From science to math, geography to arts
Activities that will help you and your students celebrate trees
Quick links:
Arbor Day downloadable/printable activity sheets
Project Learning Tree professional development opportunities
10 great things your students can do to be treemendous!
- Language Arts — Imagine the most beautiful tree in the world. Think about how it would look, where it would grow, what you would say to it. Share your ideas through stories and drawings.
- Science — Plant and study tree seeds, record germination rates, and grow seedlings. Give as Mother’s Day gifts!
- Art — Make wooden bird houses, feeders or jewelry. Create handmade paper greeting cards. Design creatures from cones, twigs and other tree parts.
- Geography — Map the vegetation around your school grounds. Conduct a tree planting project.
- Art — Design a T-shirt with a forest theme. Invite a local reporter to photograph your class in the T-shirts.
- Geography — Dissect a candy bar to identify tree products (nuts, cocoa, coconut, wrapper). Map their possible origins. Show how people depend on forests for food, shelter, and livelihood.
- Science — Identify ten different trees by leaves, bark, shape, wood, etc. Sample tree products: maple syrup, apples, nuts. Determine which tree parts you’re eating.
- Math — Explore how much wood is used to produce an issue of your favorite comic book or newspaper. Investigate rates of recycling and reforestation. Graph your data.
- Social Studies/Language Arts –– Interview people of many ages to learn how trees touch their lives. Write an article or letter to the editor of your local or school newspaper sharing your findings.
- Science — Keep a log of how wildlife use your neighborhood trees. Describe the animals (insects, too!) and how they use flowers, leaves, limbs, seeds and bark. Surprises await you!
Arbor Day Scavenger Hunt
Students can use their senses to find and check-off each item.
- A tree younger than you
- An insect on a tree
- A songbird in a tree
- A bird’s nest in a tree (don’t disturb it!)
- A twig with a “face”
- An animal’s home in a tree
- A tree shaped like a triangle
- A tree that’s changed something
- A stump telling a tree’s history
- Dried tree”blood” (sap)
- Last year’s leaf still on a tree
- Three leaves with different shades of green
- A partially eaten seed cone
- A tree with a healed injury
- A tree that could use your help
- A tree three times as tall as you
- A seedling just sprouting near an older tree
- Five things you’ve used today that have come from trees
Arbor Day Coloring Sheet
Bring some color to Arbor Day! Click here to download a coloring sheet.
