This week, Nature School will focus on identifying trees by their bark patterns.
What to Do:
1. Download the two bark pattern pages.
2. Participate virtually by watching the YouTube video below.
3. Take a screen shot and sketch the pattern and put it in your nature notebook.
5. Follow–up activity #1 – identify trees in your neighborhood/park by their bark pattern and create a bar graph.
4. Follow–up activity #2 – Watch the second video by Jeff Saslow, a St. Louis Park teacher, on making bark rubbings, then go out and make some bark rubbings in your neighborhood/park. Put the labeled rubbings in your nature notebook.
I hope this week’s nature school will inspire you to explore nature with your parents/ friends and try to identify trees in your neighborhood/park by the bark.
Tree Bark Patterns
Below are two pages of tree bark patterns. Use this handout to help you identify the trees on the video and/or when you take a tree identification hike in your neighborhood/park. You can download the bark pattern pages by clicking on the link below each page and put them in your nature notebook.
Download the first page of the tree bark handout by clicking on the link below:
IdentifyTreesByBarkPage1
Download page 2 of the tree bark handout by clicking on the link below:
IdentifyingTreesBarkPage2
Now you are ready to experience Identifying Trees by Their Bark video. The video is divided into eight stations. At each station write down the name of the tree using your Tree Bark Identification handouts. To watch the video, on the bottom left screen, click ” Watch on YouTube – not on the red rectangle in the center of the screen
Tree Key at Each Station
Station 1 Paper Birch Station 2 Black Cherry Station 3 Red Oak
Station 4 Bur Oak Station 5 Ironwood Station 6 Hackberry
Station 7 Quaking Aspen Station 8 Cottonwood
Follow-up activity #1: It is time to get out and see if you an identify trees in your neighborhood/park. 1. Keep track of what trees you see. 2. Write the names of each tree at the bottom of the graph. 3. For each each tree you identify, add a bar to the graph.
You can download the activity by clicking on the link below the picture:
Download the Common Trees in your Neighborhood below:
MostCommonTreesNeighborhood
Follow-up activity #2 – Watch the second video created by Jeff Saslow, a St. Louis Park teacher, on making bark rubbings, then go out and make some bark rubbings in your neighborhood/park. Label the tree names of each rubbing in your nature notebook.
