Students learned to identify different types of leaves in the local environment by applying their own experience.
Quick Snapshot:
| Duration: 60 mins | Setting: Indoors | Age Group: Middle Schoolers |
| Setup Time: 20 min before class | Activity Type: Lecture + Art + Reflection | Theme: |
Why does this lesson matter
In this class we’ll be learning about why trees lose their leaves, or in some cases don’t — which we are starting to see happen around us! This lesson introduces trees from the local environment, and their importance in the community. It also begins to get students thinking about issues of green justice.
Lesson Overview:
Lesson Outcomes:
- Students will be able to distinguish between broadleaf and needleleaf trees using real leaf examples.
- Students will identify four common local tree species (oak, maple, hemlock, pine) and classify them as deciduous or evergreen.
- Students will explain why some trees lose their leaves and others keep them year-round as a survival strategy.
- Students will understand the role of pigments in leaves and how they affect the colors we see during seasonal changes.
- Students will connect science and art by creating leaf-stamped bandanas that demonstrate their knowledge of tree types and pigments.
Lesson Flow:
Class Summary
Icebreaker Question:
- What is your favorite tree?
- Is it a broadleaf, needle-leaf, or scale-leaf tree?
Science topic
Teachers then started their lecture by answering questions students had submitted in a pre-program student survey. Some examples of questions and answers are in the lecture slides below.
The rest of the lecture covered the difference between evergreen and deciduous trees, gymnosperms and angiosperms, and seasonal changes trees go through (ie: leaves changing color, deciduous trees dropping leaves before winter). Then instructors used four local trees as examples to check student knowledge on whether they are gymnosperms or angiosperms, evergreen or deciduous.
Finally, students participated in a hands on activity, where they sorted pressed leaves into the same categories, further practicing new knowledge from the lecture.
Lecture Slides
Art
Students created bandanas with prints of various leaf types using fabric markers and leaf stamps. Each student made two bandanas, one for deciduous tree leaves, and one for evergreens. Students were prompted to use any colors that leaves would turn over the course of a year, recalling information from the lesson. Click here to view what they created!
Assessment/reflections
- Knowing what you know now, what do you think are good reasons to plant native flowers in your garden — instead of ornamental flowers from another place?
- Did this lesson make you think differently about flowers? Why or why not?
- If you have time, did you enjoy the lesson today? What would you like to do more of, and what do you wish was different?
Instructor notes
This class onwards we introduced sticker activity. If students take notes about the lesson in their notebook, or write down an answer to a question on the board, or engage with their notebook in some way, they will receive a sticker for their hard work! Rewarding kids increased their participation in class activities.
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