Tree Cookies

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One way to learn about tree growth is to look at annual rings. Tree rings show patterns of change in a tree’s life as well as changes in the area where it grows. In this activity, you can trace environmental and historical changes using a cross section of a tree, or “tree cookie.”

DOING THE ACTIVITY

Have you ever counted tree rings? Every growth season, a tree adds a new layer of wood to its trunk and limbs. This means you can determine the age of a tree by counting its layers, or rings. Have children learn more about a tree’s life by examining a tree cookie and asking:

• How old was this part of the tree when the tree cookie was cut?DOWNLOAD THIS ACTIVITY
• Can you see different markings? Evidence of scars or narrow, misshapen rings?
• What might have happened to the tree to cause these different markings?

Use a hand lens to get a closer look at the tree cookie’s texture. Can you see any holes or channels that might allow water and nutrients to travel up the tree? Finally, ask children to draw a tree cookie the same age as themselves. What can they do to show when important events in their lives took place?

RESOURCES

• Outside and Inside Trees by Sandra Markel, ISBN: 0027623130
  A children’s book that describes the various parts of trees and their functions.