Maple Sugaring Introduction
OBJECTIVE
Students will know we get maple syrup from maple trees
Students will be able to identify red maples, Norway maples and sugar maples
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
What food comes from trees?
How do you make maple syrup?
MATERIALS
- My Maple Sugaring Journal (one per student)
- Maple Trees Slideshow
- Where Does Maple Syrup Come From? SciShow Kids Video
PROCEDURE
Introduction:
Ask students, “What do you like to eat with maple syrup?” Then ask, “Do you know where syrup comes from?” “What do you think sap is?” Share that sugaring time is one of the very first signs of early spring.
Watch: Where Maple Syrup Come From? video from SciShow Kids
Activity
In order to tap trees, we need to learn how to ID or identify maple trees. But when there are no leaves on the trees, how can we figure out which tree is a maple? How can we do this in the wintertime?
Go through the slideshow and do the following movements for each variety of maple tree.
- Sugar maple – opposite branches (put arms out in a T), pointy shingle buds, (raise arms over head and touch hands together to make a point), and fruit roll-up bark (roll out your wrists)
- Red maple – opposite branches (put arms out in a T), round, red buds, (raise arms overhead and grasp hands to make a circle shape), and big scales that shed off the trees (shake hands like you are “shedding” something)
- Norway maple – opposite branches (put arms out in a T), pointy, red buds,(raise arms overhead and touch hands together to make a point), and diamond/vertical patterned bark (make a diamond shape with your hands)
Wrap Up/Assessment:
Once you go through the movements a few times, have them draw one of the maple trees and explain how they know, labeling each of the 3Bs (first page in Maple Sugaring Journal)
FOLLOW UP/ EXTENSIONS