Tree Drawing :

The Interpretation

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This is a good activity to use as an ice breaker for the beginning of the school year or as a
warm up activity to stimulate interaction between students and/or fellow teachers.
Objective:
Students will demonstrate knowledge in reading and comprehension.
Students will interpret the drawing of a fellow student based on the guidelines provided
in the handout.
Students will introduce fellow students to the class and will tell some interesting
information about each other based on their drawing of a tree.
Procedure:

Tell the students you have only three words of instruction for them.
Post the instructions on the board or screen.
The only instructions are DRAW A TREE. Say no more.
Students are given 8-10 minutes to draw a tree on a blank sheet of paper.
At the end of the time limit, take up all of the class drawings in random order.
Next, distribute the tree drawings to the students making sure that no student receives
their own tree drawing.
Next, distribute the Tree Drawing Interpretation handout to each.
Students are to interpret the drawing based on the criteria presented on the handout.
Place a check mark in all the categories that apply to the drawing.
Follow the instructions that directs each student to summarize their findings by writing a
paragraph about that person based on their tree drawing.

Conclusion:
Students will take turns orally introducing the person of whom they interpreted the tree
drawing. Students are encouraged to take the findings with a grain of salt, however
most will agree that the tree interpretation gives a fairly close description of that persons
personality.
Materials Needed:
Blank paper, colored pencils or crayons, timer.
Approximate time of activity with 28 students is 1 hour.

Tree Drawing :

The Interpretation

Tree Drawn By:__________________________________

Interpretation by: ________________________________
SIZE
____ 1. Small in relation to the paper: You are frugal, careful with money and time.
____ 2. Large in relation to the paper.: You are generous to a fault. You tend to take on more than you can.
LINE QUALITY
____ 1. Firm, strong lines: Indicates an aggressive, positive, self-assured person.
____ 2. Light lines: Indicates you are soft spoken and gentle. May tend to be inconspicuous.
TREE PLACEMENT
____1. Tree in top half of paper: You tend to be and up-in-the-air person, an independent spirit who needs
a lot of freedom.
____ 2. Tree at bottom of page: Indicates a down-to-earth person, practical, sensible and reliable.
____ 3. Tree in the center of the page: Indicates a well organized person, good at planning ahead.
____ 4. Tree drawn crosswise on the page: Indicates broad mindedness type of person. Open to new ideas.
DETAIL
____ 1. Few lines or outlined only: You like to work with overall concepts, the big picture, but let others
handle the details.
____ 2. Lots of detail : You like to immerse yourself in the details of anything you do.
VALUE
____ 1. Tree is shaded or darkened: Indicates a serious quality in the person.
____ 2. Tree is light and airy, without shading: You tend to be an easy going person, carefree.
____ 3. One part of the tree is shaded: Indicates a serious concern about one aspect of your life:
Trunk: concerned about home situations.
Roots: indicates a troubled or difficult past
Treetop: indicates concern about the future.
SHAPE
____ 1. Tall: You are a tall-thinking person. You aim high and often inspire others.
____ 2. Pointed top: You are ambitious and like to feel that you are always moving forward.
____ 3. Tree bent as if blowing in the wind: You tend to be restless, full of energy and often get caught up
in the activity around you.
____ 4. Short and wide: You are contented, stable, satisfied with your life. If the tree is wide relative to its
height, you also tend to be protective of those close to you.
BASE
____ 1. Ground included: Indicates a need for security and planning
____ 2. Tree floating in the air: You are perfectly comfortable when things are spontaneous and you function
equally well in any surroundings.
____ 3. Earth drawn as soft, graceful line under the tree: You are happy and contented.
____ 4. Tree drawn in a pot: You like to be on-the-go, you can take off on a trip at a moments notice.
____ 5. Tree drawn on a hill: You like attention and want to be noticed.

ROOTS
____ 1. Roots included: The past is important to you. It has a strong influence on the way you live and think.
Graceful roots suggest a warm feeling about childhood.
____ 2. Tree base is open, without roots: You draw strength from the person you are today. A base drawn in a
straight line indicates you have cut yourself off from the past.
TRUNK
____ 1. Wide and sturdy: Indicates strength. You can stand up in adverse circumstances.
____ 2. Slim and narrow: You are flexible and adaptable.
____ 3. Trunk is very straight: You tend to be well organized.
____ 4. Trunk is clear and uncluttered: You are content with your home life. Gnarled, twisted or darkened
trunk indicates an unhappy home situation.
____ 5. Knothole drawn: You are forgiving. And if the knothole is dark, you tend to be forgiving of others
weaknesses, but have a hard time forgiving your own.
TOP OF TREE
____ 1. Drawn as fluffy cotton ball Indicates a warm, gracious person, contented with life and comfortable
to be around.
____ 2. Simple, round top: You tend to be private and like to keep to yourself.
____ 3. Winter tree, branches without leaves: You are honest. How things are done is more important to you
than the final result.
____ 4. Summer tree with swirls and curves suggesting leaves: Indicates that you care more about the end
`
result than the methods used to accomplish the task.
____ 5. Tree without branches and leaves: Indicates a well rounded person who cares both about the end
result and the methods used to achieve it.
____ 6. All branches up: You are forward-looking and more interested in the future than the past.
____ 7. Branches spread out in all directions: Indicates an outgoing person who reaches out to others.
____ 8. Treetop with a lot of lines: Indicates energy and movement. You like to keep busy. If lines are very
tangled, you may be confused about where your life is going. Sometimes you
feel like you are just spinning your wheels.
____ 9. Each individual leaf is drawn: You tend to be methodical and like things well organized.
____10. Tree looks cut off at the top: You are holding yourself back and cant progress in the direction
you want to go.
THINGS DRAWN IN OR AROUND THE TREE
____ 1. Any extra features: You are aware of things going on around you.
____ 2. Fruits and nuts: You want your home to be a comfortable place
____ 3. Grass: You want your home to be a comfortable place.
____ 4. Flowers: Beauty is important to you and you like to fill your home with beautiful things.
____ 5. Birds, animals, people: You are kind, warm hearted and like to be with people.
____ 6. Sun: Indicates an optimistic outlook.
____ 7. Clouds: Indicates expectations of sorrow and disappointment.
____ 8. A swing: Indicates you enjoy life and find fun in all you do.
CONCLUSION:
With the information you have gathered from above, write a paragraph about the person on the back of the tree
drawing. The paragraph should summarize the personality of the person based on your findings from this
checklist. See if you can find the person in the room and return your evaluation to them.
www.popehorticulture.com J. Green