Indiana DunesEducation

National Park ServiceU.S. Department of the Interior

Indiana Dunes National LakeshoreEducation Department

Maple Sugar Time

Summary: In the past 400 years, maple sugar production evolved from a winter survival food to a luxury i tem. During your Maple Sugar programs we are trying to emphasize how maple sugar affected peoples ' l ives and not just a story about the technological advances in maple sugar production.

Objectives: students will be able to

1. state that they are in a national park, which is their place to develop a sense of wonder and excitement regarding nature and history.

2. state how our harm to our environment can threaten this natural American processstate that this place is special and protected.

3. explain maple syrup's changing role in history--how itwas important to the American Indians, the pioneers, and the

Chellbergs of the 1930's .

What to expect on during your trip:A ranger or naturalist led one-hour tour of maple sugaring process through t ime followed by 30 minutes of house tour.

Setting: Chellberg Farm fields, wooded paths, and historic structuresGrade: All grades and ages.

Ratio of students to ranger: up to 32; one adult for every ten students .

Safety Issues: Weather conditions such as wind, cold, rain & snow. The farm grounds and surrounding trails may be hazardous when frozen. Some program sites have fire so be aware of blowing smoke, flames or hot stoves.

Background Information: The earliest maple sugar farmers were the American Indians of the northeastern part of the United States and eastern Canada. They discovered that in the early spring when the nighttime temperatures were still below freezing, but the daytime temperatures rose about 40 degrees, the sap of the maple tree was slightly sweet. A process of cooking the sap was developed using hot rocks. When the cooking was complete, the sap had boiled down into sugar. Early pioneers and farmers refined the process of cooking the sap into syrup. Today, compared to days of yesteryear, few maple trees remain to produce syrup. Most pancake syrup in stores today contains corn syrup, not maple.

Prerequisite Classroom Activities: Math Ideas

1 . I t takes for ty ga l lons of maple sap to make one gal lon of maple syrup. Count to for ty by ones , f ives and tens .

2 . Make a p i le of 40 b locks and another wi th jus t one .

3 . Create a dot - to-dot drawing (us ing for ty dots ) of a maple t ree , bucket or sugar shack.

4 . Chal lenge the s tudents to c rea te as many math problems as they can tha t have the answer 40 .

5 . How many drops of sap a re needed to make a ga l lon? Using an eyedropper , le t the s tudents count the number of drops tha t a re needed to make an ounce . Use the data f rom al l the groups to de termine the average number of drops in an ounce . Mul t ip ly the average to f igure the number of drops in one gal lon . How many are needed for for ty ga l lons?

Story Problems:

Problem 1:The owners of a 50-acre sugarbush tap 600 maple t rees . They tap ¼ of the t rees twice and hang two bucke ts ; they then hang one bucket on a l l the res t . How many bucke ts do they hang in to ta l? Problem 2 :In the Che l lberg sugarbush, the number of t imes a t ree i s t apped is de termined by i t s d iamete r . One tap is used for a 12” d iameter ; another t ap i s used for each addi t ional 6” in d iamete r . No more than 3 t aps per t ree are a l lowed a t the Chel lberg Sugarbush, but in o ther p laces the number of t aps per t ree can be h igher than three . I f a t ree has a d iameter of 20 inches , how many taps can be dr i l l ed? How many for a 15 inch d iameter t ree? For a t ree wi th a d iameter of 32 inches in the Che l lberg Sugarbush?For a t ree wi th a d iameter of 32 inches in a d i f fe rent sugarbush?Why do you th ink we don’ t a l low anymore than three taps here a t the Chel lberg Farm in the na t iona l lakeshore?

Problem 3:For ty gal lons of sap makes one gal lon of maple syrup. How much sap must be col lec ted to make f ive gal lons of syrup? To make twelve gal lons of syrup?Would you want to car ry a l l tha t sap yourse l f up the ravine?

Problem 4:I f you tapped a maple t ree in your backyard and f i l led up a three -pound coffee can each day for four weeks , how much sap would you col lec t? A coffee can is a ¾ gal lon capaci ty . How much maple syrup would i t make?

Problem 5:I t takes 48 drops of sap to f i l l one tablespoon. How many drops would be needed to f i l l a ga l lon? 16 T spoons = 1 cup and 16 cups = 1 gal lon

Problem 6:A ga l lon of syrup weighs about 11 pounds. I f i t i s cooked longer to make candy, 2 pounds of wa ter a re los t . I f candy p ieces a re measured out to weigh ¾ ounce , how many pieces of candy can be made f rom a gal lon of syrup?

