Trees and Winter

Winter Trees
Poetry Read this poem aloud, then take your class outside or to the window to observe the trees. Encourage students to write poems about what trees look like in the winter where you live.

Winter Trees

by Heidi Bee Roemer

October's gifts of bright confetti
Spiral through the frosty air.

Leaves are dipped like artists' brushes,
Gold and scarlet linger there.

November's breath is bleak and dreary;
Tree limbs look like old black bones.

Chilly winds chase shriveled petals,
Saplings bend and branches groan.

Cheer us, o, December cardinals,
Singing ornaments of red.

Powdered trees on moonlit evenings,
Snuggle in their snowy bed.

My Life As A Tree
This is a good way to introduce your students to the three parts of a tree and how they function. Extensions can be easily added such as studying the tree rings for evidence of disease, fire, and other detrimental effects on a tree.

Biggest Trees in the United States
In this lesson your students will complete a chart to show the locations and sizes of some of the biggest trees in the United States.

Winter Botany
Trees without leaves can be a challenge to identify. Students will learn how to recognize common Ozark trees in winter by examining their twigs and other features and then go outdoors to practice this skill.

Terrific Trees
Science Check some books about trees out of the library. Go for a class walk and identify trees surrounding the school. Is it easier to identify trees using the leaves and needles or the bark? Have the students identify trees around their homes. Why might these particular trees have been selected for planting in a residential neighborhood?

Tree Journal
In this activity children develop their observation skills by applying their senses to the study of life in and around a single tree. The observations can be done as a whole class project in school or as an individual project at home.

Winter Wonderland Painting
Student will learn about the structure of trees and how the tree gets smaller as it grows its branches and twigs. They will also observe how snow sets on branches.