What If There Were No Trees

Curiosity Based Learning Overlay with What? to Wow! and Curiosity Q&A (from The Book of What If...? pp. 151-152)

What

Q: What would the world look like without any trees?

A: Imagine you're looking at a photograph of a tree-less Earth; describe it in a paragraph.

Who

Q: Who wrote the famous, 12 line poem called "Trees"?

A: Write your own 12 line poem about trees.

How

Q: How did the poem, "Trees" inspire actual action taken to save trees?

A: Make a collection of other written words that have inspired people or governments to take meaningful actions.

When

Q: When did Kilmer write "Trees"?

A: Imagine an earth 100 years from now; draw or describe your neighborhood, detailing where trees are or aren't.

Where

Q: The poet who wrote "Trees" has a forest named after him; where is it?

A: If you could name a forest after someone, who would you name it after, where and what kind of forest would it be, and why?

Why

Q: Why do you think trees are important? Why do you think poems are important?

A: Write a letter to all the dogs of the world explaining why they are no longer “man’s best friend”; trees now have that title.

Huh?

Q: Where would birds sing and kids climb if there were no trees?

A: Make a list of three ways you and trees are connected on a daily basis.

Wow!

Q: What is one way both trees and poems are awesome?

A: What if trees and poems have a lot in common? For example, trees and poems have defined structures to hold them together and function: trees have roots, branches, and leaves, whereas poems have words, lines, and stanzas. How would you describe a tree as a poem and a poem as a tree?

Curiosity Based Learning