“L Is For Leaf” – A Preschool Unit
 Color Diffusing Leaves Are you tired of teaching the same apple unit every fall? Are looking for a way to add some variety into your fall lesson plans? Try the “L is for Leaf” lesson ideas below. You can quickly turn students into leaf explorers while breaking free of the same, tired apple unit that you have been teaching for years. Literature Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert Leaf Jumpers by Carole Gerber Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro Fall Leaf Project by Margaret McNamara Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace Leaves, Leaves! by Salina Yoon Language Arts Practice writing the letter “L” in both uppercase and lowercase. Have children write their names on leaves and hang them on a class tree. Explore other words that begin with the letter “L”. Create a funny class rhyme using words that rhyme with leaf. Social Studies Discuss Johnny Appleseed and how apple orchards came about. Use a map to color in and discuss the different climates in the United States. Science Do leaf rubbings with different color crayons. Press leaves between heavy books. Compare and contrast different fall leaves. Discuss the differences and similarities between deciduous and evergreen trees.
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Commented On October 3rd, 2011 11:10 pm
Another creative idea for working with leaves in terms of arts and crafts would be dying part of the leaf with food coloring and tweezers. This is messy but fun.
There is song you can teach your children. It’s called “The Leaves on the Tree” and goes to the tune of “Wheels on the Bus”. You could also teach movements with this song.
The leaves on the trees turn orange and red,
Orange and red, orange and red.
The leaves on the trees turn orange and red,
All through the town.
The leaves on the trees come tumbling down
tumbling down, tumbling down,
The leaves on the trees come tumbling down
All through the town.
The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish
Swish swish, swish, swish, swish, swish
The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish
All through the town.
Another idea using construction paper, markers, or crayons, collage materials like tissue paper, and paper plates: would be to create what a tree looks like through all of it’s seasons making the paper plate the upper part of the tree and decorating a plate for fall and another plate behind it would be winter. You double up the plates. This makes a great art project too.
Math:
In terms of working with apples, students can create an apple tasting graph. For older students they could describe the apple in terms of its color, taste, and texture. Also, they can create a bar graph.