Trees Teaching Ideas and Activities

Ages: 5-11

If you’re planning a ‘Trees’ topic in your classroom, explore some of our cross-curricular teaching ideas and activities!

Can you suggest any other ideas for a ‘trees’ topic? Leave a comment at the bottom of the page!

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

Write a recount from the point of view of a tree, explaining all of the things that you have seen throughout your lifetime.
Make a list of ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments about deforestation.
Make some instructions to ‘teach’ a tree how to carry out photosynthesis.
Make some instructions to teach people how to grow their own tree from a seed.
Make a glossary of words linked to trees.
Can you find any stories in which a tree (or a forest) plays an important role in the plot?
Write your own story in which a tree plays an important part.
Make a ‘Record-breaking trees’ booklet / poster with facts about amazing trees (e.g. the tallest tree in the world, the oldest tree in the world).

Collect some leaves and measure their area using a squared grid.
Carry out a survey of local trees and use the results for data handling activities.
Can you measure some trees? Can you estimate their height?

Find out how trees grow. What do they need to grow?
Identify the different insects and animals that live in / near different types of trees. Which parts of the tree do they live in / around? Which of these are helpful or harmful to the trees?
Create your own identification chart to help others to identify local trees.
Find out how seeds from different trees are dispersed.
Research the different fruit and nuts that trees produce. How many of these are edible?
What would happen if there were no trees in the world? Research what the impact might be on plants, animals and humans.

Take some photos of trees near your school. Can you compare these with trees near a school in a different part of the country / world?
Create a multimedia presentation (or a web page) to teach others everything that you know about trees.
Take some photos of the same tree at different times of year. Can you create a time-lapse animation showing how the tree changes?
Create a database of trees with information about each type.

How do we collect wood from trees? How do we use wood? How has wood been used throughout history?

Collect lots of different leaves and use these to create your own pictures of animals.
Create some silhouettes of different trees. How are they similar / different?
Sketch some trees in your local area.
How would you describe the colours of different trees / leaves near you?
Create some leaf prints by painting leaves and pressing them onto a plain piece of paper.
Try some leaf rubbings.

Find out about the types of trees that live in different places around the world. How are they adapted to live in different climates?
Are there any countries that use trees (or parts of trees) on their flags? Can you design a new tree-themed flag?
Make a map of your local area and plot the locations of different types of trees.
Can you try to recycle your old paper?

Find a local tree and try to work out / estimate its age. What different historical events have taken place during that tree’s lifetime? Could you show these on a timeline?