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Lesson Plan Build A Tree

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24 views2 pages

Lesson Plan Build A Tree

Uploaded by

shania
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Waskowitz Outdoor School

ENRICHMENT: Build a Tree


Objectives and Summary: By acting out the parts of a tree, students will learn about tree structure
and function. Students will then combine their roles to model a fully functional tree as a series of
connected systems. Trees do many important jobs necessary for animals, people and the environment.
Some animals spend their entire lives in trees or rely on them for food. Birds, squirrels, opossums,
raccoons and insects find shelter from the weather and predators in the trees. Even dead or dying trees
provide shelter and food for insects. Trees provide the air we rely on for life. Tree roots keep soil from
washing away which makes streams and lakes cleaner. (This lesson was adapted with permission from
Joseph Cornell, author of Sharing Nature with Children, Ananda Publications, Nevada City, California
95959.)

Materials: Build A Tree cards (in your Tool box)


Location and Duration: An open flat surface area is best for this activity. The lesson can take 20-30
minutes.

HS Leader Role: Leaders can role model the actions or sounds for the students. Leaders can also hold
the role cards and coach a few groups of students through the activity.

Background
 Heartwood: Heartwood forms the central core of the tree. It is made of dense dead wood and
provides strength.
 Roots: Tree roots are like underground branches that spread out to help anchor the tree and
absorb water and nutrients from the soil. Large taproots and lateral roots branch into smaller
and smaller roots. An average tree has millions of these small rootlets, each covered with
thousands of fine root hairs. The root hairs make it easier to soak up water and dissolved
minerals from the soil.
 Xylem: Also known as sapwood, is a network of thick-walled cells that form tiny pipelines
carrying water and minerals up the tree from the roots to the leaves. Xylem also stores nutrients
and fuel reserves.
 Cambium: Cambium is a layer of the tree that makes new cells during the growing season.
These cells become part of the phloem, xylem, or more cambium. The cambium layer can be
very thin to microscopic. Sometimes it is only a few cells thick.
 Phloem: The phloem is a thin layer that acts as a food supply line from the leaves to the rest of
the tree. The sugar produced in the leaves as a result of photosynthesis travels down from the
leaves through channels in the phloem to the branches, trunk, and roots, supplying all the living
parts of the tree with food.
 Outer Bark: Although bark looks different from tree to tree, it serves the same purpose—to
protect the tree from injury and disease. Some trees have very thick bark that helps prevent
damage from fires. Others have bad-tasting chemicals that discourage hungry insects. The bark
of large Douglas firs may be more than two feet (.6 m) thick.
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Waskowitz Outdoor School is a magical journey of discovery exploring the diversity of people and
nature, while providing a safe, high quality, affordable residential experience for the students of
the greater Puget Sound area.
Waskowitz Outdoor School

Procedure
Introduction: Ask your students what trees need for survival (food, sun, water, air and space). After
students brainstorm answers, ask them how trees obtain these things since trees cannot move the way
animals can. Observe a tree and discuss what parts of a tree can be seen and consider what other parts
there might be that are unseen. Tell them they will be creating a tree by acting out tree parts.

Lesson/Activity: Take students to a large open area and explain that everyone will work together to
“build” a tree. Assign students to be parts of a tree using the “Build A Tree” laminated role cards that
will describe how to model the different parts of a tree using a variety of motions and actions. Students
will arrange themselves to make a complete tree, and will act out their parts together.

Conclusion
Break into small groups to discuss:

 Which part of the tree were you? What role does that part have in the functioning of the tree?
What other parts can you remember? What did those parts do?
 What do you think might happen if one of the parts of the tree wasn’t able to do its job?
 In what ways do trees support other living things?
Discuss what factors threaten trees (pests, climate change, flooding, logging, fire). Consider some steps
that we could take to contribute to a sustainable future for the trees in our area.

Notes:
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Page

Waskowitz Outdoor School is a magical journey of discovery exploring the diversity of people and
nature, while providing a safe, high quality, affordable residential experience for the students of
the greater Puget Sound area.

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