Problem 7:Maple sugar farmers use the “Rule of 86” when buying maple sap f rom other farmers . The swee ter the sap , the more they wi l l pay for i t . The “Rule of 86” says:86 d iv ided by the % of sugar content = how many ga l lons of sap to one ga l lon of syrupHow many gal lons of sap would i t take to make one gal lon syrup i f the sap sugar content was 2%, 3%, or 6%?

Problem 8:Trees wi l l g ive , on the average , 10 gal lons of sap per tap hole . I f Tree A has four t aps g iv ing 3% sugar sap , and Tree B has 2 taps g iv ing 2% sugar , how much syrup can be made in a season f rom those t rees? Answers to Maple Math S tory Problems

Answers to Maple Math Story Problems

Problem 1:600/4 = 150 x 2 = 300 600 – 150 = 450 300 + 450 = 750

Problem 2:20” = 2 taps 15” = 1 tap32” = 3 taps a t Chel lberg 32” = 4 taps a t commercia l Sugar Bush (We a re a na t ional park so we only want to t ake enough sap to show you the process . )

Problem 4: ¾ gal x 28 = 84 d iv ided by 4 = 21 gal of sapWhich is about a ha l f ga l lon of syrup.

Problem 5 :48 x 16 = 768 c rops per cup x 16 cups =12,288 drops per ga l lon

Problem 6 :16 oz per pound x ¾ oz each = 21.3 p ieces per pound11pounds – 2 pounds = 9 pounds of candy9 pounds x 21 .3 p ieces = 192 p ieces Problem 7:43, 28 .66 , 14 .33

Problem 8:Tree A = 4 x 10 = 40 gal lons of sap per season wi th 3% sugarTree B = 2 x 10 = 20 gal lons of sap per season wi th 2 % sugar

Tree A = Rule of 86 d iv ided by 3% = 28.66 gal lons of sap to one gal lon of syrup.40 gal lons col lec ted d iv ided by 28.66 ga l lons needed = 1 .4 ga l lons of syrup

Tree B = Rule of 86 d iv ided by 2% = 43 ga l lons of sap to one gal lon of syrup.20 gal lons col lec ted d iv ided by 43 ga l lons needed = .46 ga l lons of syrup

Tota l = 1 .4 + .46 = 1 .86 gal lons of syrup

Language Arts Activity Ideas

Write or te l l a s tory . Suppose you l ived on Chel lberg farm and you broke a ga l lon jug of maple syrup. Tel l how the accident happened and how you fe l t . How did you te l l your parent s? What was i t l ike to c lean up the mess?

Pre tend the Chel lberg family asked you to des ign a l abel for the i r maple syrup jugs . Draw a p ic ture and wr i te an adver t i sement tha t would a t t rac t people to buy the syrup. Deve lop a j ingle or song for a radio commercia l .

Read the labe l f rom a syrup conta iner . Does i t conta in maple syrup?

Have the s tudents make a drawing or wr i te a le t te r to the i r ranger . The ranger i s in teres ted

in hear ing about how the s tudents fe l t about the work involved in making maple sugar .

Make a joke book of farm and maple syrup jokes .

Perform a sk i t showing how people made maple sugar dur ing the pas t 300 Years .

Wri te a poem or ha iku about maple t rees or making maple sugar .

Wri te a s tory f rom a maple t ree 's percept ive . Tel l about the changes the t ree has seen in the past 100 years .

How many words can the s tudents make by us ing the le t te rs in "maple syrup"?

Use a ga l lon jug to show the s tudent how big i t i s . Let the s tudent predic t how many glasses you can f i l l wi th a ga l lon .

On a leve l spot in the p layground pour a ga l lon of water out in a c i rc le . Pre tend tha t c i rc le i s a l a rge pancake. Have the s tudents predic t how much area the wate r wi l l cover .

Us ing a squeeze bot t le put a t as te of honey on each chi ld ' s f inger . Then tas te rea l maple syrup. Do they tas te the same? Try molasses and sugar water . Do maple sugar and sugar wa ter t as te the same? Discuss where these sweeteners come f rom.

Have a pancake breakfas t in the c lass room and use rea l maple syrup.

Make a survey of how many s tudents would l ike to l ive on a farm, be a Nat ive Amer ican 300 years ago; l ike maple syrup, e tc .

Make a maple sugar song and record i t on t ape .

Adopt a maple t ree and ge t to know i t , how i t fee l s , how i t l ives , how i t changes .

Make or br ing in some maple fudge or cookies or make the rec ipes be low.

Sugar on SnowA snowfal l tha t comes la te in the maple sugar season is ca l led a "sugar snow". I t i s a t th is t ime of year tha t the syrup is be ing evapora ted in to sugar . A spec ia l t rea t for chi ldren who l ive near a sugar bush is sugar-on-snow or Jack Wax.

