Teach kids identify trees by looking at bark patterns.
Teach kids about the different types of trees that are native to your area with bark rubbing activities. Bark rubbing activities help kids compare the different textures of tree barks and identify different trees by their bark patterns. To make a bark rubbing you need paper and wax crayons with the paper peeled off. Have kids hold the sheet of paper over the bark and rub it with the side of the crayon until the pattern of the bark appears.
Name the Tree
Have students make bark rubbings of trees they have in their backyard and bring the rubbings to school. Display each of the bark rubbings and ask other kids in the class to work together to figure out what kind of tree it is. If they cannot figure out the type of tree, work with them to determine the different characteristics of each rubbing and explain what makes the bark unique to that species of tree.
Bark Books
Have students put together their own bark rubbing books where they can compare the differences between tree species. Use construction paper to make 5-by-7-inch covers for the front and back of the book. Let kids decorate their covers and write their names on the front. Cut down bark rubbings to the same size as the covers and create two holes on the left-hand side of the paper using a hole punch. Tie pages together using twine or other type of string. Have kids label each bark rubbing on the back and add why it is different from all the others.
Make a Tree
Have kids make their own tree design by using their imagination and different species of trees. On a legal size sheet of paper have kids draw a tree scene, including the trunk, leaves, ground and sky. Then let them color in the different areas of the scene by using the bark rubbing technique to add texture to each of the items. For example, use an oak tree for the trunk, a maple tree for the leaves and a ginkgo tree for the ground.
Scavenger Hunt
Send kids out on a scavenger hunt in search of different species of trees in the school yard or neighborhood. Give kids a list of trees to find with a box under each name. When they find the tree, they make a bark rubbing in the box under the appropriate tree name. Limit the list to trees commonly found in your area and offer bonus points if kids can find and identity a non-native species of tree.
