Yolanda U. Trapp
TOPIC: Trees
Kindergarten Level
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THIS LESSON:
To learn about trees. Feeling, smelling, examining them and trying to understand why trees are so important for the environment.
BACKGROUND:
Trees are the giants of the plant world. They are the oldest living things on Earth-and one of the biggest! Trees are beautiful to look at, fun to climb, and the most useful plants on the planet. Trees are essential to our civilization. Not just helpful, or enjoyable or pleasant, but Essential.
ACTIVITY A
TREE TIME:
PROCEDURE:
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Sit with your students under an oak or other native tree and watch how the tree's mood shifts with the changes in the light. Observe the tree from unusual angles. Encourage children to record their observations with drawings or photographs. Feel and smell the tree's bark and leaves. Examine the bark, soil and grass around the tree and see what you and your students can discover about the life-forms (plants, insects, and other animals) that live in and around the tree and depend on it for life and shelter.
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Follow up with a visit to the library, local nature center, or even the town historian. Have your students prepare questions on what they want to learn about the tree. Have them share their findings with the class. (15)
ACTIVITY B
(For Kindergarten to First Grade)
MAKE AND MATCH BARK PATTERNS
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Each kind of tree has a unique outer bark pattern, which peels and cracks as the tree grows.
PROCEDURE:
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Take the children outside and show them these wonderful patterns. Then let them work in pairs to make bark rubbings of different trees. (Bark patterns can also be captured by firmly pressing modeling clay against the trunk.)
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1)
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Have one child firmly hold paper against a tree while another rubs the paper with the side of a crayon. Then have them switch roles.
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2)
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Point out that bark isn't all the same color. IT can range from silver to greenish brown. Also explain that the outer bark protects the tree from insects, animals, cold or dry weather, and even forest fires. Help children write the name of the tree on the back of their rubbing.
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Back in class, mount the rubbing and challenge children to find patterns that match their own. Who can tell what kind of tree it is from the rubbing? Does anyone know what the tree is used for? (16)
