This fun and active modeling simulation reviews the conditions that trees need to live and grow, while also demonstrating that trees must compete to meet their needs.
For the complete activity and more like this, purchase the Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide at Shop.PLT.org and/or attend a professional development training in your state.
Below are some supporting resources for this activity.
Download the copyright-free student pages that are included with this activity:
Tree Needs (PDF)
Spanish Student Page:
Necesidades del árbol (PDF)
Expand your students’ learning and imaginations. Help students meet their reading goals, while building upon concepts learned in this activity, with the following children’s book recommendations:
Try a simple variation of this activity to engage children in the outdoors at home. Download this fun and easy-to-do family activity.
The following tools and resources may be used to enhance the activity.
Watch this Every Tree for Itself video demonstration (10 minutes) by Project Learning Tree.
In this free short simulation created by PLT, students pretend to be trees as they compete for essential resources. This simulation explores the underlying concepts of how trees grow. For example, what might happen to an individual tree when there is an inadequate water supply? Click to
This supplement is specific to Indiana tree for the Activity 27-Every Tree for Itself.
The science of tree rings is called dendrochronology. Tree rings help scientists learn about past climates by decoding tree ring patterns. Climate scientists use clues from ice cores, layered sediment deposits in lakes and seas, the structure of coral reefs, as well as tree ring sequences to learn about paleoclimates. The use of tree ring records to decode Earth’s climate history is called dendroclimatology. Use this interactive Tree Rings Simulation by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Center for Science Education to learn what tree ring patterns can tell us about climate conditions in the past.
For a twist on PLT’s PreK-8 Guide Activity 27—Every Tree for Itself, check out Every Bee for Itself. Developed by a Texas PLT educator, Allen Smith, this activity focuses on the things bees need to survive: pollen, nectar, and shelter. Students learn about how bees communicate with each other and even make up their own bee dance! This activity aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) 5E Learning Model.
A STEM education simulation game from the California Academy of Sciences called Cornucopia is a free online resource. The game teaches students in grades 5-12 about natural resource use and management, the effect of climate conditions on water availability and food production, and the way agricultural technology impacts water use.
In this short video from PBS Plum Landing, see how students work with a local arborist to plant a tree in their community. Underneath the video, you’ll find some simple conversation starting questions and additional resources to inspire your students.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense Kids website teaches elementary and middle level students about the importance of water and why we need to conserve it. Test knowledge with an online animation, or identify simple water solutions to use water wisely.
Check out this adaptation of PLT’s Every Tree for Itself activity. It is often used with landowners, foresters, and other forestland decision makers to convey why certain harvesting practices are conducted woodlots.
Photosynthesis can be a difficult concept to grasp, that’s why we’ve compiled a selection of hands-on activities and experiments to help show students some of the concepts in action.
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