Background information

In this lesson, students develop an understanding of the different parts of the tree, and why trees are a valuable part of our environment. Students recognise how to use messages from a story and inspiration from the environment around them to create artworks using fallen natural materials. Students understand how these artworks can be used to create a display to teach other students about the importance of trees.

Teacher tip: Using music and hands-on activities are two ways of effectively engaging students and helping them retain the information learnt. Be careful if it’s windy - you don’t want students’ leaf men flying away!

For more information about trees, download the Background Information about Trees.

For further information:

Outdoor Learning Series: (https://vimeo.com/171030135)

Factsheets:

Why teach outdoors?
Designing your outdoor learning space
Tips for making outdoor learning easier
Outdoor Learning - Risks/hazards and actions

Teacher tip: Play the “Tree Song” and encourage students to join in by singing the chorus. You could extend this activity by choreographing some fun actions for the song. Tree Song - Learn about Trees! Roots, and Trunks, and Leaves! (https://youtu.be/D7dKRBZVLvI)

What to do

Step 1. If you aren't already outside, take the class to your outdoor learning space. Review outdoor learning rules and the benefits of outdoor learning with students, including potential hazards and actions to take in the event of hazards.

Step 2. Ask students to sit outside and spend two or three minutes just look around at the trees that are close to them.

Invite students to share what they see, and what they know and love about trees. This could be done through class discussion or by inviting students to share their thoughts with the person sitting next to them. Ask one or two students to share their thoughts with the class. You could spend some time discussing the value of hearing different responses from a variety of people.

Suggested questions to guide discussion include:

What do trees generally look like?
What do all trees have?
Where do you find trees?
Why do animals need trees?
Why do people need trees?
What do you love about trees?
What might people do to trees if they don’t know how important they are to our environment?

Step 3. Explain to students that they will be exploring how important trees are, and that they will have the opportunity to create pictures to teach others about how valuable trees are.

Step 4. Read The Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert.

Step 5. Engage students in a brief discussion around the following questions:

Did you like this story? Why or why not?
What does this story make you think about?
What does this story make you wonder?
How did the illustrations help tell the story? Why were the pictures important?

Teaching tip: By this stage in the lesson, your class may have been sedentary for some time. If they need to get up and move to help them refocus, you could engage in the following movement-based activity to reinforce what students are learning about the structure of trees and their value in the environment. Stand tall with arms stretched wide and fingers long. Encourage students to copy your actions and join in the song.

Step 6. Explain to students that they will be creating their own leaf man, and you will take a photo of something their leaf man sees that shows why trees are important. For example, their leaf man might float into the cool shade of a tree on a hot day, or float high and see an animal that lives in a tree.

Step 7. Invite students to collect a few fallen leaves and small twigs from their surroundings. As students return to you with their items, give them a piece of clear contact/landscape photograph/piece of black cardboard.

Step 8. Demonstrate to students how to arrange twigs and leaves to create a leaf man, and how students can arrange the leaves and twigs on their paper until they’re happy with their creation.

Step 9. When students’ leaf men are ready, you’ll need to help them peel the backing paper off their contact sheet, OR give students glue (if using landscapes/cardboard).

Teaching tip: Waiting to peel the backing paper off the contact or hand out the glue will encourage students to experiment with how their leaf man will look rather than rush through the creative process. Ask them questions about the leaf man they will create.

If students are using contact, they will require a second piece of clear contact for the top of their leaf man to hold their creation in place.

Step 10. Once students have completed their leaf men, ask them to think about where their leaf man might travel. What could their leaf man see that shows how important trees are in the environment?

Have students walk to an area in the playground and hold their leaf man in position, ready for a photo, to indicate where the wind has blown him in nature. Take photos of leaf men to display for other students.

If your students have used glue instead of clear contact, you may need to wait until the glue is dry to take photos.

Reflection

Step 1. Reconvene the class and ask students to sit down, placing their leaf man on the ground in front of them.

Engage your students in a reflective discussion so they can share and compare their ideas. You could ask students the following two-part question:

What did your leaf man see on their adventure?
How does this show why trees are important?

Step 2. (Optional) Students reflect on the natural elements around them by saying a short sentence out loud to a partner about their leaf man. Invite students to write their sentence on top of the photo you took using software, an app, or by writing the sentence under a printed copy of the photo.

Possible lines of development

Students could expand on their leaf man’s journey by recording a whole story about what their leaf man saw in the playground, and how this proves trees are important. Stories could be filmed using an iPad or camera, and placed on display next to the class’s artworks using a mounted iPad, monitor or digital photo frame.
Students may require additional support to articulate their story. Teachers may need to prompt students with key words to use in their story, or a sentence starter such as “The leaf man floated to the tree and saw … ” Some students may require help to discern the importance of trees in the environment. For example, the teacher and student could stand under the shade of a tree on a warm day and the teacher could ask the student what they notice about the change in temperature, and why this could be important to humans and animals in the environment.
Students can take action by designing and implementing a conservation project at their school. By spending time outdoors participating in activities that help conserve nature, students are more likely to care for and conserve nature as adults.
The actions your students participate in can be incorporated into a calendar event - such as Planet Ark’s Schools Tree Day - or designed according to the specific conditions and requirements of your school.
Students can use the following Project Planning Tool to help them design and plan their project: Project Planning - Our Tips for Success.

The Leaf Man

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Summary

Activity Guides and Printables

Activity Details

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Info

In this activity