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In winter, many kinds of oak trees, being deciduous , lose
their leaves. During that time when
Oak trees make good shade trees because they grow tall and wide enough to create a big canopy that you can sit under on a hot, sunny day.
sunlight is especially precious for warmth, the oak tree’s leafless branches let the sun shine through.
Oak trees provided more than shade for the first Americans. Their fruit, known as acorns , were an essential source of food for Native Americans from coast to coast. The acorns were ground into a meal that was used to make mush or pounded with meat, fat, and berries to make pemmican , a paste that dries into chewy, nutritious strips.
A canopy is a covering,
either natural or man-made.
Standards Links: History: Students understand the daily life and values of Native American cultures.
Standards Links: Science: Students know that living things in an ecosystem are interdependent for survival.
Read the steps that Native Americans followed to remove tannins from acorns. Then number the pictures in the correct order. 1.
Shell the acorns by splitting the outer shell and removing the light-colored inner nut. Grind the shelled acorns into a fine meal. Scoop the pounded meal into a basket. Rinse the acorn meal with hot water to wash away the tannins. The meal must be rinsed at least ten times, or more if cold water is used. Add water to the leached meal and stir with a hot rock lodged into a looped stick. Add berries, seeds, or dried meat for flavor.
2. 3. 4.
5.
How many acorns can you nd on this page?
6.
© Vicki Whiting April 2025
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