be done one to a few days in the classroom)
- Choose one species per student. Use the PIC site to provide
- Select one tree on school property and use this PIC web site
to present background info. Have students measure, categorize
and describe the tree.
- Have students bring in tree leaves and use the PIC site to
- Use the PIC Glossary to introduce key terms for plant ID.
Tree Physiology -
Describe an entire tree from roots to leaf top. Note changes
in leaves and branches as you move upward.
Shapes / Silhouettes
- examine tree crown shapes. How do the shapes differ for different
- Collect and press leaves before and after the fall color changes.
Discuss the chemical process that causes leaves to change color
during the fall months.
Use a PIC link for instructions on how to press leaves and mount
them with full botanical id.
- Have students look in their areas for the largest trees. Measure
their girth and collect a leaf for ID. Rank the trees as to
size and species. What do these large trees have in common?
- Use PIC to examine a tree as a food source for other animals.
What animals live in or eat in this tree? What makes a tree
a good ecosystem?
- Use a past cleared area to look at what plants and trees first
begin to invade the cleared space. Identify these trees and
use that to predict the future of this site and to look at other
sites and recognize the history.
- How do botanist determine the height of a tree? Does tallest
necessarily mean oldest?
- A tree's roots extend out as far as from the trunk as the
limb tips. Mark off the root area of a tree. Discuss why construction
often causes root and tree damage and death.
- What are ways to id trees without leaves? Use a winter tree
guide to introduce branching and bark as identification tools.
- Choose 5 PIC trees and record their habitat range. What factors
limit a tree's ability to grow? Place and color common tree
ranges on a state or regional map.
- Have students collect a variety of seed and examine them.
Introduce the different seed types as seen on the PIC site (capsule,
cone, stone…). What advantage is there for each seed type?
- Use the local grocery or farmers market to assemble a variety
of fruits. Which come from trees, bushes, vines, or shrubs?
- Have students look at home for items that clearly show their
tree history. What tree are used in furniture and why? Use the
PIC site to highlight trees that have a major use in the production
of wood products.
- Have students look for leaves that show tree health problems.
Look for clues to the source of the problem. Trees suffer from
viral and fungal infections just like people. Use the PIC site
to highlight some common disease damage.
- Choose a tree that has a good amount of leaf litter below
it. Have students examine the litter carefully for insects,
counting and recording kinds and numbers. Identify the tree
and describe how the fallen leaves create the ecosystem underneath
- Have students bring in 4-5 fresh leaves. Make rubbings of
these leaves with crayons and evaluate vein structure, edge/margin
shapes and size differences. Use the rubbings to identify the
leaves on the PIC site.
Introduce tree farming as part of the states resources. Christmas
trees and pine trees are grown on farms. Use the PIC site to
identify particular species that have economic importance on
- Why aren't all trees listed on the PIC site? Introduce the
idea of hybrid trees that are created for certain characteristics.
What trees are common in your area that are not on the PIC site?
Where did those trees originate?