Tree Lifecycle

All living things have a lifecycle that includes, birth, growth, aging, and death. Trees go through these stages over the course of their life even though we may not be here to witness the full cycle. As trees go through their lifecycle their role in the ecosystem changes. Visit a local forest, park or explore your schoolyard for trees in different stages of their lifecycle from acorns to rotting logs. Observe the animals and insects that use them at each. Then use Project Learning Tree’s “Tree Lifecycle” to investigate the lifecycle of trees and their varying role in the forest ecosystem.

Young Child Extension
Ask children: Are trees alive? How do they know? How do trees start life? Go for a walk outside and find trees at different stages of their lifecycle, such as an acorn under a tree, a sapling just starting to grow, a mature tree and a log on the ground. As a class act out the lifecycle of a tree: curl into a ball (you’re a seed), slowing uncurl and kneel (you’ve sprouted), stick your arms up (you’ve grown branches), wiggle your fingers (you grew leaves), stand up (you grew tall), wiggle your toes (you grew lots of roots), sway around and sigh (you are now a mature tree and home to wildlife), make a creaking sound and fall over (you grew old and fell down during a storm), curl into a ball (you are one of your seeds growing from under your rotting wood), slowly uncurl and kneel (you are sprouting again)…and so the tree lifecycle goes around.

Book List
Grades PreK-2
Anthony, J. and C. Arbo. 1999. In a Nutshell (Sharing Nature with Children Book Series). Dawn Publications.
Aston, D. 2007. A Seed Is Sleepy. Chronicle Books LLC.
Behn, H. and J. Endicott. 1994. Trees. Henry Holt & Company, Inc.
Berger, M. 1994. All about Seeds: A Hands-on Science Book. Scholastic, Inc.
Buscagalia, L.F. 1982. The Fall of Freddie the Leaf: A Story of Life for All Ages. SLACK, Inc.
Burns, D.L. and L. Garrow. 1998. Trees, Leaves and Bark. T&N Children’s Publishing.
Burns, D.L. and J.F. McGee. 1996. Berries, Nuts,and Seeds (Take-Along Guide). T&N Children's Publishing.
Canizares, S., D. Moreton and B. Chessen. 1997. Who Lives in a Tree? Scholastic, Inc.
Carle, E. 1991. The Tiny Seed. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Cassie, B. and M. Burns. 1999. Trees. Scholastic, Inc.
Cole, J. 1995. The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow. Scholastic, Inc.
DePalma, M.N. 2005. A Grand Old Tree. Scholastic, Inc.
Fowler, A. 2001. From Seed to Plant. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Gackenbach, D. 1996. Mighty Tree. Harcourt Children's Books.
Gibbons, G. 2002. Tell Me, Tree: All About Trees for Kids. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Hankin, R. 1995. Up the Tall Tree. Steck-Vaughn.
Hickman, P. 1996. A Seed Grows: My First Look at a Plant's Life Cycle. Kids Can Press, Ltd.
Iverson, D. 1999. My Favorite Tree: Terrific Trees of North America. Dawn Publications.
Lavies, B. 1989. Tree Trunk Traffic. Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
Miller, D. 2003. Are Trees Alive? Walker Books for Young Readers.
Moss, M. and A. Kennaway. 2005. This is the Tree. Random House Adult Trade Publishing Group.
Nayer, J. 1994. A Tree Can Be. Scholastic, Inc.
Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. Ecosystem of a Fallen Tree. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
Peck, J. and V. Petrone. 2005. Way Up High in a Tall Green Tree. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Silverstein, S. 2004. The Giving Tree. HarperCollins Publishers.
Simon. S. 1973. A Tree on Your Street. Holiday House Inc.
Udry, J.M. and M. Simont. 1987. A Tree is Nice. HarperCollins Publishers.
Van Laan, N. 2000. A Tree for Me. Random House.
Worth, B. 2006. I Can Name 50 Trees Today!: All about Trees. Random House Publishing Group.

Grades 3-5
Arnosky, J. 1992. Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Bernard, R. 2001. A Tree for All Seasons. National Geographic Children’s Books.
Bourgoing, P. 1992. The Tree. Scholastic First Discovery Books.
Brenner, B. 2004. One Small Place in a Tree. Morrow/Avon.
Burns, D.L. and L. Garrow. 1998. Trees, Leaves and Bark. T&N Children’s Publishing.
Burns, D. 1996. Berries, Nuts, and Seeds. Northwood Press.
Canizares, S. 1997. Look at This Tree. Scholastic, Inc.
Cassie, B. and M. Burns. 1999. Trees. Scholastic, Inc.
Dorros, A. 1997. A Tree is Growing.
Dundy, M.R., and K. Richardson. 2010. Forests For All. MDCT Publishing.
Garelick, M. & Brenner, B. 1979. The Tremendous Tree Book. Four Winds Press.
George, K. 1998. Old Elm Speaks. Clarion Books.
Gibbons, G. 2002. Tell Me Tree: All About Trees for Kids. Little, Brown Young Readers.
Green, J. 1999. A Dead Log. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Hiscock, B. 1991. The Big Tree. Atheneum Books-MacMillan.
Iverson, D. 1999. My Favorite Tree: Terrific Trees of North America. Dawn Publications.
Kalman, B.1996. How a Plant Grows. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Locker, T. 1995. Sky Tree. Harper Collins Publishers.
Lyons, D. 2002. The Tree. Illumination Arts Publishing.
Miller, D. 2003. Are Trees Alive? Walker Books for Young Readers.
Morrison, G. 2005. Oak Tree. Houghton Mifflin Co.
Oppenheim, J. 1967. Have You Seen Trees. Addison Wesley Longman Publishing Company.
Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. Ecosystem of a Fallen Tree. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
Simon. S. 1973. A Tree on Your Street. Holiday House Inc.
Staub, F.J. 1998. America's Forests. Lerner Publishing Group.
Tresselt, A. 1992. The Gift of a Tree. Lothrop, Lee & Shephard Books.
Wong, H & Vessel, M. 1969. Our Tree. Addison-Wesley.

