Who Lives in a Tree?

Fall is a perfect time to explore where the squirrels and birds live within the tree branches. For more activities to get kids outside exploring this fall, visit our Early Childhood Classroom Resources webpage.

Ask the children to describe their homes.

• What materials make up your house?
• What rooms do you have in your house?
• What do you do in your house?
• Where do you eat and sleep?
• To you have a yard to play in?

Explain that animals and plants have homes, too.  Using a tree or picture of a tree, ask:  Have you ever seen an animal using a tree as its home or habitat?  What animals have you seen eating or sleeping in a tree?

Create a ven diagram comparing the children’s houses to animal houses. Make a dictation on chart paper with each child listing an animal or plant they have seen in or on a tree. Talk about the animals on your chart and encourage the children to describe their personal experiences they have had with any of those listed.  As you talk about each animal, ask the children to make the animal’s voice. 

Tree Walk

Go on a tree walk to find examples of animals and plants that depend on trees in your schoolyard or surrounding neighborhood. Look for:

• animals (e.g. squirrels, birds, insects) living in tree holes or nests, hiding from predators, eating tree fruits, perching or nesting in tree branches
• vines climbing up tree trunks to seek and soak up sunlight
• lichens growing on bark
• mushrooms growing on dead or dying trees
• snags or fallen trees providing homes for many animals and plants

Investigate a few trees up close - collect some of the fallen objects. Take pictures of things that are too large to collect or are still attached to the tree.

• look around for fallen bark, fruits, leaves, nuts, seeds or twigs that might show signs of animal or plant life
• look on the ground for animal droppings that show animals live in the tree or eat the tree’s fruits or seeds. Look- don’t touch!
• look on the bark for scratch marks caused by sharp claws or antlers.

Write a class book about animals that live in trees.  Encourage children to choose an animal that they have seen in a tree.  Children can add a page to the book by making a drawing of the animal in the tree and dictating text about how their animal uses the tree (e.g., for a home, for sleeping, eating, protection, etc.) 

Visit the Project Learning Tree website for a printable card you can share with parents to extend learning at home with family and friends.

Reading Connections

Allen, J. and S. Mendez. 2009. Animal Homes. Kingfisher.

Bishop, Nic. 2004. Forest Explorer: A Life-Size Field Guide. Scholastic, Inc.

Brenner, B. 2004. One Small Place in a Tree. HarperCollins Publishers.

Canizares, S. 1997. Who Lives in a Tree? Scholastic, Inc.

Gregoire, E. 2004. Whose House Is This?: A Look at Animal Homes. Capstone Press.

Hoberman, M. A. and B. Fraser. 2007. A House is a House for Me. Penguin Group (USA).

Hutchins, P. 1990. Good-Night, Owl! Aladdin.

Lock, D. 2007. Animals at Home. DK Publishing, Inc.

Lyon, G. 1998. Counting on the Woods. DK Children.

Magellan, M. 1990. Home At Last. Humanics Children's House.

Milbourne, A. 2014. Peek Inside Animal Homes. EDC Publishing.

National Geographic Society. 1987. Animal Architects. National Geographic Society.

Peck, J. and V. Petrone. 2005. Way Up High in a Tall Green Tree. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Robinson, T. 2000. Tobias, the Quig and the Rumplenut Tree. Winslow Press.

Salas, L. 2006. Do Turtles Sleep in Treetops?: A Book About Animal Homes. Capstone Press.

Schwartz, D. 1999. In a Tree. Gareth Stevens Publications.

Udry, J. 1987. A Tree Is Nice. HarperCollins Publishers.

Van Laan, N. 2000. A Tree for Me. Random House Children's Books.

Ward, J. 2005. Forest Bright, Forest Night. Dawn Publications.