Life Science
Photosynthesis
Desk Tree
25 Totally Terrific Science Projects © Michael Gravois, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Materials:
s COLOREDPENCILS
s SCISSORS
s RULERS
s BYINCHCARDSTOCK
s Desk Tree template
(page 19)
Skills/Standards:
s DEVELOPSANUNDERSTANDING
of plant life
s UNDERSTANDSTHENATUREOF
scientific inquiry
s ORGANIZESANDINTERPRETSDATA
s RECOGNIZESTHERELATIONSHIP
between plants and
animals
s UNDERSTANDSTHECONCEPT
of photosynthesis and the
function of chlorophyll
Purpose
Students will create a desk tree that features information they
learned about the world of trees and plants—the process of
photosynthesis, reasons why trees change colors, the function
of chlorophyll, and so on.
Creating the Desk Tree
1. Give each student two sheets of 8½- by 11-inch card stock
and a copy of the Desk Tree template.
Physical Science
The teacher can conduct an
experiment that explores
chemical and physical
changes of trees—forest
fires, rainstorms, making
furniture—by burning, wetting,
and breaking a matchstick.
Students can write about
their observations on their
desk tree.
2. Have students cut out the tree’s silhouette along the
dotted line on the reproducible.
3. Ask students to use the silhouette as a template and trace
it onto both sheets of card stock. They should then cut out
both silhouettes from the card stock.
4. Direct students to place the template behind one of the
pieces of card stock and hold it up to a window; this allows
them to faintly see the dashed center line on the template.
Have them lightly trace the center line onto the card stock;
they should also mark where the two black circles are.
5. On one of the silhouettes, students should cut from the
bottom of the center line up to the top circle. On the other,
they should cut from the top of the center line down to the
bottom circle.
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Life Science
25 Totally Terrific Science Projects © Michael Gravois, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Assign a different species
of tree to each student. Ask
students to find a silhouette
of their tree on the Internet
and create a desk tree of
their assigned tree. Students
can write about the habitat in
which their tree can be found,
illustrate its leaf, describe its
fruit or flower, or create a time
line of its lifespan. They might
also compare monocots to
dicots or coniferous trees to
deciduous trees.
Earth Science
Students can illustrate and
describe the affect the Earth’s
revolution has upon seasonal
changes. Each of the four
panels on the desk tree can
address a different season.
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6. Show students how to slide the two silhouettes together
so they lock into place (figure 1). The bottom edges of the
two silhouettes need to line up so the tree can stand freely.
There will be four tree-shaped panels on which the students
can write or draw.
figure 1
Completing the Desk Tree
1. Once the trees are interlocked, ask students to lay them
down on their desk; the tree will naturally lie flat. Ask
students to write a title for their desk tree and include their
name. Encourage students to color the tree, adding leaves
and bark.
2. Students need only turn the pages to reveal each of the
other three panels. Direct students to fill in the required
information on these panels; information can include a
definition of photosynthesis and chlorophyll, an illustration
of the photosynthetic process, a paragraph describing why
trees change colors, and so on. Ask students to write a title
for each panel on the strip below the silhouettes.
25 Totally Terrific Science Projects ©2010 by Michael Gravois, Scholastic Teaching Resources, page 19
25 Totally Terrific Science Projects © Michael Gravois, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Template
Desk Tree