Dendrochronology & Tree Cookies (Tree Rings) ~ Science and Art Integration

Updated August/2017: Added vocabulary interactive notebook pages, tree cookie matching pages, blank tree cookie template and a how to count the rings poster. So much can be learned from examining and analyzing tree cookies (tree rings)! This is part of the Trees and Forests or All About Trees study. Learn all about dendrology/dendrochronology and what can be learned from the rings of a tree: Spring wood and Summer wood together creates a yearly growth ring How to count the rings of the tree Posters to identify Environmental Factors affecting tree growth such as: Optimal water and nutrients for the tree Fire Drought or Dry/Hot weather Insect Infestation Competing for Space High winds or Growing on a Slope Injury Branches breaking off or Being Pruned Student activity pages to examine and analyze a variety of tree cookies with combined factors affecting the trees growth (with a "guideline" answer key ~ you can decide the amount of detail you require) 10 Tree Cookie images for examining "real" trees or for use as examples in nature (without an answer key as they are real tree images) Tree Cookie Analysis Student Pages for use with the image samples or your own tree cookie samples Tree Art ~ Students create their own tree cookie to represent each year of their life in colour (planning pages included) Optional tree cookie recipe included for pinwheel cookies By the time students are finished learning about, examining and analyzing all these tree cookies, they will be able to look at cross sections of trees and identify all that happened in the life of that tree! If there are additional environmental factors that you would like included in the unit, let me know and I will create the poster or pages for you! Check out the "All About Trees" unit to learn all about the parts of the tree, layers of the trunk (Outer Bark, Phloem, Cambium, Xylem and Heartwood), Leaves and Photosynthesis and the Ecosystem surrounding the trees too! All About Trees, Layers of the Tree, Layers of the Trunk, Leaves & Much More! Teaching the Life Cycle of Trees? Chek out the Life Cyle of an Oak Tree unit full of posters, informational passages and activities at: The Forest Inside One Little Acorn ~ Life Cycle of an Oak Tree Integrated Unit