Learning about nature should be fun for kids and the best way to learn is by doing. I've led the exercise "Build a Tree" from Joseph Cornell's book Sharing Nature with Children II several times. Each time the children involved have had fun and remembered the parts of a tree at the end. Here are detailed instructions.
This activity works best with 20-25 participants. Draw a simple diagram of the parts of a tree on poster board including the tap root, lateral roots, heartwood, sapwood, cambium, bark, crown and leaves. The picture above gives you an idea although it's better to label the parts of the trunk in more detail..
"Each of you is going to help me build a tree by pretending to be a different part of the tree. We will need kids to act out these parts:"
• heartwood (1-2 kids)
• tap root (1-2 kids)
• lateral roots (2-3 kids)
• sapwood (3 kids)
• cambium (5 kids)
• bark.(6 kids)
Heartwood: Choose 2 tall, strong-looking children. Have them stand with their backs to each other. This is the heartwood, the strength of the tree. " The heartwood's job is to hold the trunk and branches upright so the leaves can get their share of the sun. Heartwood, your job is to stand strong and tall."
Taproot: Next, ask two children to play the taproot. "Sit down at the base of the heartwood, at the sides, facing outward. You are a very long root, called a taproot. Pretend you are planting yourself deep in the ground, about 30 feet down. The taproot lets the tree get water from deep in the Earth. It also holds the tree firmly to the ground so if there is a big storm or strong winds, the tree won't be blown over. Not all trees have taproots, for example redwood trees do not, but most do."
Lateral roots: Choose 3 people with long hair who look as if they won't mind lying on the ground. Ask the "lateral roots" to "lay on your backs with your feet up against the trunk and your body extending away from the tree. You are the lateral roots. There are hundreds of you. You grow outward all around the tree, like branches but underground. You also help hold the tree upright. When a tree senses that there is water nearby, the roots grow toward the water and suck it up. I want the lateral roots and the taproot to practice slurping up water. When I say slurp you all do this. Make a loud slurping noise. Okay, let's hear you slurp."
Sapwood: Now ask three or four children to play the sapwood. Have them circle the heartwood, facing inward and holding hands and being careful not to step on the roots! "You are the part of the tree called the sapwood. You draw water up from the roots and lift it to the tree's highest branches. You can lift hundreds of gallons of water each day and you do it at speeds of over 100 miles an hour! After the roots slurp the water from the ground, your job is to bring the water up the tree. When I say 'Bring the water up' you say 'Wheee!' and throw your arms up in the air. Let's practice. First we'll have the roots slurp. Let's slurp! Now sapwood, bring the water up! Wheee!"
Cambium: Select a group of five to play the cambium. Have them form a circle around the sapwood, also facing inward and holding hands. Tell them: "You are the cambium layer, the growing part of the tree. You are the part of the tree that carries food made by the leaves and brings it to the rest of the tree. Let's turn our hands into leaves." Have them stretch their arms upward and outward so that they intersect each other's arms at wrists and forearms, leaving their hands free to flutter like leaves.
Bark: Ask the remaining children to play the bark. Have them circle around the tree, facing outward. Tell them: "You are the bark. What kind of dangers do you protect the tree from?" Suggest fire, insects, very hot or cold temperatures, people with pocket knives. Tell them to protect the tree by raising their arms like football blockers with both elbows out and both fists close to the chest. Demonstrate. "Wait. Do you hear that high-pitched sound? It's a feisty and very hungry long-snouted pine-borer beetle. They nibble on trees, you know. I'll go see if I can stop it. If I don't come back, you'll have to stop the pine-borer yourselves."
Pine-borer beetle
Disappear behind something and come out as the pine-borer. Ham it up by scowling, using branches for your antennae, and turning your head back and forth. Zero in with your antennae and point your long borer-snout toward the tree while the children giggle. Now run or walk quickly around the tree, pretending to try to penetrate the bark's protective layer. The "bark" people should try to fend you off.
Describe what the kids just learned while referring again to the poster. "So, we talked about the heartwood, the strong inside part of the tree. Then we learned the tap root digs deep down into the Earth to hold the tree in place so it doesn't blow over. Then we talked about lateral roots that spread out underground and slurp up water for the tree. All living things need water to live, right? Next we learned that the sapwood moves the water from the roots up to the highest branches of the tree, at speeds of up to one hundred miles per hour. That's faster than your parents drive a car with you in it. Hopefully! Then we learned about the cambium, the part of the tree that is growing, and learned that it brings food from the leaves down to the lower parts of the tree. Finally, we talked about the bark that protects the tree from harmful insects, diseases and the cold.
"Kids, I know some of these names are complicated and hard to remember. Basically I just want you to know there are different parts of a tree that have different jobs. And when all those parts work together, you get a beautiful tree that keeps us cool in the summer, blocks the wind in the winter and gives us nice, fresh air to breathe."
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