Some spruce needles are very sharp and stiff, so be careful not to get stabbed. If the needles grow in groups directly from the twig, the tree is a pine. Pines can be told apart by counting the number of needles. Larches or tamaracks are more difficult. On young growth, the needles grow singly, but on older growth they grow in groups from woody pegs.
Larches lose their leaves in the fall.
Scale-like leaves are found on junipers, what we call cedars, cypresses, and some other small groups. Practice is necessary for anyone who wants to learn trees. I don't know how many times I've seen motels or other businesses called 'The Pines' when the place is surrounded by spruces or firs and there isn't a pine for miles. Once you have decided that a branch comes from a broad-leaved tree, the next thing to do is to decide whether the leaves and small twigs grow opposite to each other on the twig or whether they alternate along the length of the twig. It is important to do so because trees can be variable in their growth.