By acting out the parts of a tree, students will learn about the structure of a tree. They create a tree factory.
This is one of 96 activities that can be found in PLT’s PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide. To get the activity, attend a training either in person or online and receive PLT’s PreK-8 Guide. Below are some supporting resources for this activity.
Download the copyright-free student pages that are included with this activity:
Expand your students’ learning and imaginations. Help students meet their reading goals, while building upon concepts learned in this activity, with the following children’s book recommendations:
Try a simple variation of this activity to engage children in the outdoors at home. Download this fun and easy-to-do family activity.
The following tools and resources may be used to enhance the activity.
Watch the Tree Factory video demonstration (10 minutes) by Project Learning Tree.
Go on an adventure with Rick Crosslin, a science teacher in Indiana, to investigate forest management in this video Forests at Work: An Indiana Expeditions Special. Students will learn how the genetic traits of seedlings can turn result in a tree farm full of magnificent hardwoods—similar to how our DNA can determine athletic ability, height, and muscle growth. Students will *virtually* follow foresters into the woodlands to learn about management practices and how these practices are changing the state’s forest composition, health, and overall recovery.
In this short video from PBS Plum Landing, see how students work with a local arborist to plant a tree in their community. Underneath the video, you’ll find some simple conversation starting questions and additional resources to inspire your students.
Useful cards that describe the parts of a tree, the order to be acted out in, and the number of students needed. These cards can be printed and used as name tags during the activity.
Help students visualize the inner layers of a tree trunk and better understand the function of its different parts by creating this easy-to-make visual aid – a cross-section of a tree trunk.
The Ruby Realm is a multi-level adventure game about photosynthesis. Players must navigate a cavern in search of missing friends. Luckily, Biobot Bob– a robot powered by artificial photosynthesis– is there to help payers fend off evil enemies. Players must find light sources where Bob can generate the glucose he needs for power. Using Bob’s Molecule Replicator, they shoot light beams at carbon dioxide and water molecules, breaking them apart and recombining the atoms to form glucose. Through these and similar actions, the game helps students construct an understanding of photosynthesis by letting them actively participate in the process of chemical change.
Help students visualize and better understand the function of the inner parts of a tree trunk by creating this easy-to-make visual aid.
Watch these videos of some of PLT’s most popular activities in action. The videos accompany our new online professional development courses.
Print out these useful cards for students to wear as giant name tags next time you facilitate PLT’s Activity 63: Tree Factory in your classroom.
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