Adopt a Tree | CMSMatHome

Adopt a Tree | CMSMatHome

Good morning from #CMSMatHome!

Let’s learn about trees together. All plants, trees included, use sunlight to make food and to grow. Trees are different than other plants because they have a tough, woody stem.

Choose a tree in your yard, neighborhood, or park, and “adopt” it. Find out what kind of tree it is, and start a journal. Visit your tree on a regular basis, and make sure to go look at it during a change of season.

In your journal, you can note the age of your tree it’s height, and any and all observations about its changes.

Further Your Learning

  • In your tree journal, draw a tree skeleton. Stand away from your tree and carefully look at it. Notice how the branches split and divide from the trunk.
  • Figure out the age of your tree. Measure the distance around the middle of the tree (circumference) at about 4.5 feet above the ground. Use a piece of string or a tape measure. This is called the girth  of the tree. Every inch of the girth of your tree equals about one year of growth. How old is your tree?
  • Figure out the height of your tree. Stand back about 15 pace away from your tree. Hold a pencil straight out at arm’s length and line up the bottom (eraser end) of the pencil with the base of the tree. Walk backward away from the tree until the tip of the pencil is lined up with the top of the tree. The point on the ground that lines up with the pencil tip is where the top of the tree would land if the tree fell. Measure the distance and find out the height of your tree.

Learn more about trees here and more about math and measuring trees here.

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