Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Tree Ring Model
In this lesson students will manipulate a hands-on, physical model to better comprehend the natural variations of tree-ring width and their uses for determining past climatic conditions. Students use the model as a real-world data...
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Ucar: Dendrochronology Trees: Recorders of Climate Change
Learners discover how tree age can be determined by studying the rings, and how ring thickness can be used to deduce times of optimal growing conditions. Then they investigate simulated tree rings applying the scientific method to...
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Signs of Change: Studying Tree Rings
Learners gather information from real tree core samples and compare them with local climate history.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing in a Global Climate Change
In this lesson students use Microsoft Excel to manipulate and statistically analyze large climate databases of precipitation., temperature, stream discharge, tree ring data, ice core data, and ENSO to determine climate relationships and...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Tree Rings, Ice Cores, and Varves
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How scientists can determine age and other features of a rock or material it contains.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Tree Rings, Ice Cores, and Varves
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How scientists can determine age and other features of a rock or other material.
Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies
Mocomi: How to Determine the Age of a Tree
Have you ever looked at a tree and wondered just how long it had been standing there? The branches and the trunks of trees have unique rings inside them, which can be seen if you cut a transverse section of a tree. These rings appear as...
PBS
Nova: Build a Tree Ring Timeline
This activity is an introduction to the branch of science called dendrochronology. Discover what this science tells us about the past and see if you can create a tree ring timeline by matching up band patterns from several different trees.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Methuselah Tree
Examine how scientists determine the age of living and non-living trees and identify factors that impact sizes of tree rings. Analyze tree ring samples and determine the age of the oldest sample.
American Geosciences Institute
American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Logs of Straw Dendrocronology
Using straws to recreate tree rings, students learn how dendrochronologists work. Construct a 50-year climatic history on a three-meter time line.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: How Old Is That Tree?
One of the best ways to learn about a tree is to look at its annual rings. Tree rings show patterns of change in the tree's life as well as changes in the area where it grows. In this lesson, learners will trace environmental changes...
PBS
Nova: Into Living Things
Paleoclimatologists use information from tree rings, corals and ice cores to learn more about El Nino. See if you can analyze samples of each of these types of evidence to look for past El Nino events.
Middle School Science
Middle School Science: Observing Tree Rings
In the lab experiment site, you will determine the age of a tree, see if you can determine what years had more precipitation than others, and label the cross section of a tree: bark, heartwood, sapwood, and rings.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Tree Rings, Ice Cores, and Varves Study Guide
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] This study guide summarizes key points about tree rings, ice cores, and varves. Includes a question to check for understanding.