Activity 1: Recognizing Wood
This activity is a good first step activity that can be done within the classroom quite easily without much preparation.
First get the students to recognize what is wood and what is not wood from different samples of a wide range of materials. This can include plastics, metal, glass, corkboard, plywood, a branch or log, a piece of stock wood (a part of a 2 x 4 stud), etc. Get the students to classify them according to what is wood and what is not wood.
Next, get the students to compare what is wood and what is not wood and come up with a list of properties for each. Wood and pinboard (or corkboard) are easy to obtain and relatively cheap. It can be cut up into small pieces to supply individual pupils. Get the students in small groups and have them organize the following properties into columns describing wood and pinboard (or corkboard).
Properties:
Feels hard vs. feels soft
Hard to push pins into vs. easy to push pins into
Feels cold vs. feels warm
Good for sawing vs. crumbles when sawn
Has a grain vs. has no grain
Can be split along the grain vs. if it splits then it splits into layers
Can make splinters vs. no splinters.