LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Your Name: Alisha Hooton

Title of Lesson: Surrounded By Trees
Grade: 5th
STANDARDS
NGSS 5th Grade 5-ESS3-1
Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earths
resources and environment.
ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on the land, vegetation, streams,
ocean, air, and even outer space. But individuals and communities are doing things to help protect Earths resources
and environments. (5-ESS3-1)
CCSS 5th Grade ELA W.5.8
Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources;
summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.
LESSON SUMMARY/OVERVIEW
This lesson will discuss the multitude of products humans manufacture from trees. Students will sort various
products into categories such as wood, paper, rubber, edibles, and cork. They will describe their categories and
discuss how all of the products listed come from trees. The teacher will make a sustainability connection by pointing
out that saving the trees is more complicated than just never chopping down any trees- humans use them all the time.
It is a question of how to best conserve them.

OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to describe ways trees are used to make products and list 3-4 ways they can conserve trees.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
An exit ticket will be given requiring students to list 5 tree products from at least 3 different categories as well as 4
ideas for conserving trees. Evidence of mastery will be at least 4 products from 2 categories named correctly and at
least 3 relevant ideas listed.

PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE
A basic understanding of things that come from trees such as paper and lumber products.
MATERIALS
As many as possible of the following:
Newspaper
Toothpicks
Candy bar with almonds
Scrap of lumber or plywood
Tissue paper
Sponge (synthetic, not natural)
Piece of rayon cloth or clothing
Baseball

 Wooden chopsticks or a wooden mixing or salad spoon

Bottle of vanilla (flavoring)
Book or magazine
Cardboard box
Pack of chewing gum
Empty can of paint
Bottle cork
Rubber gloves
Apple or other piece of fruit that comes from trees
Plastic comb or brush
Piece of cellophane
Wooden chair or other piece of furniture
Empty and clean can of paint thinner, turpentine, or mineral spirits.
Worksheet for activity (see below)

Copies of Wood You Believe We Get so Much from Trees? (1 per student) (see
http://www.idahoforests.org/wood_you.htm)

VOCABULARY/KEY WORDS

Conservation
Cellulose
Reduce, reuse, recycle

TEACHING PROCEDURES

1. Label each product being used in the lesson with a number and place it around the room.
2. Give each student a copy of worksheet included in lesson plan (edited to match the number of products being
used).
3. Instruct that student will go around the room and make observations about each product individually. They will
decide whether or not it comes from a tree and record it in their worksheet. If they decide yes, they will state what
part of the tree they think it comes from. Tell them that they will observe on their own for 10 minutes, and then after
that time, they may choose to work with a partner or in a group of three.
4. Allow time to examine the products individually, then in groups.
5. Come back together as a class and discuss findings. Chorally read the descriptions of types of tree products and
allow students to examine the list of products on the page.
6. By now, students should realize that all products from the activity came from trees. Ask their opinion on this.
State explicitly that everything used in this activity did in fact come from a tree. Ask students to discuss what they
have learned so far in their table groups for 2-3 minutes using the sentence starters I was surprised, I used to
think but now I know or I learned that Tell them they will be asked to list some of these products and
where they come from on the exit ticket later.
7. Discuss how trees are part of many systems. Ask students what to predict what would happen if humans used too
many trees and we ran out. Ask them to predict what would happen if humans stopped using trees today. Discuss
this in small table groups, then come together to discuss as a class.
8. Ask students if they will be changing any part of their behavior now that they know how important trees are. Ask
for ideas about ways we can save trees even though we need so many of them for products (reduce, reuse, recycle).
Tell students this will also be part of the exit ticket.
9. State that tomorrow, we will be continuing to discuss tree products by learning about things trees give naturally,
such as oxygen and habitats. Give exit ticket.

RESOURCES
Idaho Forest Products Comission. Wood you believe we get so much from trees? [website]. Retrieved from:
http://www.idahoforests.org/wood_you.htm
Project Learning Tree, US Forest Service, and the Ad Council. The Lorax Activity Booklet [pdf]. Retrieved from:
https://www.plt.org/stuff/contentmgr/files/1/a6111bc3ec321c8cd2997198d9bd3c89/misc/plt_activities_with_the_lorax.
pdf

WAYS OF THINKING CONNECTION

I chose to use systems thinking in this lesson plan. This is understanding how different systems are connected, and
how changing one part of the system can lead to big changes in other parts. In the lesson plan, I ask students to
discuss what would happen if humans quit using trees completely as well as what would happen if we used too
many trees and ran out. This requires them to use systems thinking to determine how affecting that part of the
system would alter the rest.

Name: _____________________
Date:______________________

Does it come from trees?

Product Number

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

Does it come from a tree? Yes or

No

If yes, what part of the tree?