Trees and MWEEs

Grade 3

Engage

Why are trees important?

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What do trees give us?

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How would you describe the trees in your neighborhood?

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Engage

Thea’s Tree by Judith Clay. This is a story about a girl who lives in a city and wants to experience trees like her parents did when they were young.

Thea’s Tree

Have you ever felt about something like Thea felt about finding a tree?

How would you describe Thea’s wanting to grow a tree to your friends?

What are the important things that Thea needs to provide for her tree?

What else might she do to protect her tree?

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Caring for Trees

What are the things that trees need to grow and survive?

Do you think trees KNOW when they are cared for?

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What is a Tree?

How would you describe a tree to someone who has never seen one?

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You might say a large plant that has a trunk, branches, leaves, and can grow very tall and get very old.

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A tree is actually a living system that has different parts that work together to keep it healthy and growing.

Parts of a Tree

Look at the crown of the tree. Why do you think it is called the crown? The crown has the leaves, branches, and twigs.

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What else do you notice about the parts of the tree?

Leaves

What do we know about leaves?

Leaves make food for the tree!

The way leaves make food is called: Photosynthesis

The leaves take in sunlight and carbon dioxide from the air. With the water that the roots are absorbing, they turn those ingredients into sugars. Let’s watch a video about how this happens.

Tree 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!

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This video shows how trees get water up to the leaves.

Tree Trunk

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

Tree Art

Some people use leaves and bark to make beautiful art.

Here is a video of how to do a rubbing of tree bark.

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How do trees benefit us in the city?

As you watch this video, write down how trees are important for us in a city.

If all the trees were gone…..

Why do we ALL need trees?

Draw a picture of a tree.

On your picture include the good things that trees provide in the city.

Think of as many benefits as you can.

You can write the benefits on leaves on your tree. Or create a class tree and add the leaves together.

Display your tree somewhere where others can learn about how important trees are, even in a city.