Grades 6-8
Arnosky, J. 1992. Crinkleroot’s Guide to Knowing the Trees. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.
Bates, J.W. 1991. Seeds to Plants: Projects with Biology. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Cassie, B. and M. Burns. 1999. Trees. Scholastic, Inc.
Garelick, M. & Brenner, B. 1979. The Tremendous Tree Book. Four Winds Press.
Simon. S. 1973. A Tree on Your Street. Holiday House Inc.

Grades 9-12
Heinrich, B. 1998. The Trees in My Forest. HarperCollins Publishers.
Kershner, B., et al. 2008. National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America. Sterling Publishing.
Stone, L.M. 2004. Forests. Rourke Publishing, LLC.

Web of Life

Life is dependent on life. Without sunlight there would be no plants, without plants there would be no animals. Learn how plants and animals are connected to each other with Project Learning Tree’s “Web of Life”. Then head out to your schoolyard, backyard or local park and study the ecosystem and food webs right outside your door.

Young Child Extension
Ask children if they have eaten any sunshine today. Share with children various food items, such as apples, whole-grain bagels and orange juice. Serve the snack and talk about where food comes from. Talk about how the food we eat gives us energy to play and grow. For more information and for snack and craft ideas use Growing Up WILD’s “Show Me the Energy” activity!

Book List

Grades PreK-2
Bradley, K. B. Energy Makes Things Happen (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2).
Godkin, C. 2006. Wolf Island. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Limited.
Jenkins, S. 2001. What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You? Houghton Mifflin Company.
Hickman, P. 1997. Hungry Animals: My First Look at a Foodchain. Kids Can Press Ltd.
Johansson, P. 2004. Wide Open Grasslands: A Web of Life. Enslow Publishers, Incorporated.
Kitchen, B. 1994. When Hunger Calls. Candlewick Press.
Lauber, P. 1995. Who Eats What?: Food Chains and Food Webs. HarperCollins Publishers.
Maestro, B. and G. Maestro. 1993. How Do Apples Grow? HarperCollins Publishers.
Mckinney, B.S. 2000. Pass the Energy, Please! Dawn Publications.
Relf, P. 1996. Magic School Bus Gets Eaten: A Book about Food Chains. Scholastic, Inc.
Rosenfeld, D. and R. Lyampe. 2002. Where Does Food Come From? Hachai Publishing.
Sayre, A.P. and K. Endle. 2008. Trout Are Made of Trees. Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.

Grades 3-5
Cole, J. 1996. The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten. A Book About Food Chains. Scholastic Inc.
Ellis, B.F. 2006. Web at Dragonfly Pond. Dawn Publications.
Greenaway, T. 2001. Cycles in Nature Food Chain. Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers.
Heinz, B.J. 2006. Butternut Hollow Pond. Lerner Publishing Group.
Kalman, B. and J. Langille. 1998. What Are Food Chains and Webs? Crabtree.
Mason, C. 2003. Everybody's Somebody's Lunch: The Role of Predator and Prey in Nature. Tilbury House Publishers.
Nadeau, I. 2001. Food Chains in a Pond Habitat. Rosen Publishing Group, Incorporated.
Nadeau, I. 2002. Food Chains in a Meadow Habitat. Rosen Publishing Group, Incorporated.
Norsgaard, E.J. 1990. Nature's Great Balancing Act: In Our Own Backyard. Penguin Young Readers Group.
Penny, M. 1998. The Foodchain. The Bookwright Press.
Pringle, L.P. 1975. Chains, Webs and Pyramids: The Flow of Energy in Nature. HarperCollins Publishers.
Riley, P. 2002. Food Chains. Franklin Watts.

Grades 6-8
Capeci, A. 2003. Food Chain Frenzy (The Magic School Bus Chapter Book). Scholastic Inc.
Hemsley, W. 1992. Feeding to Digestion: Projects with Biology. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Silverstein, A. 1998. Food Chains. Lerner Publishing Group.

Grades 9-12
Ballard, C. 2010. Food Webs. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
Gray, S. H. 2008. Food Webs: Interconnecting Food Chains. Coughlan Publishing.