Trees Investigation Nature Journal Printables

Learning about trees is an important part of any nature study. Your kids will learn all about trees and record the information they’ve learned in their Nature Journal: Tree Investigation printables.

Nature Journal: Tree Investigation printables

In this nature study, your students will identify trees, count tree rings, learn about the different types of trees and their characteristics, typical shapes of trees, and more with this printable Nature Journal: Trees Investigation.

Kids love to go on nature hikes! Make it a learning experience with this Nature Journal: Trees Investigation printable.

There are sixteen different pages for your student to use during their nature study of trees so they can record their observations and what they’ve learned about trees. There are five different sections to this tree nature journal.

Your children will learn:

how to identify a tree based upon its physical characteristics
the six main categories of trees and their characteristics
the most common shapes that trees have and their names
count the rings of a wood slice to see how old the tree was
demonstrate understanding of the differences between deciduous and evergreen trees, and their commonalities among the deciduous conifer trees.

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Recommended Resources for the Nature Journal: Trees Investigation

The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-Ups by Gina Ingoglia

I Can Name 50 Trees Today!: All About Trees by Tish Rabe

Trees, Leaves & Bark (Take Along Guides) by Diane Burns

My First Encyclopedia of Trees: A Great Big Book Of Amazing Plants To Discover by Richard McGinlay

Identify Trees with Leafy Place

Tree ID 101 with Christian Noble

How to identify trees with Nat Geo Kids

Interactive Tree Identification at Arbor Day Foundation

Learn about Trees with these hints from Tree Musketeers

How to Use the Printable Trees Investigation Nature Journal

Print out all the pages and staple together or put in a folder. Make additional copies of the four Tree Investigation pages as needed for different trees that your student will explore and identify. (These four pages are the same as the Identify a Tree worksheets). Use these pages along with one of the recommended books above to help you identify the name of the tree.

Show your students the different shapes of trees on this page from Today’s Homeowner. Then, have them cut out the words on the right side of the page and glue them into the correct box, matching the shape with its label.

Have your students fill out characteristics of the six main Types of Trees pages: Deciduous, Coniferous, Deciduous Conifers, Ginkgoes, Cycads, and Tree Ferns. Use the resources listed above. They may either draw their own tree for each catergory, or cut and paste one of the included examples.

If you encounter any fallen trees on your hike, have your student count the rings and record their findings on the tree rings page. This will naturally allow you to discuss the different sizes of trees and how to determine the age of a tree. There are four practice examples to count the rings of the pictured tree trunk slices, plus a blank page to draw or place a photo of a fallen tree’s rings for your students to count. This blank page can be copied as many times as needed for their journal.

Finally, a VENN diagram for your student to describe the differences and similarities between deciduous and evergreen trees. For your students working at an easier level, there are photos to cut out and glue in the correct category: deciduous, evergreen, or deciduous conifer. Older students can simply write in the characterstics of the two main categories: deciduous and evergreen, plus the overlapping characteristics of the deciduous conifers.