Education Standards
Botany for 3rd Grade
Overview
This resource is ready to teach early elementary level learners about the different types of leaves, comparing and contrasting, and sorting into various classifcations. All resources are attached or notated at the bottom!
Botany Lesson
Summary:
In this biology field exercise, students will collect leaves, describe differences seen in casual and detailed observation and give reasons for the importance of trees. Students will use their five senses to take a closer look at leaves and find out more about leaf characteristics. Students will create leaf art.
Looking at Leaves objectives: Students will describe how leaf shapes, sizes, and other characteristics vary from tree to tree and explain how particular types of trees can be identified by their leaves.
Expand for more detail and links to related resources
Used this activity? Share your experiences and modifications
Learning Goals
During the leaf activities, the students will compare, contrast, classify, categorize, identify attributes, learn art techniques and learn about the importance of trees.
Vocabulary:
-Observe
-Environment
-Categorize
-Compare
-Contrast
-Attributes
Context for Use
Grade Level: K
Materials:
-Tree leaves
-Plastic bags to collect leaves in
-Pencil
-Science journal
-Hand lenses
-Crayons
-Plain drawing paper
-Washable markers
-Tempera paint
-Glue
-Iron
-Towel
-Wax paper
-Large books to press leaves
-Scissors
-String
-Tree identification books
Description and Teaching Materials
Introduction:
KWL chart: What do you know about the leaves of trees? What do you wonder about?
Read the book "Have You Seen Trees?" by Joanne Oppenheim.
Have index cards with an ear, nose, eye, tongue and hand. Have these on display. Select students to select a card and then share what they learned from the book based on the index card they selected.
1. Have a variety of leaves, including pine, (some not found in the school yard) to share with the students.
Place a few leaves on each table. Ask the students to share observations about the leaves. How are they the same? How are they different? What senses can we use to tell them apart? Why do you think the leaves do not all look the same?
Have students glue one of the leaves into their science journal and share why they selected that leaf.
2. Nature Hike 1
Give students a plastic gallon zip bag to store collected leaves (10).
Take the students out for a nature hike around the school area. Throughout the hike, encourage observation skills. Show student how to take a leaf off of a tree. Remind students to collect a variety of leaves.
Back in the classroom, have students sort their leaves in a variety of ways. Have students share their sorting ideas. (Color, texture, shape, leaf edges, size, smoothness or roughness, smell)
Have students use hand lenses to sort leaves. Encourage students to sort leaves using all five senses.
3. Preparing leaves of various sizes, shapes and colors for an art project.
Place a variety of leaves on newspaper. Take care that the leaves do not touch. Cover the leaves with newspaper and put something heavy on top. Leaves should be flat, stiff and dry in about a week.
When the leaves are ready to use, read/look at the pictures in: Look At What I Did With A Leaf! By Morteza E. Sohi.
Create a class book. Each student page will have:
____________(student name) made a ____________(animal) using leaves.
4. Nature Hike 2
Before hiking, read "A Tree For Me" by Nancy Van Laan.
Bring white paper, crayons (blue, red, green, purple and black) and clipboards.
Go to a pre-selected location that has a variety of trees. Ask, discuss and have students share observations using questions such as the following.
What do you like best about trees?
What do you think is beautiful about trees?
Why do people like to have trees in their yards?
How are the trees we see here alike? Different?
There are many different kinds of trees. How do people know the difference between one kind and another? (Leaves are a main clue.)
Which tree is the largest in this area? Smallest?
Which tree seems to be the oldest in this area? Youngest? How can you tell?
Are there any signs that animals live in or near these trees? How is a tree a friend to an animal?
How will these trees look different in other seasons?
Art connection:
Leaf Rubbing
Have student collect 5 different leaves. Show students how to make a leaf rubbing using white paper, crayons and clipboard.
Math connection:
Graphing
Back in the classroom, ask students how we could create a graph using the leaf rubbings. Have students create a graph based on the color of crayon used for their leave rubbings.
5. Art Activities
Pressed Leaves - Activity found in Project Learning Tree Activity Guide page 229.
Literature:
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Tree Poems and Tree Tunes found in the Teachers' Guide To Arbor Month pages 130 and 131.
Be a Friend to Trees by Patricia Lauber
Elm Tree and Three Sisters by Erika Weihs
From Acorn to Oak by Jan Kottke
Grandfather Four Winds and Rising Moon by Michael Chanin
If the Trees Could Talk by Stuart A. Kallen
In the Deep, Dark Forest by Paul Humphrey
Mighty Tree by Dick Gackenback
Oak Tree by Marcia S. Freeman
The Tremendous Tree Book by Barbara Brenner and May Garelick
Teaching Notes and Tips
This activity is different from what I have done in the past as in other school years I feel I have not given the student enough time and opportunity to make and share their observations. In the activities I have given more focus on the students using their senses to classify and organize the leaves. I have added the leaf graphing activity.
Used this activity? Share your experiences and modifications
Assessment
While completing activities: Students sorting skills, leaf graphing project, ability to collect a variety of leaves and state difference/similarities,
Using a variety of leaves, have student select leaves that are the same and have them glue two or three leaves on a page of their science journal. Students state/write how the leaves are the same and different. (Teacher may need to record)
In their science journal, students illustrate why trees are important.
Standards
Kindergarten:
I. HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE
B. Scientific Inquiry
The student will raise questions about the natural world.
1. The student will observe and describe common objects using simple tools.
IV. LIFE SCIENCE
G. Human Organism
The student will understand that people have five senses that can be used to learn about the environment.
1. The student will observe and describe the environment using the five senses.