Birch means...

 

Hey, I wonder what we know about trees?

That's a Birch tree!

How do you know?

What do you notice?

What makes it a Birch tree?

What is special about a Birch tree?

These are the things we wondered as we walked around our neighborhood today.

"It's peely."

"It's whitish."

"It's strong."

"There are three trunks out of one tree!"

"That one isn't as papery as the other part."

We zoomed in and noticed what makes a Birch tree unique.

"Is that a Birch tree?"

Hmmm...what can we tell about that tree?  What do you notice?

"It's whitish, and it has lots of trunk parts."

What do you know about Birch trees?  

"They are peely.  This one doesn't have peely skin."

Nope, it sure doesn't.

"It's not a Birch."

'That's a birch!  I know it!"

Hmmm..let's zoom in on a picture of a Birch tree.  What do you notice?

"It's peely, papery.  This one isn't a Birch."

As we continued our walk around some friends were noticing things that are similar between Birch and Sycamore trees.  They both have something unique about their bark.  They both have a similar white color somewhere on them.  Their barks both peel.  They are strong.

What do you notice when you zoom in on these branches?

"This one has cracks."

"This one peels."

"I see a face."

"This one is smooth."

"This one is rough."

"The ends look different.  This one is smooth, this one has a hole in the bottom."

PS, you drew an amazing picture of our branches.  You showed me the differences in what you saw.  You created texture, shades, and movement with your drawing.