Arbor Week Educational Resources
Lesson Plans and Recommended Resources
For Educators
California Arbor Week is a great time to incorporate educational activities about the many benefits of trees in your classroom! Educators are encouraged to use our Elementary and Middle School Lesson plans that meet Common Core Standards.
Elementary School Lesson Plans
| Attachment | Size |
| Build a Tree | 328 KB |
| Rings of Wonder | 295 KB |
| Tree Transpiration | 316 KB |
| Healthy Tree, Healthy Me | 884 KB |
| Tree Products Treasure Hunt | 444 KB |
Middle School Lesson Plans
| Attachment | Size |
| Trees Matter | 182 KB |
| Where is the Carbon in the Leaf? | 164 KB |
| How Much Junk is in the Trunk? | 144 KB |
| Roots Really Do Matter | 266 KB |
| Organic Matter & Soil Composition | 173 KB |
| The Health of a Tree Directly Affects the Health of Our Environment | 137 KB |
Curriculum and Activities from Our Friends & Partners
Project Learning Tree has curriculum and family activities:
- FREE Nature Activities for Families
- Curriculum for Purchase:
Green Schoolyards America has many wonderful resources for teachers, including:
- Free Schoolyard Activity Guides are designed to provide a wide range of outdoor activities and curriculum ideas for schools that work with children between the ages of 3 and 18 years old.
- Educator Resources for Schoolyard Forests – Including connecting stewardship to academics
- How Cool is Your Schoolyard Activity
TreePeople has many Teacher Action Guides related to Trees, Composting, and Waste-Reduction
Canopy has many K-12 Activities – learn more on their website!
- Tree Word Searches
- Leaf Transpiration Experiment / Transpiracion de las hojas
- Tree Breathing Exercise
Our City Forest has many fun Activities for K-12 on their website!
Sacramento Tree Foundation has many activities for students and a free project-based learning curriculum.
Recommended Reading for Students
| Book Title | Author |
| A Drop Around the World | Barbara McKinney |
| Arbor Day | Kelly Bennett |
| Are Trees Alive? | Debbie S. Miller |
| A Tree Place and Other Poems | Constance Levy |
| A Tree is Nice | Janice May Udry |
| Be a Friend to Trees | Patricia Lauber |
| Branching Out: How Trees Are Part of Our World | Joan Marie Galat |
| Celebritrees: Historic and Famous Trees of the World | Margi Preus |
| The Cherry Tree | Ruskin Bond |
| Forestry | Jane Drake |
| How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World | Marjorie Priceman |
| In a Nutshell | Joseph Anthony |
| I Wonder Why Trees Have Leaves and other questions | Andrew Charman |
| Miss Hickory | Carolyn Sherwin Bailey |
| My Favorite Tree | Diane Iverson |
| Book Title | Author |
| Quaking Aspen | Bonnie Holme |
| Starting with Nature Tree Book | Pamela Hickman |
| The Apple Pie Tree | Zoe Hall |
| The Arborist | M.S. Holm |
| The Big Tree | Bruce Hiscock |
| The Giving Tree | Shel Silverstein |
| The Oak Inside the Acorn | Max Lucado |
| The Seasons of Arnolds Apple Tree | Gail Gibbons |
| The Water Cycle | Noah Byrd |
| The Wump World | Bill Peet |
| Tree Homes | Carol Ghigilieri |
| Trees to Paper | Inez Snyder |
| Tree Ring’s Tale: Understanding the changing climate | John Fleck |
| When Dad Cuts Down the Chestnut Tree | Pam Ayres |
| Song “Roots, Stem, Leaves, Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds” | The Banana Slugs |
Educational Videos about the Urban Forest
California Arbor Week Sponsors
“He who plants a tree, plants a hope.”–Lucy Larcom