Australian Nature Study Guide | Volume 3

The resources and links listed on this page will enhance your nature study lessons for the Australian Nature Study Guide | Volume Three.

Book resources and links have been updated since this volume was published in 2018. Should you encounter an expired link, please let us know, and we’ll fix it.

Table of Contents

NOTEBOOK PAGES FOR VOLUME THREE ~ WINTER/SPRING

Use the notebooking pages below to capture your nature adventures. Keep them in a file or paste them into a nature notebook or journal. There are three levels: Preschool, Lower Primary, and Upper Primary.

Aus_Nature Study Guide Vol 3 Colouring Pages Download

kinda-nbp-vol-3 Download

intermediate-nbp-vol-3 Download

advanced-nbp-vol-3 Download

Winter Tree Study

Further Exploring

Exploring Creation with Botany by Fulbright.

Stems, pg. 117
Woody and Herbaceous Stems, pg. 118
Tree Growth, pg. 128
Twig Anatomy, pg. 129
Estimating the Height of a Tree, pg. 130
Growing Outward, pg. 131
Layers in a Tree Trunk, pg. 131

Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie

The Winter Journal, pg. 89
Drawing Winter Deciduous Trees, pg. 100

Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman

Anatomy of a Deciduous Tree, pg. 99
Tree Shapes, pg. 98
Anatomy of a Trunk, pg. 100
Dendrochronology, pg. 101
Beautiful Bark, pg. 112

Stems by Steffi Cavell Clarke

Literature Jaunt

Tree in a Trail by Holling Clancy Holling
The Tree by Neal Layton
A Stick is an Excellent Thing by Marilyn Singer

Little Acorn: Nature Stories

The Oak Inside the Acorn by Max Lucado

Literature Jaunt

Tree in a Trail by Holling Clancy Holling

The Tree by Neal Layton

A Stick is an Excellent Thing by Marilyn Singer

Little Acorn: Nature Stories

The Oak Inside the Acorn by Max Lucado

Poetry Picnic

A Stick is an Excellent Thing by Marilyn Singer

A Hymn

Trees of the Field by Stuart Dauermann lyrics and music.

Trees Will Clap by Crossing Music

Picture Study

Lone Tree by Graham Gercken

Digging Deeper

Young Students:

Explore a tree blindfolded by touching, feeling and smelling it. Walk away, then spin around and find the tree you explored using your senses.
Remove your socks and shoes and be led to a selected tree for investigations blindfolded. You’ll use your toes to explore the tree and describe the sensations you’re feeling. What is the tree’s texture? Is it rough or smooth? Is it narrow or broad? Does it tickle?
Use the twig anatomy notebook page to explore twigs.
Use the tree notebook page to record your observations.
Paint twigs to create a twig bouquet in a jar.
Make a stick man using twigs.
Paint a silhouette of a winter tree in your journal using brown or black paint.
Decorate a tree using these ideas from Wildlife Watch.

Older Students

Use the twig anatomy notebook page to explore twigs.
Note your observations on the tree notebook page.
Alternately, sketch the anatomy of a twig and its buds in your nature journal and write what you notice and wonder about them.
Study the stump or log of a tree. Can you tell which is the heartwood and the sapwood? Observe the growth rings. Notice the different colours of wood within a ring. Why are some rings wider than others? How old was the tree?
Draw a tree stump in perspective with this tutorial.
Investigate xylem with this experiment:
Fill a glass halfway with water and add a teaspoon of food colouring.
Place a stalk of celery into the glass and leave it there for a few days. Observe the changes.
Remove the celery stalk from the water and cut the stalk in half horizontally. Observe the parts which have changed colour. What are these pipes called and what do they do for the plant?
Sketch your experiment and record your observations.
Make a bark rubbing with clay and plaster of paris to hang on your wall:
Press a chunk of clay on to the bark. Press it firmly into the fissures.
Lift the clay. Be careful not to alter the impression.
Build a collar around the impression to hold the plaster of paris in, sealing all gaps.
Brush the impression with sunflower oil. This will help the plaster come away without sticking.
Make a mixture of plaster of paris and pour it into the mould. Tap it to release any air bubbles. Insert a loop made of wire into the plaster before it dries. This will provide a hook to hang up your bark impression.
When the plaster has set, remove it from the mould, wash it in warm water and paint it with natural colours.
Create a winter tree using oil pastels.
Research the use of bark and wood in Aboriginal lives. Create a poster to present your project.
Explore how trees eat, drink and breathe with this chart.
Investigate a street tree using this chart from Wildlife Watch.

Oldest Students

Australia has few native deciduous trees. Research the reason for this and share it with your family.
Measure the distances between the terminal bud and previous circular scars on twigs to determine how well the tree has grown in the last few years. Show the results on a bar graph.
Use the twig anatomy notebook page to explore twigs.
Note your winter tree observations on the tree notebook page.
Alternately, sketch the tree and note your observations inside your field journal.
Write a report with diagrams explaining the structure of the vascular cambium.
Draw an anatomically correct twig with this tutorial.

Learn to draw basic tree shapes using this tutorial.

Use Clare Walker Leslie’s Guide to Sketching Trees to challenge your drawing skills.