Every Tree for Itself
TeachersNotes:
Trythisactivesimulationtogiveyourstudentsanunderstandingoftheconditionsthattreesneedto
liveandgrowandtohelpyourstudentslearnthattreesoftenmustcompetefortheirneeds.
Objective:
! Studentswillsimulatehowtreescompetefortheiressentialneeds.
! Studentswilldescribehowvaryingamountsoflight,water,andnutrientsaffectatree’s
growth.
Levels:
Kinder–Year5–EveryTreeforItselfJuniorWorksheet
Year6–Year8–EveryTreeforItselfSeniorWorksheet
TimeConsiderations:
Preparation: 10minutes
Activity:
50minutes+forJuniorActivity
45-50MinutesforSeniorActivity
Subject:
Science,Maths
Concepts:
• TheEarth’satmosphere,water,soil,climate,andgeologyvaryfromregiontoregion,thus
creatingawidediversityofbiologicalcommunities.
• Organismsareinterdependent;theyalldependonnon-livingcomponentsoftheEarth.
• Alteringtheenvironmentaffectalllifeforms–includinghumans–andtheinterrelationships
thatlinksthem.
Skills:
Determiningcausesandeffects,Identifyingrelationshipsandpatterns,PredictingandInterpreting.
Material:
A4paperorpaperplates–oneperstudents,piecesofblue,yellow,green,red,andblackpaperor,
blue,yellow,green,red,andblackUnifixcubes,treetrunkorbranchcrosssections/treecookies,
butcher’spaper.
AssessmentOpportunities:
• Havestudentsdrawacross-sectionofatreethatshows10yearsgrowthandvarying
growingconditionsforeachoftheyears.Studentsthenlisttheconditionsthatarerepresented
intheringsdrawn,suchasdrought,competitionwithothertrees,fire,coolspringandsummer,
insectinfestation,abundanceorlackofbasicneeds,forestthinning,animaldamageandsoon.
• Havestudentswriteastoryorcreateaskitfromtheperspectiveofatree,describing10
yearsinthetree’slife.Havethemdetaileventsthataffectthetreebothpositivelyand
negatively.
• Helpstudentsusetreedatagatheredinoneoftheroundofthesimulationtowriteaoneparagraphdescriptionoftheconditionstheirtreeexperienced.
Background:
Whatdotreesneedtotheycangrow?Someoftheirneedsarethesameasthoseofpeopleand
otheranimals.Forexample,treesneedair,andplentyofwaterandfood.Butwhilepeopleand
animalseatthetree’sfood,treesgetfoodinadifferentway.Theyproduceitintheirleavesfrom
carbondioxideandwaterusingenergyfromthesun.Andjustaspeopleandanimalsneedcertain
vitaminsforgrowth,treesneedmineralnutrients,suchasnitrogenandphosphorus,whichtheyget
fromthesoil.
Iftreesdonotgetenoughwater,sunlightornutrients,theymaygrowslowlyordie.Growthrings
showthisgraphically.Ingeneral,wideringindicategoodconditionsforgrowth(plentyofwater,
sunshineandnutrients)whilenarrowringoftenindicatelessfavourableconditionsforgrowth
(drought,insectdamage,lackofnutrients,competition).
GettingReady:
Cuttwo7.6cmx7.6cmsquaresoutofblue,yellowandgreenconstructionpaperforeach
student.Alternatively,youmightliketouseUnifixcubestosavetime,theyworkmuchbetterthan
paperifyou’redoingtheactivityoutdoorsandareeasiertocleanup,re-useandcollectattheendof
theactivity.YouwillalsoneedchartpapertowriteonandonepaperplateorA4pieceofpaperfor
eachstudent.Youwillalsoneedtreecookiestoengagestudents,apictureisattachedbelowfor
reference,andthisisalsothetreecookieusedontheworksheet.
1. Engage:
Beginwithaclassdiscussionabouthowdowefindouthowoldthingsare?
Howoldisgrandma?
Howoldisyourdog?
Howoldisthatbanana?
Askstudentshowlongthinkthattreeshavebeeninexistence.Howwouldtheygoabout
findingout?
Holdupacrosssectionofatree,askifanyoneknowwhatitis.
2. Explore:
1. Passoutcross-sectionsfromseveraltrunksorbranches(treecookies)andhavethe
studentsexaminethegrowthrings.
