Schoolyard Trees: Creating a field guide for your school
Summary
This activity is intended for students to become familiar with common schoolyard trees through careful observation and classification. After identifying, they'll collect class data on the various species in order to determine which trees are most common. The end product will be a field guide of common trees in the schoolyard.
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Learning Goals
This activity is designed for students to work on developing observation skills and practice data collection, representation, and interpretation. They'll learn skills in plant pressing and practice use of field guides.
Key concepts: Trees can be identified by observable features, including leaf and bark characteristics. Certain trees are adapted well and commonly planted in our urban setting.
Vocab includes: adaptation, structure, function, lobed, toothed, tolerant
Key concepts: Trees can be identified by observable features, including leaf and bark characteristics. Certain trees are adapted well and commonly planted in our urban setting.
Vocab includes: adaptation, structure, function, lobed, toothed, tolerant
Context for Use
This activity is designed for grade 5, and involves both outdoor and indoor activities. Time needed to include all activities would be 5-7 50-minute periods. It assumes students have been introduced to the concept of adaptations and fits well into grade five science curriculum.
Description and Teaching Materials
Intro: Tell about a tree you like or remember liking. Why did you like it? What are some things that make a tree special to you or to others? What do we know about trees in Minnesota or on our school yard already?
1. Choose tree to observe. In journal, draw three boxes, one for a drawing, one for observations, and the last for thoughts or wonderings about the tree.
2. Revisit tree. Choose one leaf – trace and draw, do a rubbing of the leaf
3. Use shortcut guide, keys and individual species descriptions in "Minnesota Trees" (pub. by U of MN extension) to i.d. tree.
4. Class graph – collect data on types of trees and numbers of each chosen by students.
5. Pick top five trees.
6. Collect a leaf from each tree to press. Make a field plant press by pressing the leaf between layers of newspaper with cardboard on the outside. Press under books.
7. Create a Common Trees on the School Yard field guide – research trees and fill in tree template page, glue pressed leaf to the page and cover with clear contact paper.
Tree template page will include the following: common name, scientific name, size of tree, bark description, interesting facts and adaptations.
Extensions:
Add a page of class data on the numbers of different species identified.
Include less common trees in the field guide.
Include more details on each tree (information on range, seeds, uses of wood, etc.)
Create a map showing the location of the trees on the school grounds.
Calculate the number of board feet of lumber that could be provided by one specimen of each tree.
Calculate the approximate age of one or more of the trees (core sample) and write a tree story relating the life of the tree at it's different life stages to events in history.
Use triangulation to figure out the height of the tallest of each of the five common species (or average height).
Write a poem, song, or rap about the trees on the schoolyard and include it in the field guide.
1. Choose tree to observe. In journal, draw three boxes, one for a drawing, one for observations, and the last for thoughts or wonderings about the tree.
2. Revisit tree. Choose one leaf – trace and draw, do a rubbing of the leaf
3. Use shortcut guide, keys and individual species descriptions in "Minnesota Trees" (pub. by U of MN extension) to i.d. tree.
4. Class graph – collect data on types of trees and numbers of each chosen by students.
5. Pick top five trees.
6. Collect a leaf from each tree to press. Make a field plant press by pressing the leaf between layers of newspaper with cardboard on the outside. Press under books.
7. Create a Common Trees on the School Yard field guide – research trees and fill in tree template page, glue pressed leaf to the page and cover with clear contact paper.
Tree template page will include the following: common name, scientific name, size of tree, bark description, interesting facts and adaptations.
Extensions:
Add a page of class data on the numbers of different species identified.
Include less common trees in the field guide.
Include more details on each tree (information on range, seeds, uses of wood, etc.)
Create a map showing the location of the trees on the school grounds.
Calculate the number of board feet of lumber that could be provided by one specimen of each tree.
Calculate the approximate age of one or more of the trees (core sample) and write a tree story relating the life of the tree at it's different life stages to events in history.
Use triangulation to figure out the height of the tallest of each of the five common species (or average height).
Write a poem, song, or rap about the trees on the schoolyard and include it in the field guide.
Teaching Notes and Tips
This activity is dependent upon having a school yard (or nearby area) with a variety of trees. Safety considerations include making sure you have an area where students can spread out to different trees, but still be visible to the instructor. It may require students working in pairs or small groups and will be best if students are already comfortable and familiar with expectations and boundaries of working outside with nature journals.
This activity is different from things I've done in the past, as it requires repeated work outside, along with nature journaling. Students are used to short, infrequent visits outdoors, so I'm hoping to create routines which include more outdoor observations into the data we collect.
This activity is different from things I've done in the past, as it requires repeated work outside, along with nature journaling. Students are used to short, infrequent visits outdoors, so I'm hoping to create routines which include more outdoor observations into the data we collect.
Assessment
Use the following rubric for the student's finished field guide:
4 – Student completes at least five pages in the field guide along with one of the extensions, information is correct and understandably written, student shows a full understanding of adaptations, and finished product has a cover, is creative, colorful, and shows extra effort.
3 – Student completes five pages, information is correct and understandable, student shows a full understanding of adaptations, finished product has a cover, is clearly written and colorful.
2 – Student completes four pages, information is mostly correct and understandable, student shows some understanding of adaptations, finished product has a cover.
1 – Student completes three or fewer pages, information is partially correct and/or somewhat understandable, student shows little or no understanding of adaptations, field guide appears unfinished or has no cover.
4 – Student completes at least five pages in the field guide along with one of the extensions, information is correct and understandably written, student shows a full understanding of adaptations, and finished product has a cover, is creative, colorful, and shows extra effort.
3 – Student completes five pages, information is correct and understandable, student shows a full understanding of adaptations, finished product has a cover, is clearly written and colorful.
2 – Student completes four pages, information is mostly correct and understandable, student shows some understanding of adaptations, finished product has a cover.
1 – Student completes three or fewer pages, information is partially correct and/or somewhat understandable, student shows little or no understanding of adaptations, field guide appears unfinished or has no cover.
Standards
Life science grade 5, Structure and function in living systems.
The student will understand that living things are diverse with many different characteristics that enable them to grow, reproduce, and survive.
Nature of Science and Engineering gr. 5, Interactions among science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and society. The student will understand that tools and mathematics help scientists and engineers see more, measure more accurately, and do things that they could not otherwise accomplish.
The student will understand that living things are diverse with many different characteristics that enable them to grow, reproduce, and survive.
Nature of Science and Engineering gr. 5, Interactions among science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and society. The student will understand that tools and mathematics help scientists and engineers see more, measure more accurately, and do things that they could not otherwise accomplish.
References and Resources
Rathke, David M. Minnesota Trees. Minnesota Extension Service Educational Development System. ISBN 0-9623116-1-8.