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Description
This resource is a hands-on, outdoor- focused activity that helps students learn about maple trees through observation, discussion and art activities. The resource introduces students to native maple species, their shared characteristics, and their importance to ecosystems, wildlife and the economy including connections to maple syrup and indigenous knowledge. Students build skills in identifying trees, noticing leaf shapes and branching patterns, and understanding how trees support healthy environments. The lesson also highlights stewardship by encouraging the protection of native species and awareness of threats such as invasive trees.
Students will:
- observe and identify similarities and differences in local native maple trees using branching patterns and leaf shapes in the schoolyard or nearby park
- learn about the environmental and social values of native maple trees such as providing food for wildlife, soil stabilization and water infiltration
- learn how choosing native maples for planting promotes ecosystem health
- complete art activities such as leaf rubbings and watercolour paintings linked to learning objectives
The resource provides background information about maples for educators and extension activities to enhance the learning.
General Assessment
Recommendation of how and where to use it
Curriculum links support science and visual arts outcomes, allowing teachers to integrate inquiry-based learning both indoors and outdoors. Students and schools can help to promote the health of native maple tree populations by selecting native species for any tree planting events. Students can also be good stewards of the environment by reducing stress on native maples and by staying on trails when hiking or in parks, leaving nature as they found it (not pulling bark or branches off of trees) and “adopting” or watering native maples in the summer.
Relevant Curriculum Units
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.
- Step 1Select a province
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland & Labrador
- Northwest Territories
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Ontario
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 2
- Step 3Select a subject
- Arts
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Arts: Visual Arts
- Grade 3
- Step 3Select a subject
- Arts
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Arts: Visual Arts
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Life Systems: Growth & Changes in Plants
- Grade 4
- Step 3Select a subject
- Arts
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Arts: Visual Arts
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 2
- Step 3Select a subject
- Arts
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Arts: Visual Arts:To produce individual works in the visual arts
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Living things
- Grade 3
- Step 3Select a subject
- Arts
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Arts: Visual Arts: To produce individual works in the visual arts
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Living Things
- Grade 4
- Step 3Select a subject
- Arts
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Arts: Visual Arts: To produce individual works in the visual arts
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Living Things
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon Territory
Themes Addressed
Ecosystems (3)
- Appreciating the Natural World
- Biodiversity
- Invasive Species
Land Use & Natural Resources (2)
- Forests
- Planting Native Species