Trees can reduce ground and air temperatures by providing shade and help us feel better during very hot days.

Students observe that during the late spring months the temperature on the playground becomes extremely hot causing uncomfortable conditions and extremely hot play structures.  They wonder how they could improve the conditions on the playground during these hotter months.

Outdoor Field Experience — The Playground

Students begin this unit with an issue investigation that connects to their own experiences in the schoolyard during warmer months, that is, how they feel when they play in an extremely hot place. Ultimately, they will be able to advocate for the planting of trees to grow Philadelphia’s tree canopy and improve their own  experiences.   

The linked slide deck will step you through the process.

Students will  discuss, write and draw in this first engage activity to help them focus in on the issue they will be investigating — the benefit of trees in our schoolyard. 

Take time over the next several weeks to define the issue, investigate, synthesize information and hone in on an action project.

Students can use a google map (bird’s eye view)  for reference, but encourage them to draw their own schoolyard map freehand (using graph paper will help).

Make sure students pay attention to scale and proportion (relative size is ok!) or challenge them to make the drawing to scale . This will require more time outside making accurate measurements of the space.

Students will be looking a the air and surface temperature at five different locations. 

If some students also recorded how they felt at various location, this would be a good time to bring up the heat index and why that might be different from strictly a temperature read out.  What is the heat Index (NOAA Weather.gov) 

Possible responses regarding cooler locations in the schoolyard may be : 

I stand in the shaded areas around the playground

I sit in the grass

I lean against the building

Map them too!

Create a large post-it sheet with the heading “ACTION PLANNING IDEAS” to be prominently displayed as you continue this Learning Experience

Note:  You may want to consider continuing the schoolyard mapping beyond a one-time investigation with seasonal mapping

Continue to map the temperature in your schoolyard over days or weeks and in various weather conditions to develop a deeper understanding of seasonal shifts.

Map the placement of the sun in the sky over time.

Graph your results and review trend lines during one season

Our Community

Making the case for more trees requires students to first know what types of trees already exist in their community, their characteristics and benefits  in their local environment.

The next step, to advocate for planting some trees in their schoolyard.

Here are some resources provided by Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to help support this part of the lesson:

Choosing the Right Tree : PHS Activities, Tools and Resources 

Slide deck from PHS:  Right Tree in the Right Place

Tree Wizard from the Arbor Day Foundation. This app will give your students a recommendation for a tree but you will have to prepare answers for the questions they will ask, which may take many more class periods.

They ask you to provide the following:  Tree Type, Zipc ode (for hardiness zone), soil composition, sun exposure, height, spread, attributes.

If you want to go even more in depth with this mini-unit,

Check out iTree Design Tool 

Consider reaching out directly to The School District of Philadelphia Green Infrastructure Manager or PHS to find out when your school is scheduled to get more trees!

Explore Forest Bathing with your students in the nearest park.  It is a concept based on the Japanese concept “shinrin yoku” which means “to bathe in the forest’s atmosphere”. Forest Bathing walks are slow, sensory experiences that have been proven to  support and strengthen the immune system, regulate the nervous system, and promote relaxation.