Activities

Find Out More About Trees

1. What happens to water after it reaches the leaves of a tree?"

To find out, you will need:

1 small clear plastic bag

1 leafy twig

1 small piece of string or twist tie

1 empty 8-ounce jar

1 cup of water

1 potted plant

Place the plastic bag around one of the leaves or a cluster of leaves on the twig. Using a small piece of string or a twist tie, carefully tie the bag to the stem of the leaf or cluster of leaves. Fill the jar with one cup of water, and put the twig into the jar. Place the jar on a sunny windowsill. After one day, what do you see in the bag? Check the bag every day for a week, and record what you see on a chart.

Now try this experiment with a potted plant to see if it works in the same way. Carefully tie a plastic bag around one of its leaves or a cluster of leaves, just as you did in the first experiment. Ask an adult to help you place the plant in a sunny spot and water it. Check the bag every day for a week, and record what you see on a chart. How are the results similar to or different from those in the first experiment?

2. How old is your tree?

Trees can live for a very long time. The trees in your backyard or in the park may be as old as you are or they may be as old as your grandpa or grandma - or even older! Some trees can live longer than others. Redwood trees, which grow in northern California can live an average of 600 years. The oldest known redwood was 2,200 years old!

To find the age of a tree, wrap a tape measure around the trunk about three feet above the ground. The distance that you are measuring around the middle of a tree is called the girth. Every inch in the girth equalsabout one year in a tree's growth. How old is your tree? Is it younger or older than you are? By how many years?

Glowing new illustrations adorn this classic "Let's Read and Find Out Science" primer, first published in 1960.(Kirkus )

A tree is the biggest plant that grows.

Trees can live for a very long time, and they are alive all year long, even when they look dead in winter.

In this newly illustrated book, you will learn how a tree grows and how it gets food and water. You can also find out what happens to water after it travels through a tree's roots, branches, and leaves, and how to figure out a tree's age.

Clyde Robert Bulla's simple and concise text and Stacey Schuett's lush illustrations follow a tree's continuous life cycle through spring, summer, winter, and fall.

Clyde Robert Bulla is the author of over fifty books for children including The Secret Valley and The Story of Valentine’s Day. He has been writing since 1946 when he published his first book, The Donkey Cart. Mr. Bulla was the first recipient of the Southern California Council on Children’s Literature award for distinguished contribution to the field. He lives in Los Angeles, California.