Lesson
Purpose of the work:
- Study the structure of wood growth rings and their significance
Expected results:
After completing the work, students can:
- develop teamwork skills
- be able to analyze and summarize the information received
- draw logical conclusions
Teacher’s Guide:
- The task is performed in groups of 2 people
- Working with a box cutter requires special care
- Before starting laboratory work, please read the safety rules by following the link:
- To download the worksheet, follow the link:
Theoretical part
The layers of wood, known as tree rings, reveal the tree’s age, health, and the events it witnessed during its lifetime.
Age: Tree rings reflect seasonal growth patterns. In warm, sunny seasons, trees grow faster, forming wider rings. Counting these rings reveals the tree’s age.
Health: Wider rings indicate a healthy tree, while narrower rings suggest stress from drought, disease, or other factors.
Environmental Events: Narrow rings can also signal environmental events like droughts or wildfires that disrupted the tree’s growth.
Practical part
To create a tree ring puzzle, you need to follow these steps:
Step 1. Based on the drawing above, draw on the cardboard the contours of the layers of the tree trunk: outer bark, cambium, sapwood.
Step 2. Next draw the inner layers: the core and heartwood.
Step 3. Trace the outlines on top with a felt-tip pen
Step 4. You can use different colors to fill in the layers.
Step 5. Now decide how old your tree is. And accordingly, draw the same number of growth rings.
Step 6. You can also draw additional elements in the tree layers, such as the rainy season, forest fire and medullary rays, which will tell more about the events in the life of your “tree”.
Step 7. Cut out the outlines. Be extremely careful when working with a box cutter.
Step 8. Specify the names of the trunk layers. Your puzzle is ready!
Conclusion
As a result of the work, students learned how the annual rings of wood are arranged. They also learned how to create puzzles, which develops their creativity and fine motor skills.