Reading Trees: Understanding Dendrochronology

Trees are everywhere! Yet what do these majestic organisms do for their ecosystem, and why do some have leaves and some have needles? During a five-day activity, young scientists investigate trees by analyzing the water cycle,...

Help young conservationists appreciate the important role that trees play in ecosystems around the world with this collection of six engaging activities. From a shared reading and class discussion of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, to in an depth...

Students investigate environmental effects on tree growth. In this tree growth lesson, students study various environmental effects on tree growth. Students participate in a group project on tree rings.

Besides the age of a tree, tree rings can tell scientists all kinds of interesting information. Learners read about tree rings, gaining an understanding of them, and then analyze four to five different tree horizontal slices of a tree...

Open with a discussion on weather and climate and then explain how tree rings can provide scientists with information about the earth's past climate. Pupils analyze graphics of simulated tree rings from various US locations for the...

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Upper elementary schoolers investigate philanthropy and selflessness by reading a children's book. For this ethics lesson, they read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, and research Mahatma Gandhi's troublesome, yet inspiring, life....

Students research their family history and graph it in a family tree format. They appreciate similarities and differences in various cultures and customs by comparing and contrasting their family trees. They then create an original...

Fourth graders go to an outdoor area and are assigned a specific native plant to observe. They read about and answer questions about their tree. They draw the tree. Finally, 4th graders teach the rest of the class about their tree.

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...