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Brief Description
Use a color-key map to learn about planting times, then
create your own Arbor Day color-key map.
Objectives
Students will
- learn about hardiness zones used to guide planting.
- read a hardiness zone color-key map.
- create their own color-key maps to show when different states celebrate Arbor Day.
Keywords
Arbor Day, tree, color key, map, plant, spring, states Materials Needed
- United States outline map (provided)
- crayons
- Internet access (or resources printed from the Web)
Lesson Plan
Introduce students to the What
Is My Hardiness Zone? resource on the ArborDay.org Web
site. If students do not have individual Internet access,
you can
- use a projector connected to a computer to display the
image;
- create a color copy of the image on a transparency and
use an overhead projector to display the map; or
- provide color copies of the map for students or groups
of students.
The Hardiness Zone color-key map divides the United States
and Canada into 11 different zones based on the average temperature
for each zone. Those zones help determine such things as 1)
the types of plants and trees that thrive in each zone and
2) the best time of year to plant different plants and trees
in each zone.
If you live in Canada, you can refer students to
TreeHelp.com's
Hardiness Zones Map or the Plant
Hardiness Zones in Canada Map.
The Hardiness
Zone Web page also provides a search engine. You can type
your local ZIP Code into the search engine and learn which
zone you live in, as well as some of the characteristics of
that zone. Demonstrate the search engine for students by typing
your ZIP Code into the search engine's window and reading
the results.
Discuss with students the use of color on the map. If this
is your students' first exposure to a color-key map, point
out the color key and talk about its relationship to the map.
You might ask such questions as Which hardiness zones can
be found in Florida? (zones 8, 9, and 10) or How many
different zones can be found in the state of Arizona?
(four).
Next, introduce the idea that different states celebrate
Arbor Day in different months of the year. Arbor Day takes
place during the month of April in most parts of the United
States, but some states celebrate Arbor Day during other months,
because those months are the best tree-planting times in their
states. Share with students the Web resource Arbor
Day Dates Across America from the ArborDay.org Web site.
Take a brief look to see that different states do, indeed,
celebrate Arbor Day during different months of the year.
Provide each student with a blank outline map of the United
States, and tell students they are going to create color-key
maps of their own. Their color-key maps are going to show
the months of the year in which different states celebrate
Arbor Day.
If you do not have a blank outline map of the United
States, you can find a nice variety of maps in the following
Web resources:
Guide students as they create the color key for their maps
to be sure they assign a different color to states that celebrate
Arbor Day in
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- November
- December
(No states celebrate Arbor Day in June, July, August, September,
or October.)
If you want to make the task slightly easier for
younger students, you might limit the number of colors to
five by using one color to indicate states that celebrate
Arbor Day in January or February, one color to indicate
states that celebrate in November or December, and
single colors to indicate states that recognize Arbor Day
in the months of March, April, and May.
Have students use the Web resource Arbor
Day Dates Across America to learn the month in which each
state celebrates Arbor Day. Then tell them to refer to their
color keys and color each state on the map the appropriate
color on the key.
The students' completed Arbor Day Color Key Maps can provide
a quick visual reference guide to the month in which different
states celebrate this special holiday for trees.
Extension Activity
The Arbor
Day Dates Across AmericaWeb page also provides the name
of each state's official State Tree. Assign a different state
tree to each student and have that student use library and/or
Internet resources to learn about the tree, its range, and
its special features.
Assessment
Provide a quick quiz, such as the five-question quiz below,
and have students use their completed color-key maps to answer
the questions:
- During which month of the year do most states celebrate
Arbor Day? (April)
- How many states celebrate Arbor Day during January or
February? (five states)
- Which is the only state that celebrates Arbor Day in December?
(South Carolina)
- In which month does Texas celebrate Arbor Day? (April)
- Do more states celebrate Arbor Day in March or in May?
(May)
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
FINE ARTS: Visual Arts
GRADES K - 4
NA-VA.K-4.1
Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
NA-VA.K-4.6
Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
GRADES 5 - 8
NA-VA.5-8.1
Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
NA-VA.5-8.6
Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
GRADES 9 - 12
NA-VA.9-12.1
Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
NA-VA.9-12.6
Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
MATHEMATICS: Connections
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-CONN.PK-12.3
Recognize and Apply Mathematics in Contexts Outside of Mathematics
MATHEMATICS: Representation
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-REP.PK-12.3
Use Representations to Model and Interpret Physical, Social,
and Mathematical Phenomena
SCIENCE
GRADES K - 4
NS.K-4.3
Life Science
NS.K-4.4
Earth and Space Science
GRADES 5 - 8
NS.5-8.3
Life Science
NS.5-8.4
Earth and Space Science
GRADES 9 - 12
NS.9-12.3
Life Science
NS.9-12.4
Earth and Space Science
GEOGRAPHY
GRADES K - 12
NSS-G.K-12.1 The World in Spatial Terms
NSS-G.K-12.5 Environment and Society
NSS-G.K-12.6 Uses of Geography
TECHNOLOGY
GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.1 Basic Operations and Concepts
NT.K-12.5 Technology Research Tools
Find more great springtime lessons on Education World's
Spring Lesson
Plans page.
Click to return to this week's Lesson Planning article, Trees
Sprout Classroom Lessons Throughout the Year.
Originally published 04/18/2003
Last updated 02/21/2008
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