Understanding Leaves

Objectives

 * To observe different kinds of leaves and how they differ from each other
 * To explore ways of classifying leaves
 * To understand the different characteristics of leaves

Materials Required

 * Variety of leaves
 * Sheets of paper
 * Crayons/Colour pencils
 * Observation sheet

Process

 * 1) Ask students to collect different types of leaves from surroundings or if there aren't many trees/plans in the school surroundings, collect a variety of leaves in advance and hand them over
 * 2) Ask students to observe the different leaves and think of ways in which they can be classified
 * 3) Probe students to think about what characteristics of the leaves they are looking at for classification and why. Ask them to share their observations
 * 4) Explain the meaning of leaf shape, margin, tip and venation which are commonly used to classify leaves
 * 5) Next, each student from one group takes 2-3 leaves, puts them under a sheet and creates an impression by colouring on the sheet with a crayon/colour pencil.
 * 6) Ask students to then record the leaf structure, shape, margins, tips and venation based on the reference sheet provided by the facilitator
 * 7) Questions to probe students' thinking:
 * 8) Why is it necessary to classify leaves?
 * 9) What do you think determines the different characteristics (size, shape, margin, etc.) of leaves?
 * 10) Can the leaf properties say anything about the plant/tree?