Trees are helpful to our environment. Trees add to the quality of life in many ways. We all have a responsibility to care for and protect them.

When students are asked, “What benefits, or good things, do we get from trees?,” most students will answer with a list of products made from trees such as paper, pencils, building materials, etc. A few students will say that trees give us oxygen, or give us shade to cool off. While all of that is true, we want students to expand their knowledge and appreciation of trees and the benefits of having them growing around us in the city. In addition to knowing that trees get cut down to make stuff for us, students can develop a personal connection to trees and appreciate all the ways they help us. 

Thea’s Tree – This is a book about a girl who lives in a city surrounded by brick buildings. She wants a tree to dream under like her parents had when they were children living in another place.

THEA’S TREE  by Judith Clay on YouTube  

This book focuses students on trees in the city instead of in the forest. Thea wants to have a personal connection to a tree so she can play under it, climb it (though many times we tell our students that climbing on trees is not good for them), and dream under it. 

Key quotes and moments from the book:

• Thea’s parents told her stories about trees. She wanted a tree, then she found a leaf.
• “Her friends didn’t seem to understand the importance of finding a tree. Perhaps they didn’t even know what a tree was. “ At the end of this unit students will make a poster to tell other students about all the ways trees benefit us and how we can care for and protect them.
• In Thea’s dream the tree gave her a seed and said plant this, “give it water, love, and conversation.”
• After the tree  grew “Thea’s children and grandchildren played and dreamed under it. If you come to her town today you will find the tree still there.”

Our goals: Understand what a tree is and how they are important, then help other students and staff learn why they are important and how to take care of them.

Read the book aloud to the students. It is available on Youtube at the link above.  Ask the usual comprehension questions that you would in a read aloud with the focus being on how Thea makes a personal connection to the tree. If a student asks what kind of tree it is, it might be good to point out that we don’t know, and in many ways it doesn’t really matter. Any kind of tree can be a special tree.  

In the book, the trees says it needs water, love and conversation. Does talking to trees really help trees? This video looks explores that question and, surprisingly, it just might be true!

Are Plants Conscious?  YouTube Video 3:57 About research to figure out if plants are conscious (or thinking). Does talking to plants help them grow and stay healthy???

Trees are amazing living things.

1. What is a Tree?

A tree is a tall plant that lives a long time ( two years or more). It is a living system that has different parts that work together to keep the tree healthy and growing. 

Parts of a tree:

The slide deck linked in this mini-unit includes the graphics and explanations for the parts of a tree.

The essential parts of a tree are the crown, leaves, branches & twigs, trunk, bark and roots. The teacher shows a diagram of a tree and the teacher guides students in recreating this diagram in their notebooks.

 Leaves.  

 

Leaves make the food for the tree! Leaves take in sunlight and carbon dioxide from the air and with water,  they turn those ingredients into sugars using their chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are what give leaves their green color. This process is called photosynthesis. There are tiny holes in the leaves called stoma that allow the carbon dioxide to enter the leaf and oxygen to go out. Different kinds of trees have different kinds of leaves. You can identify the species of trees by the leaves. 

 This video gives students a good overview of the process of photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis | The Dr. Binocs Show | Learn Videos For Kids 3:41

 Roots

Roots are the part of the tree we don’t see very often, but they are very important. Roots hold the tree in place which is important when strong winds blow.  Roots take up water and nutrients from the soil and bring up to the rest of the plant. Roots can also communicate with other trees around them!

This video shows how trees get water up to the leaves. How Do Trees Transport Water from Roots to Leaves? | California Academy of Sciences

 Trunk – The trunk is the big stem of a tree. It connects the roots to the crown.

The Inside the trunk

Trees have tubes inside to move things around.  The tubes, called xylem, carry water and minerals from the roots up to the leaves. Other tubes called phloem carry food, which is mostly sugar, from the leaves to the other parts of the tree. When the phloem tubes wear out and die, they push to the outside of the tree and become bark.

Bark is the outside of the tree. It’s a protective layer, much as our skin is on our bodies. And like our skin, there can be trouble if it gets cut or damaged. Each kind of tree has its own special kind of bark, just like different kinds of animals have different kinds of body coverings. Bark is one way to identify the kind of tree you’re looking at.  Some trees have chemicals in their bark that have a bad taste to keep certain insects and fungi away to protect the tree.  

How can we protect the bark? Keep sharp objects away from the tree. Do not climb the tree or pull on the branches. Broken branches will damage the tree bark and cause damage to the whole tree.

 This video shows how to do bark rubbings to identify different trees. Teachers will use their professional judgement to decide if this activity is appropriate for their class.

 

 

Tree Bark 4:00 How to do bark rubbings and compare the bark of different trees.

HOW TREES BENEFIT US IN THE CITY

 This video outlines six benefits of trees.

Why Do We Need Trees? | Eco Facts | One Tree Planted six major reasons why trees are important. 2:50

This video explains why trees are important to the city.

What happens if you cut down all of a city’s trees? – Stefan Al 5:25

Benefits of trees 

They can reduce air pollution.

They can reduce stress in people.

They can help clean our water.

They can cool us on hot days.

They can build community in neighborhoods.

They provide homes to many different animals.

They can communicate with each other.

They can help reduce global climate change.