TITLE: Bark Casts
AUTHOR: Darrell Spendlove, Lewiston Elementary School,
Lewiston, Utah
GRADE LEVEL: Appropriate for grades 2-4
OVERVIEW:
When students look at a tree they often see only the leaves.
This activity will give them the opportunity to make careful
observations of the bark as well as learn to use bark to
classify and identify trees.
OBJECTIVE(s):
1. Make a plaster cast of tree bark.
2. Use plaster casts of tree bark to make a simple
classification system.
3. Use plaster casts of tree bark to identify
individual trees.
MATERIALS:
Modeling clay, plaster-of-paris, pieces of poster board,
pins, an area with a variety of trees.
ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
(Note, this activity can be done by individual
students, or as groups of two, three, or four.)
1. Cast Making; Prepare by flattening out a stick of
modeling clay so that it forms a rectangle about half
and inch thick. Press the flattened clay hard into the
bark of a tree.
(Make sure that students push on the back of the clay
as hard as they can.) Carefully peal the clay off the
bark and roll the sides into a long U shape. Use
pieces of poster board pinned into the clay to close
off the ends to form a bowl. Mix plaster-of-paris and
pour into the bowl.
Let it set. When hard remove clay.
2. Have students group the casts according to similarities
and explain why they grouped them the way they did.
3. Have the students or groups exchange casts and see if
they can locate the tree that the cast was made from.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:
Discuss with students the importance of making careful
observations. You may want to have the students paint the
casts to make them look like the bark. Be sure that they
try to make there colors match the bark and not just paint
it brown.
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