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Identifing Coniferous vs. Deciduous Trees by Looking at Leaves

Coniferous, or cone bearing trees, mostly have thin needles for leaves and are evergreens meaning they keep their leaves year round.  Conifers are also called softwoods.  Deciduous or broadleaf trees usually shed their leaves during cold or dry weather.  Deciduous trees are also called hardwoods.  

Go out and gather leaves from your yard or a nearby park.  Using the Internet or a book from the library on trees look up and identify what kind of trees the leaves came from.  Are they coniferous or deciduous?  Try these website for starters.  Also there are several state specific sites on identifying trees.  Just use your favorite search engine.  

http://www.oplin.org/tree/
http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/forsite/key/intro.htm  
http://oregonstate.edu/trees/
http://www.alansfactoryoutlet.com/wood-barns-and-more-identify-that-tree/