Classroom Lessons on Trees

This lesson introduces students to various tree species common in Boston, the importance of those trees, and how to identify them. Through group discussions and an outdoor tree identification walk, the young students explore why trees are important, what different trees look like, and why people like trees. They will also make leaf etchings with the leaves they had collected outside. The goal is for students to know and think more about the trees and greenery around them.

Tree ID and Leaf Etching Lesson Plan

Tree ID Guide

This lesson will allow students to study the urban heat island effect (UHI)  and how trees mitigate the UHI. Students will use SFTT Tree Equity Maps and Tree Equity Score maps to study temperature disparities in neighborhoods throughout Boston before researching their own neighborhoods.

Urban Heat Island Effect Lesson Plan

Urban Heat Island Effect Presentation

This lesson introduces students to the different parts of a tree, from the roots and the trunk to the branches and crown. They get an opportunity to match the terms they learn to their place on the tree before drawing and sharing their own tree.

Parts of a Tree Lesson Plan

Parts of a Tree Presentation

This lesson teaches students how to identify the tree species around them, with a focus on trees common to Boston streets and parks. Students will learn about tree and leaf anatomy before using this new knowledge in a fun indoor activity.

Tree ID Lesson Plan

Tree ID Presentation

Tree ID Guide

This lesson discusses the importance of urban trees and achieving tree equity in Boston. The discussion includes tree benefits, environmental justice, and the history of exclusionary policies such as redlining. Most of the material focuses on the issue of equity and the historical causes for the lack of equitable distribution of environmental benefits today as a result. This will lead into an activity that has students draw “trees in action” and hold a group discussion on the benefits they chose to highlight. 

Benefits of Urban Trees Lesson Plan

Benefits of Urban Trees Presentation

In this lesson, students will be taught about tree equity, including information on tree distribution, the history of redlining, and the urban heat island effect. Students then participate in a “draw your neighborhood” activity, where they show the locations of trees in their own neighborhoods and mark where more trees could be planted. This allows students to relate the topic of equity and the lack of distribution to trees to all communities to their own experiences. This activity is followed by a group discussion on which neighborhoods have more trees and what tree distribution looks like in their communities. 

"Map Your Neighborhood" Lesson Plan

"Map Your Neighborhood" Presentation

This lesson will teach students about tree equity and the disparity in tree coverage between Boston neighborhoods. They will also delve into the “why” of tree disparity in cities before researching the canopy coverage and adverse outcomes in their own neighborhoods. This lesson will also incorporate American Forests’ Tree Equity Score (TES) map.

Researching Tree Equity Lesson Plan

Researching Tree Equity Presentation

Tree Equity Score Map