Leaf Games

Source: 

Adapted from the Taynish National Nature Reserve,  Local Schools Pack (SNH)

Time

20-30  minutes 

You will need

• leaves
• charcoal, crayons, boards and paper for making rubbings
• opaque bags - one for each group

Did you know?

Leaves change colour in Autumn because the tree shuts down its food making factories and no longer makes new chlorophyll (the green pigment). The remaining chlorophyll breaks down and disappears from the leaf. Other pigments in the leaves (yellow, orange and reds) are 'unmasked' as they persist longer than the chlorophyll, which previously hid them from sight.

Before the Activity

Try the activity Viewfinders in this section

The Activity

Collect leaves in a woodland. Encourage the children to find out the names of the trees the leaves have come from by using guides (see additional information below). The 3 activities suggested below can be done outdoors in the woodland. Take some leaves back to the classroom for the follow up suggestions.

1. Leaf rubbings   Put a hard dry leaf onto a firm surface, with the leaf's underside facing upwards. Cover it with a piece of thin paper. Rub gently back and forward over the paper with charcoal or a crayon until the pattern of the leaf shows through. Rubbings could be done directly into Nature Journals.
2. Leaf Skeletons   Search around for leaf skeletons and find out which tree makes the best skeletons. Leaf skeletons are what is left behind when all the soft tissue has been eaten away by decomposers, leaving just the harder veins and stalks. The best place to find them is in an undisturbed part of the wood, perhaps under bushes and shrubs. Some leaves are very tasty to the soil animals and so decompose quickly, others last for up to 5 years before decaying. The leaf skeletons collected can be used to decorate cards, or they can be put into pupil workbooks using mounting spray. The skeletons can also be sprayed with paint to give a reverse image on the paper below.  
3. Leaf feelie bags  Give the bags out to groups of 5-6 children. Get them to each choose a leaf, examine it closely by feeling the texture and shape. They each then put their leaf into the bag and the group sits in a small circle and passes around the bag. Each child tries to pick out their leaf from the other 4 or 5, and then replaces it to allow the next person to have a go. This game can be made harder by getting them to all choose leaves from the same tree, or by adding in extra leaves to the bag.

Suggested Follow up

1. Use the collected leaves to make leaf tiles. Mix together flour, salt, water and oil to make a stiff dough. Roll out the dough to 2 cm thick and cut into shapes. Press a leaf, vein side down, onto the dough and roll over with the rolling pin. Peel off the leaf and bake the dough at 150^oC for about 2 hours. The tiles can be painted and varnished when cooked.

2. Make a leaf collage using fragments of the leaves. The leaf pieces can be glued onto heavy card. A stained glass window effect can also be achieved by using twigs to divide up the areas of different coloured leaf fragments. Take photographs as a reminder.

3. Glue leaves onto cards cut to the size and shape of playing cards. Choose 10 different types of leaves and have 4 of each type. Then play snap!

4. Cover leaves in paint and press onto paper to make leaf prints. Make a reverse print by spray painting a leaf skeleton lying on a sheet of paper and then remove the leaf skeleton.

Additional Information

• A Tree Name Trail from Forestry Commission
• The Field Studies Council make a laminated fold-out tree guide, of common tree species
  

Curriculum Links

• Science - main
• Expressive Arts - main
  

Age Range

2. Primary