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Methuselah Tree

Viewing Ideas

Before Watching

1. Ask students what they think the oldest living organism might be. An animal? A plant? Have students defend their reasoning. What characteristics would this organism have? What kind of habitat might it live in?

2. As students watch, have them take notes on the environment the Methuselah tree lives in.

After Watching

1. Have students return to their notes about the environment found in the White Mountains. How many of their predictions about an environment for the longest living organism were true? What might be some of the advantages to living in a harsh environment? What other kinds of plants live in harsh climates?

2. To help students gain perspective about Earth's history, have them create a timeline and note when such events as when the first life on Earth appeared, the Ice Age, the first modern humans, when the Methuselah tree was born, and when the modern world began. What do they notice about the evolution of Earth's 5-billion-year history?