- Go for a walk in the yard or neighborhood. Take a plastic bag to collect different kinds of leaves and a digital camera. Ask questions: What do you notice about the trees? What do you notice about the leaves? Do all the trees have the same kind of leaves? Besides leaves, what other parts of a tree can you see?
- Take the collection inside, and press the leaves on the sticky side of a piece of Contact paper.
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- Leaves are very important parts of plants, including trees. Leaves make food for the plants, so the plants can live. The plants need sunlight, water, and nutrients.
- Do all the leaves look the same? How are the leaves different? Are there any features that all the leaves have in common? How many 'points' do the leaves have?
- Some have needles, some are broadleaf, some are long and thin, some are wide, some have one part, and others have lots of little parts.
- Compare lengths of the leaves against other things e.g. this one is longer than my shoe; this one is smaller/shorter than my hand etc.
- Vocabulary: veins, stem, deciduous, evergreen, bud, spores, chlorophyll, photosynthesis
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- Create a wall display of taped leaves labeled with tree name, or shape, or color, or season. Take a photo to remember them before they dry out
- Choose one leaf and describe it for us.Leaf crayon rubbing Paint leaves and print with them
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Leaf hat: cut hole in paper plate, glue or tape leaves around the outer circle.
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Count leaves, hide leaves, make a leaf graph.
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This topic could lead to studies of other parts of a plant; trees; a discussion about leaves in different seasons; photosynthesis; we eat plants.
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