Trees are important! written and illustrated by Ms. Cruickshank s K/1 class November 2006
We dedicate this book to all the wood things in the world, like books trees because if you didn t have trees, you couldn t breathe Ms. Cruickshank because she teaches us about trees and science, helps us write about scientific stuff and teaches us how to read and Ms. Dudley because she helps us learn with learning games like hangmanhangman gets body parts and if the letters are all wrong, he dies and teaches us about words.
How we did it! We started talking about plants and plant parts. We wanted to draw a tree. The trees outside our school are only the beginning of forests. We started talking about trees and made a list of why trees might be important. We went to the library and found books. We realized how many things we forgot when we made our list. The trees are important for us to live. Trees have leaves. They breathe out oxygen for us. We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. The trees suck up the carbon dioxide and breathe out air for us. Without trees, we couldn t breathe. Our list got very long. We read lots of books about trees. We each selected one thing we liked; like a home for ants, and drew it. We talked about collage, how we would cut shapes and glue the background down first. Jadon did trunk, then branches, and then ants. Then we looked at the book to see what shapes we needed. We cut the shapes out of different papers, like tissue paper and sparkly paper and glued them down. Carmen used feathers. We made our own collages. We thought about how we could describe our pictures using facts. Brandon showed how maple syrup only flows in the winter.
We can t use too much paper because all the trees will be knocked down. If we don t have trees, we can t live. We need oxygen and air from the trees. So don t use too much paper! Amber
Trees give shade. The leaves make shade. It gets us cool on the hot days. Amelia
Maple trees make maple syrup. If we didn t have maple syrup, we wouldn t have something good to eat on our waffles. Brandon
Owls are asleep during the day and awake at night. They have big eyes so they can see in the dark. Eastern Screech Owls live in trees. Carmen
Trees help insects and bugs. Bees take the pollen to another flower and mix it up. They go back to their home with the flower nectar. They make the nectar into honey. Clare
Chairs, furniture and barrels are made from wood. People cut wood into straight lines. They use them with hammers to make furniture. Wood can be made into bowls, too. Cole
Sloths live in trees in the rainforest. They are very slow. Harrison
Mushrooms help trees because of their soil. When trees fall down, the soil from the mushrooms helps other trees grow. Henry
Trees are important for homes for ants. Ants store food for the winter in tunnels in the wood. This keeps then safe and warm. Jadon
We write with pencils. Trees help us make sure we have lots of pencils. Jasmine
Trees make homes for tree frogs. Tree frogs hibernate in their trees. Frogs can breathe through their skin and absorb water through their skin, too. Jeremiah
Cities and towns have big giant buildings and small buildings like New York City and Maryland. Buildings are made out of wood. It might take 1,000 trees to make a city. Michael
We make homes, pencils, paper and furniture from trees. The workers cut the trees down. Cranes take the logs to the truck. Trucks take the logs to the river and then to another truck. The trucks take the logs to a factory. Peter
A lot of instruments are made from wood. When you pluck guitar strings, they vibrate and it makes a nice sound. Ryland
Woodpeckers like to make holes in trees. They can fit an acorn. They like to eat acorns. When it s winter, they come back and eat it all. Savanna
The beavers use sticks for their homes. Beavers build houses out of mud, sticks and rocks. When they want to get in, they go in the water, to the door. Sean
Trees drop leaves in the fall. We play with the leaves when we pick them up with our hands and throw them up. We can swing on them and make a crown of leaves. Sierra
Trees give us lots of wood to build ships. You need lots of tools. They make boats out of wood because wood floats. Will
This cacao (ca-cow) tree grows large pods. They open the pods, dry them and bake them. Chocolate candy does not help your teeth. Yanesha