Arbor+Day+Square

=//Arbor Day Square//= //Page created by Denise Adams//

[[image:ArborDaySquare.jpg width="216" height="312"]]
Book cover: Galbraith, K. O. (2010) //Arbor day square.// Retrieved on July 15, 2011 from: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41XWNZU094L.jpg.

**Book Summary:**
Katie and her father move west for land. They help the other settlers build a beautiful town square on the prairie. The people decide that the town needs trees to make it feel like home. Everyone works together to raise money to buy trees to plant. Katie and her father plant one in memory of Katie’s mom and watch it grow along with the town. As the years go by, Katie learns to appreciate the hard work everyone put forth to beautify their surroundings. By the end of the book, she is a mom and shows her own daughter how to plant a tree. This book also contains Arbor Day facts.

**Links:**

 * Author's website:** http://www.kathrynogalbraith.com/home/


 * Illustrator's website:** http://www.cydmoore.com/welcome.html


 * Arbor Day Foundation website:**[| http://www.arborday.org/]


 * J. Sterling Morton** - founder of Arbor Day: http://www.squidoo.com/jsterlingmorton


 * Celebrate Arbor Day in the classroom**: http://www.mortonarb.org/education/teacher-resources/16544-celebrate-arbor-day-in-your-classroom.html

**Discussion Questions:**
1. What would some of the consequences be if people didn't plant trees? 2. What do you feel were some of the motives the author had in writing this book? 3. How would you feel if you moved from a place where trees were plentiful to a place where trees were absent from the landscape?

**Classroom Activity:**
This is a way to teach children the value of a tree. Adapted from: http://www.mortonarb.org/images/stories/education/Teacher_Resources/Arbor_Day/The_Value_of_a_Tree.pdf

1. The class will be split into small groups. Each group will be assigned a tree on the school property to gather information on. 2. Each group will go to the website http://www.davey.com/ask-the-expert/tree-calculator/national-tree-benefit-calculator.aspx to get some value facts about the benefit of your tree. To get accurate information through this website, each group will need to know: The zip code The species of the tree The diameter of the tree at 4 ½ feet (measure the circumference and then use the calculation Diameter = circumference / pi to determine the diameter) On the website the group can discover: The estimated dollar value of the tree How much storm water your tree will intercept How much energy your tree can save How many pounds of CO2 your tree will sequester And much more! 3. Each group will use poster board to create a poster for their assigned tree. The poster should include a sketch of the leaf and facts about the tree.