Curated OER
Signs of Change: Tree Rings
Students identify and experiment with dendrochronology (the study of tree rings to answer ecological questions about the recent past) and come up with conclusions as to what possible climatic conditions might affect tree growth in their...
Curated OER
Tree Friends
Students identify their special tree using all senses other than sight. They identify six different internal parts within a cross section of tree trunk
(bark, phloem, xylem, cambium, heartwood, and roots). Students compare and contrast...
Curated OER
Tree Rings
Fourth graders explore tree rings. In this plant biology lesson, 4th graders construct a KWL chart on tree rings and examine real tree rings. Students identify the changes that happened during the tree's life and its actual age. Students...
Curated OER
Tree Cookies
Students identify heartwood, sapwood, and a tree's annual rings, infer from a tree's rings what damage or stress might have occurred in its life, and make a time-line of human history that coincides with a tree's rings.
Curated OER
Trees: Recorders of Climate Change
Students study cross sections of trees or tree "cookies" to discover how the rings on tree sections give clues to the climate during the time the ring was produced. They study simulated cross sections of trees to determine the climate...
Curated OER
Transportation System of a Tree
Students examine the transportation system of a tree and the speed with which nutrients and water move. Cross sections of the samples used are examined in class for experimental results.
Curated OER
How Old Is This Tree?
Young scholars work in pairs to determine the age of a tree using two different methods in this experiment. They collect data about how trees change over time.
Curated OER
Ring-a-ling
Students examine a cross section of a tree. They discuss what the rings mean and how they can tell its age. They complete a worksheet to end the lesson.
Curated OER
Global Change- Time and Cycles
Students study trees and their growth. In this investigative lesson plan students work in groups to reconstruct a 50 year climatic history using a simulated tree ring.
Curated OER
Time and Cycles - Dendrochronology
Students investigate the lives of trees by examining ring cycles. In this plant life lesson, students identify the field of study known as dendrochronology and discover its history. Students investigate a simulated tree ring and...
Curated OER
Making a Human Tree
Students explore botany by defining the anatomy of a tree. In this environmental exploration lesson, students research plant vocabulary terms and discuss the uses of each word. Students create a "human" tree by role-playing as one of the...
Curated OER
History of a Cookie
High schoolers examine tree rings and then research an event for each growth ring. In this history activity students design a timeline and research topics using books and the Internet.
Curated OER
Autumn Bulb Planting Outside - Making a Daffodil Spiral
Students plant daffodil bulbs. In this gardening activity, students work outside to plant daffodil bulbs in the autumn so that they can grow roots and emerge by spring.
Curated OER
Under Our Feet
Students investigate the forest ecosystem to learn of the living and non-living elements of the soil. In this ecosystem lesson, students examine soil for twigs, moss, fungi, leaves, roots and other matter. Students complete a...
Curated OER
Mad Science Lab: Original Lesson Plan
Students conduct a number of simple experiments, collect and categorize the results as either chemical or physical change. The lesson plan uses connections to folklore, science fiction and comic books to assist each student as they make...
Curated OER
Aquifers
Learners participate in an experiment about aquifers. They answer questons and make observations about the experiment. They discuss how they can make a difference in the way water is used.
Curated OER
Relationships and Biodiversity
Young scholars examine diversity on the planet and the differences within a species. In this investigative lesson students complete a lab that allows young scholars to better understand the relatedness between plants.