This analysis breaks down the two primary skills that are the key components of survival: shelter & fires. This Link is provided to assist individuals with a wealth of internet sites that are helpful in learning and teaching some of the concepts and skills of survival.
 

         For eons a roaring fire was the center of any camp. It provided heat for warmth and cooking, light to work
     or read by, and a focal point for people to gather around. With the advent of lightweight, efficient cookstoves,
     many campers now think of campfires as a luxury or emergency tool. Land managers have also adopted this
     view, banning open fires in the backcountry of many national parks and wilderness areas.

         By going without a fire, however, campers also forego a fire's warmth, utility, and charm. Just as one person's
     vice is another's virtue, there are two sides to every facet of a fire:

          1. A fire provides heat against night's chill, but it also anchors you to the spot. Several layers of warm, dry
          clothing allow you to take a moonlit stroll and still retain ample body heat. Fires are also notorious for
          scorching your face while your backside freezes.

          2. The fuel for a fire is free for the taking, but the taking is work. Doing without a fire may provide a
          welcome rest at the end of a hard day on the trail.

          3. Cooking over an open fire adds flavor, but not all foods are enhanced by the tang of wood smoke. A
          cookstove is more efficient, offers better heat control, is easier to start regardless of the weather, and
          won't blacken your pots and pans.

          4. A campfire's glow is at once cheerful, useful, and reassuring. It illuminates our smiles, the lines on a map,
          and the shadows that would otherwise engulf camp. Admittedly, the beam from a flashlight lacks a fire's
          personality, but it's portable, can be aimed precisely, and turns on or off with a snap. For doing chores, a
          gas or battery lantern outshines any fire, and a two-ounce candle lantern provides plenty of light for
          cleaning dishes or reading.

          5. Finally, while wood smoke may be the incense of memory to some folks, the tears in their eyes are most
          likely due to simple irritation.

     When Fire is Appropriate
         Despite the advantages of going fireless, nearly everyone feels that primal urge now and then. And even
     well-prepared, expert backcountry travelers aren't immune to emergencies, when a fire may provide life-saving
     warmth, hot food, or dry clothes.

         The key to building a no-trace campfire is knowing when a fire is appropriate and when it is not. Here are some
     general guidelines:

•  Know and obey local campfire regulations.
•  Pack a stove for cooking.
•  Build fires only when it is safe to do so.
•  Do without a fire during dry or windy weather, especially if nearby groundcover and trees are dry. Remember that a    single hot ember can set ablaze thousands of acres of wild country. Never leave a fire unattended.
•  Build fires only where downed, dead wood is plentiful.
•  Use only sticks that can be broken with your bare hands.
•  Do without a fire in environments where plant growth is slow (such as in deserts, above timberline, and on the Arctic    tundra).

              1) leave the site as natural and pleasant looking as you found it (or better),
              and
              2) minimize the effects of wood gathering and of the fire itself on local soil, plants, wildlife, and other
          visitors.
 

• Gather firewood over a wide area, well away from camp. Break sticks only as needed (unused sticks can        be scattered to blend in naturally).
• Keep fires small and brief. Conserve nature's supply of downed wood.
• Protect plants, soil, and rocks from the fire's heat by using a fire pan or a mound of sand or mineral soil (see illustrated instructions).
• Leave existing fire rings clean and attractive for other campers.
• When building a fire in a pristine area, do not make a fire ring. Return the site to its natural condition so noone else will find and use it later.

    Shelter is a basic necessity and second only to immediate medical care on the immediate action list. Set up, make or find
temporary shelter. Heat and cold can sap the lifeblood from you very quickly. Wind, rain, snow or other inclement weather
hastens the process. You can't check in at a hotel, so pick the best convenient location for your immediate action shelter, as
dry as possible, away from natural hazards. This is simply a place to retreat from the weather while you get your act together.
You may stay there or later move to a better location or construct a more substantial shelter.

    Place a single opening shelter like a lean-to with the back to the prevailing winds. A simple tent should be situated at right
angles to the wind. If the airplane is safe and properly located, use a wing, the tail or the fuselage as part of your shelter.

    As inviting as it may be, you may want to avoid the completely enclosed interior of the aircraft in very hot or frigid weather.
With minimal ventilation and little insulation it can act as an oven in high heat circumstances, especially if out in the opne. In
cold weather it may be difficult to isulate yourself from the cold metal and the minimal insulation and relatively large volume
make it difficult to raise the interior temperature without some external heat source. Lack of ventilation will trap moisture
which may drip on you if it warms during the day. Punching out windows or leaving doors open can provide air circulation
which can ameliorate some of these problems, but the closed fuselage isn't automatically the best choice, no matter how
inviting it may be.

    Take advantage of natural shelter. A lean-to can be constructed against a fallen tree using deadwood and layered boughs, a tarp or sections from the aircraft. Beneath the bottom branches of a large evergreen there is often a clear dry area, even in
heavy snow. A simple snow trench can be quickly excavated and covered with boughs. The floor of your shelter can be
insulated from the snow or ground using seat cushions, carpet, small boughs, dead leaves or other materials which will get you
off the ground and trap air. Huddle together for warmth. Do not let any personal inhibitions prevent you from taking
advantage of the significant warming effect of bodies in contact.

    In the desert, shade is vital. Surface temperatures may be as much as 40 degrees hotter in the sun! The surface is where heat is retained and given up. Temperatures can be up to 30 degrees cooler 12 - 18 inches below or above the surface.
Temperatures in desert climates can also drop as much as 40 degrees, sometimes more, at night which can take you well
below freezing during winter months. Prepare your desert shelter with these extremes in mind. In the desert it is best to work
at night or early morning when it is cooler and rest during the hot daytime temperatures.

For more information on building shelters Click here.

Fire and shelter building are the main focus of this unit however we will also be covering topics such as water, finding your way back and first aid. For more information regarding complete coverage of this unit, go to Lesson Plans and/or Block Plan.
 
 

    The survival unit will be taught for a period of two weeks and the end of the unit will be the trip to camp "no where." This is an estimation of a high school advance physical education class that is 5 days a week and 60 minutes long. The total estimated time to teach this class would be 420 total minutes. This number was obtainted by adding the minutes in the chart below together.
 

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