counselors, and others.

Visit the new FIFE website >>

Curriculum

The FIFE curriculum provides students in grades 3-12 with science, reading, math, social studies, and visual arts learning experiences that also prepare students for standardized testing. Activities are correlated to the Sunshine State Standards and include grade-specific FCAT style assessment questions and scoring rubrics. View and download the curriculum and teaching resources at the new FIFE website >>

Students benefit from the program by learning about:

• The historical and natural role of fire in Florida’s ecosystems.
• How prescribed fire is used to manage ecosystems and prevent wildfire.
• How Florida’s plants and animals survive in our fire-adapted landscape.
• Ways to protect homes and communities from wildfire.

The curriculum package, which is free to all FIFE workshop participants, includes:

• 13 multidisciplinary, hands-on activities for students in grades 3-12.
• Grade-appropriate reading passages with every activity.
• Videos, posters, and an interactive CD-ROM.
• Teaching PowerPoints to use in the classroom.
• Information on fire ecology and prescribed fire.
• Correlations to Sunshine State Standards.
• FCAT style study prompts and scoring rubrics.

Workshops

Free workshops are offered throughout Florida. Inservice credit is available for teachers. Register online at the new FIFE website >>

A typical six-hour training workshop includes the following.

• Presentation and video on fire’s natural role in Florida’s ecosystems.
• Prescribed fire discussion with a Division of Forestry representative.
• Close-up look at some fire management tools and technology.
• Field trip to a landscape managed with prescribed fire.
• Tour of the instructional materials.
• Hands-on practice with several of the activities from the curriculum guide.