Tree Homes

Science and Math Activities for Young Children

Grades Preschool—1

Written by Jean C. Echols and Jaine Kopp


Tree Homes
encourages appreciation for trees and for the animals that live in tree homes. The unit is designed to stimulate children's interest in the world around them and in the biological need for warmth and shelter. It introduces different parenting and nesting strategies, and compares the characteristics and behaviors of various tree-home animals. In six main activities, students become familiar with a living tree and then build a child-size tree from cardboard boxes, paper, and cardboard tubes. They make paper models of raccoons and owls, and the class role-plays tree-home dramas about raccoons, a mother bear and her cubs, and a family of owls. Math concepts of sorting/classifying and measurement are emphasized throughout.

This GEMS guide was developed by the GEMS PEACHES program, whose guides Ant Homes Under the Ground, Penguins and Their Young, Mother Opossum and Her Babies, and Elephants and Their Young delve into specific animal environments and behaviors—and make excellent follow-up units to Tree Homes.

Time: Eleven 45- to 60-minute sessions.Comment on this GEMS unit.



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ISBN: Grade Level Format Price
0-924886-04-8 Preschool—1 6 Activities,
92 pages
$20.00