Take a walk
around your neighborhood and collect different types of leaves. Get small
ones, big ones, skinny ones, fat ones, and if it's autumn, be sure to pick
up red ones, yellow ones, green ones and brown ones.
Take some pictures
of the trees and plants the leaves come from and of trees with leaves of different
colors. Take pictures of different tree barks, too.
Keep track of
how many types of each tree you find, marking in your journal each time you
see a tree with a certain type of leaf.
Back at the
clubhouse, use the leaf guide to identify what types of trees are in your
area, and change your tally of tree types to have the names of the trees as
well.
Look at the
leaves under the magnifying glass or Ultrascope and make a list of things
you notice - same or different qualities of each leaf, and each leaf type.
What next
Creation
and invention:
Make a chart
or graph showing how many trees of each type are in your area
Make a map of
your neighborhood showing locations of different types of trees
Create a website
about trees around your clubhouse
Scan the leaves
into the computer and create cool pictures, or turn the leaves themselves
into a collage.
Make a chart
or graph of particular shapes of leaves, sizes, and other properties
Discussion:
Why are leaves
different shapes and sizes?
Did you find
any leaves that weren't in the guide? Were there trees in the guide you didn't
find? Why?
What makes leaves
change color?
What kinds of
leaves do we eat?
Field
trip possibilities:
Local
forest or nature preserve to collect leaves, count types of trees, and
photograph
