Lesson Overview: In this activity, students examine a fire -scarred tree cross section (sometimes called a “tree cookie”) and a display that shows tree growth rings. Then they record their own personal histories us ing growth rings as a metaphor.

Lesson Goal: Students will understand how growth rings form and how they record a tree’s history.

Objective:

• Students understand how tree growth rings are formed well enough to sketch their own histories using personal “growth rings” - one ring for each year of their lives.