Hide

The Climate Change Collection project website has not been significantly updated since 2005. We are preserving the content here for historical purposes and because it may still contain useful ideas and content. But be aware that it may have out of date information and links to external resources that are no longer available.

For current teaching resources on climate change please visit the CLEAN project.

Initial Publication Date: December 12, 2005

Name of Resource: Time and Cycles: Dendrochronology
Climate Change Theme: Climate Variability
Sponsoring Organization: UCAR
Intended use: Learning Activity
Intended audience: Learners
URL: https://scied.ucar.edu/tree-rings

Average Review Ratings (Poor to Excellent, 1-5 scale): 4 stars

Description: In this exercise, students use tree-ring samples drawn on paper to study how rainfall has varied in a fictional town. The exercise is limited in scope, but I've suggested a few extensions in the teacher tips. (CM)

Summary of Reviews

Reviewer: Carrie Morrill 5 stars
Comments: The statement 'During wet, cool years, most trees grow more than during hot, dry years and the rings are wider' is a generalization. In some areas, particularly high latitudes or elevations, tree will grow more in warmer years.
Read entire review: link text (Acrobat (PDF) 59kB Jun21 05)

Reviewer: Jack Ganse 3 stars
Comments: This website presents a simple laboratory activity using simulated tree ring data. Students learn about tree rings and their growth, examine sample tree ring cores, and use the data to explain how the tree's growth and climatic conditions are related. Both a teacher guide and a student guide are included, along with a template for simulated tree ring cores.
Read entire review: link text (Acrobat (PDF) 58kB Jun21 05)