126 Plants: Supplemental Guide 5A | Deciduous Trees
Show image 8A-3: Apple tree in spring
In the spring, the apple tree produces new leaves and apple
blossoms, or flowers.Does this deciduous tree look different in the springtime than it did in
the wintertime? How is it different?[Call on two students to answer.]
Show image 8A-4: Apple tree in summer
In the summer, the apple tree grows many more green leaves.Apples begin to grow out of the blossoms.Does this deciduous tree look different in the summertime than it did
in the springtime? How is it different?[Call on two students to answer.]
Show image 8A-5: Apple tree in fall
In the fall, the apples of the apple tree are fully grown and ready to pick.Also in the fall, the leaves on the apple tree start to change to red and
yellow, and then they fall off onto the ground.Tell your partner how this deciduous tree looks different from the way
it looked in the summertime.[Allow fifteen seconds for students to talk. Call on two volunteers to answer.] Show image 8A-6: Apple tree in winter
Remember, the seasons repeat in a cycle, over and over again, every
year. Now we are back at the apple tree in the winter. This apple
tree has bare branches again—the tree’s branches do not have any
leaves. This apple tree is bare because where it lives—its habitat—
becomes very cold in the winter.Also during the winter, there is less light from the sun, so the apple
tree cannot make its own food through photosynthesis. In a habitat
that is very cold and does not get enough light, the apple tree
becomes dormant. A dormant apple tree is like a sleeping apple
tree. Just like when we are asleep, we are not able to do anything,
when the apple tree is dormant, it stops making leaves, blossoms,
and apples, and its branches become bare.