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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 .
In winter , many kinds of oak trees , being deciduous , lose their leaves . During that time when sunlight is especially precious for warmth , the oak tree ’ s leafless branches let the sun shine through .
A canopy is a covering , either natural or man-made .
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 .
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 .
How many acorns can you find on this page ?
Don ’ t pick an acorn and try to eat it right off the tree . It is full of chemicals called tannins that taste terrible and could make you sick . Before acorns can be used to make food , the meal must be carefully prepared .
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 .
2 . Grind the shelled acorns into a fine meal . 3 . Scoop the pounded meal into a basket . 4 .
5 .
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 .
6 . Add berries , seeds or dried meat for flavor .
Official Kids Mag www . kidscoop . com © Vicki Whiting April 2025