2. Askstudentsiftheycanfindanythingonthetreecookiesthatgivesthemclues
aboutthelife/ageofthatparticulartree.
3. Explain:
1. Explainthateachyearatreeaddsalayerofgrowthbetweentheolderwoodand
bark,thereforecreatinganewring.Thisishowyoucanfindouthowoldatreeisand
whatitslifehasbeenlikeinaparticularyear.
2. Explaintostudentsthattheyaregoingtoplayagamecalled“EveryTreeForItself”.
Havestudents,whowillbethe“trees”standaboutametreawayfromeachotherinan
openspaceandplaceapaperplateor1whiteA4paperbetweentheirfeet.
3. Scatterblue,yellowandgreenUnifixcubesaroundthestudents.Theobjectofthe
gameisforthe“trees”togatherasmanyUnifixcubesontheirplateastheycan.Explain
thateachcolouredUnifixrepresentsatreerequirement;bluerepresentswater,yellow
representssunlight,andgreenrepresentsanutrientsuchasnitrogen.Ensurethatyou
equallydistributethecolouredsquaresonthefloorandthattheyareabout30-60cms
apart.
4. Tobeginthegame,studenttreesmustreachwiththeirbranches(arms)togather
theirrequirements.Explaintostudentsthattheirfeetaretheirrootsandmustremain
besidesthepaperplateatalltimes.Theyarenotallowedtoslidetheirplatealongthe
floororstepawayfromit;theywillbedisqualifiedfordoingso.Havestudentscollateand
recordtherequirementstheywereabouttogather.Usethefollowingquestionsto
discusstheresults.
•
Howmanyrequirementsdideachtreeget?
•
Doanytreeslackparticularrequirements?
•
Whatmighthappenifarealtreelackedoneofits
requirements?(Itmightgrowslowly,oreventuallydie)
•
Istheresuchthingastoomuchwater,sunlight,nutrients?
(Yes,everyspecieshasoptimumlevelsbeyondwhichthetree
becomesstressed)
4. Elaborate:
1. Havestudentsstandwiththeirpaperplatesagainingroupsofthreetofive.
CollectalloftheUnfixfromthestudentsdistributethemaroundthefloor
again.Playanotherroundandhavestudentsrecordtheirresults.
2. Compareandrecordtheseresultsofthisroundwiththoseofthefirst.In
mostcases,studentswillnoticethateachtreegatheredfewerrequirements.
Askiftheycanreachanynewconclusionsabouttreesthatgrowclose
together.(Suchtreesoftencompeteforrequirementsanddon’tgrowaswell
asothersthatarewidelyseparated.)
3. Askifanytrees“died”becausetheycouldn’tgetaparticularrequirement.
(Youcanallowtreestofalldownorlooktiredanddroopyiftheyhaven’t
receivedtheirvitalrequirements.)
4. Youmayplayseveralroundsofthisgamewithvaryingresultsinorderto
promotedeep,richdiscussion;
•
UsefewerblueUnifixcubestorepresentdrought
•
UsefeweryellowUnifixcubestorepresentlackofsunlight
foryoungtreesbecauseofovercrowding
•
UsefewergreenUnifixcubestorepresentpoorsoilquality
•
AddanewUnifixcube,butdon’ttellthestudentswhatit
represents.Afterplayingaroundwiththenewcolour,tellthemthat
redrepresentsfireandblackrepresentsinsectinfestation.Askhow
wouldthisnewelementaffectthetrees?
5. Iftimepermits,aftereachroundofthegame,havestudentsdrawa“ring”
onapieceofpapertorepresenthowmuchtheirtreegrewthatyearbasedon
therequirementsitgot.
5. Evaluate:
Askstudentshowwemightusetheirnewfoundknowledgeofdrought,competition,
abundanceorlackofbasicneedsincaringforastandoftrees.
Usetheworksheetsprovidedtokeepevidenceoflearningandcomprehensionofthe
activity.
FurtherresourceavailablethroughForestLearning
TreeSeeds–MountainAshTreeSeeds.ContactForestLearningforfurtherenquiries.
ActivityaboutWoodPropertiesanddifferentspeciesoftreesinAustralia.
http://forestlearning.edu.au/find-a-resource/article/16/wood-properties.html
BasicTreeCookie