In the Spring of 2015, I created and implemented an integrated social studies and language arts unit on the benefit of trees to a first grade class. The biggest thing I learned from teaching this unit was that each child learns differently, and how to have patience with children as they are exploring the material and creating meaning from the material presented. This was the first time I had taught students of this age outside of a t-ball field, so discovering how these young minds learn was a brand new concept for me. Watching this group of first graders explore materials that are made from trees and make sense of how each object could possibly be made from some part of a tree was an incredible journey. Below you will find lesson plans and lesson materials I used to implement this lesson.