You may use f resh maple syrup, brown sugar mixed wi th water , or commercia l maple f lavored syrup.

Pour two cups of syrup in to a saucepan. Br ing i t to a boi l unt i l i t reaches the hard sugar s t age on a candy thermometer , or unt i l i t remains waxy when dropped f rom a spoon on wel l -packed snow. Pour the syrup in b i te s i ze pools on wel l -packed snow or in to a bowl of crushed ice . Serve wi th a fork to twir l wax.

Maple Syrup Fudge2 cups of maple syrup3/4 cup th in cream

1 tsp . Vani l l a3/4 cup walnut or but ternut meats , coarse ly chopped

Combine maple syrup and cream in to a saucepan and p lace over a low f lame. S t i r cons tant ly unt i l the mixture begins to boi l . Cont inue cooking wi thout s t i r r ing unt i l smal l amount of syrup forms a sof t ba l l in cold water , about 30-35 minutes . Remove f rom f i re and cool to lukewarm. Beat unt i l the mixture th ickens and loses i t s g loss . Add vani l la and nuts , pour in to a but te red pan. When cool cut in to squares .

Science Activit ies

Have the s tudents mix sa l t wi th water in a g lass j a r . Boi l the sa l t so lu t ion unt i l the wate r evapora tes . Demonstra te how the wate r comes of f as s team and the sa l t i s l e f t behind.

Make a top ten l i s t of ideas to answer the fo l lowing ques t ion "What c lues in na ture can you see tha t te l l s us spr ing i s coming?" Accept a l l the s tudents ' ideas (even the wrong ones) and wr i te them on the b lackboard . Af ter col lec t ing the ideas , le t the s tudents vote for the best ones . Limi t each s tudent to two or three votes . Ta l ly the votes for each idea to make your top t en l i s t .

In t roduce the s tudents to the par ts of a t ree . What does each par t do?

Find out how a t ree t ranspor t s i t s food and water . We have a hear t to pump our b lood? Does a t ree?

Draw a maple t ree through a l l the seasons showing how i t changes .

Inves t iga te which animals use the maple t ree for food ea t ing sap , seeds , f lowers and use the t ree for shel t er . F ind out wha t k inds of animals l ive in a Beech-Maple fores t . Each s tudent could choose such an animal to invest iga te . Then in f ront of the c lass the s tudent becomes tha t an imal , te l l ing a l l about h im or herse l f . The c lass has to t ry and guess what animal tha t i s .

Social Studies

Talk about t ree conserva t ion , c lear -cut t ing , or urban sprawl .

Make spi les f rom Elderberry or Sumac branches . Elderberry branches have war ts on them and Staghorn Sumac is fuzzy l ike a deer ant ler in the velvet s tage . With a p iece of coa t hanger push out the p i th unt i l the twig is hol low. Cut one end of f a t an angle so i t wi l l go in to the t ree . Remove the top hal f of the o ther end of the sp i l e to make a t rough.

Ask s tudents to wr i te a s tory as i f they were an Indian chi ld a t the t ime maple sugar was d iscovered . They would never have tas ted anything swee t but wi ld ber r ies .

S tudy maple t rees ; how to ident i fy them, and a l l the i r uses to wi ld l i fe and humans .

S tudent could be asked to go home and l i s t everyth ing they can f ind in the i r house tha t comes f rom maples and o ther t rees .

Maple Talk

(Ten of these th i r teen words can be found in the c rossword puzzle )

Sugarshack – The bui ld ing where maple sap is boi led to make syrup.

Maple – A t ree inc luding sugar maples , red maples , s i lver maples and box e lders .

Sugar Maple – The species of maple t rees most of ten tapped for sap .

F i rs t Run – The f i r s t qual i ty sap f low in the spr ing .

Sap – The l iquid tha t car r ies wate r , minera ls and food throughout the t rees and o ther p lant s .

Tap – The hole dr i l l ed in to a t ree – about 2 inches deep. One tap to a 12- inch d iamete r t ree . Two taps to an 18- inch d iameter t ree .

Spi le – The hol low meta l sp ike hammered in to a t ap hole . Sap f lows through the sp i l e in to the bucke t .

Sugarbush – The area where sugar maples grow.

Evapora tor – A f la t pan used to boi l the water out of the sap . I t usual ly takes 40 gal lons of sap to make one gal lon of syrup.

Maple Syrup – Syrup made f rom evapora t ing most of the water f rom the sap of a maple t ree .

Syrup Grade – Qua l i ty of syrup based usual ly on color . The l ighter the color , the bet ter the syrup.

Wax - Pour ing hot candy-s tage syrup on snow makes Maple Wax .

Roots – The underground s torage tanks for the sap dur ing the cold winter .

Maple Sugar TimeWord Search

There are a t leas t n ine farm animal names wr i t ten here in the puzz le a l so . Indiana DunesNat iona l LakeshoreFebruaryMarchCold NightsAbove Freezing DaysMaple Trees

Spi lesBucketsFor ty Gal lonsSapOne Gal lonSyrupSugar

PotawatomiStone boi lP ioneersKet t l eFirewoodChel lberg FarmSugar Shack

Maple Sugar Word Search

MapleTreeTapBucketSapBoilFortyGallonsKett leFireWoodSugarShackFarmSyrupHorsesFebruaryMarch

At least e ight more farm animal names are writ ten in the puzzle too.

Draw a l ine from the sweet to the type of plant they come from.

Time Photographs by _________________

Pretend you found a camera that would allow you to go back into time and take a picture of people making maple sugar. Using what you

saw on your tr ip to Chellberg Farm, draw the picture you think your camera would take. Give each of your photos a one or two sentence t i t le . For fun, pretend a squirrel was taking the pictures.

___________________________________________________Illinois Content Standards:

The following is a list of the primary standards which the Maple Sugar Time program at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore will assist you in fulfilling. There are many other curriculum standards which this program could also assist in. However, these identified here provide the strongest links between our program and your curriculum objectives.

Early Elementary

16.A.1a Explain the difference between past, present and future time; place themselves in time

16.A.1b Ask historical questions and seek out answers from historical sources (e.g., myths, biographies, stories, old photographs, artwork, other visual or electronic sources).

16.A.1c Describe how people in different times and places viewed the world in different ways.

16.B.1a (US) Identify key individuals and events in the development of the local community (e.g., Founders days, names of parks, streets, public buildings).

**Note: Maple Sugar Time is a program that can be adapted for all grades; however, the content of the basic program is most suited to 1st through 4th grades.

Extension or Follow-up Activity

Class reflection paper or writing sample:

Ask each student to write a short essay, letter or story about what they learned on their field trip to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Rangers love receiving mail from their students.

Send the park the packet of essays with your ranger’s name on them from your class (or a copy of them), and The Education Department will send your class a certificate from the dunes.

Send your essays to:

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Attn: Education Department

1100 N. Mineral Springs Road

Porter, IN 46304

If you are using this essay as a class assignment for a grade, we would like to suggest that each essay contain the following elements. Use the rubric below to score them.

* The name of the park and the location of their field trip—for example: Douglas Center, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

* Three facts they learned on the field trip about making maple syrup and sugar.

* A brief explanation of why Indiana Dunes is unique and therefore a national park.

* At least two things the student can do to help take care of his or her national park.

* Fill in the blank of this statement and provide an explanation:

I would like to learn more about __________ at Indiana Dunes.

*** For advanced groups, add the following element:

Tell the park rangers if you would like to bring your families and friends to the dunes and if so what would you do here and where would you go.

Assessment:Grading for Class reflection writing assignment:

1) Writing and organization- 4 points the writing sample is very well written and organized by the elements provided. It has a strong introduction, middle and conclusion. 3 points the writing sample is well written and organized by the elements provided. It includes an introduction, middle and conclusion. 2 points the writing sample is choppy and is not well organized. It lacks an introduction or conclusion. 1 point the writing sample is very short and unorganized.

2) Grammar & Spelling- 4 points Mistakes in spelling and grammar are minor or non-existent. 3 points Mistakes in spelling and grammar are minimal—about 4-5. 2 points mistakes in spelling and grammar are numerous—5-10. 1 point mistakes in spelling and grammar are more than 10.

3) Facts and content - 4 points the writing sample demonstrates the student’s learning on the dunes program and includes three or more facts provided by the park staff. 3 points the writing sample demonstrates the student’s learning and includes only two facts provided by the park staff. 2 points the writing sample does not demonstrate much learning and only includes one fact provided by the park staff.1 point the writing sample does not demonstrate any learning and does not include any facts provided by the park staff.

4) National Park Service theme - 4 points the writing sample clearly demonstrates the student’s understanding of the role of the NPS in preserving the dunes by explaining why Indiana Dunes is such a unique treasure.3 points the writing sample mentions the NPS and its role in preserving the Indiana Dunes. 2 points the writing sample mentions the NPS and Indiana Dunes. 1 point the writing sample does not mention anything about the NPS or its role at Indiana Dunes.

5) Stewardship- 4 points the writing sample lists three things the student can do to assist in taking care of the Indiana Dunes. 3 points the writing sample lists two things the student can do to assist in taking care of the Indiana Dunes. 2 points the writing sample lists one thing the student can do to assist in taking care of the Indiana Dunes. 1 point the writing

sample does not list anything about what the student can do to take care of the Indiana Dunes.