A Colorful Wonder

It all started with a little Show-and-Tell about a trip to Tennessee. First, there was a geography lesson about where Tennessee is located.

 

  Next, there was an aroused sense of wonder, " Why do leaves change color?"

 

Hmmm! I just happened to have a non-fiction book about that particular wonder. Drum roll for a little scientific explanation via a book. Weather and light cause leaves to change color. When the temperature gets cooler and there are fewer hours of sunlight, it is a signal to a tree to take a rest that winter is coming. The leaves begin to die because the tree no longer needs them. As the leaves separate from the tree they get less water and can no longer make chlorophyl, that is what makes them green. The green color fades revealing other colors in the leaves. The new colors or pigments are made from extra sugar that is stored in the leaves.

 

 

 After I read the book to the class, the children worked in groups of four to sort the leaves into four color categories green, yellow, orange and red.

 

 

Once the students sorted the leaves they counted and recorded the number of leaves in each color category. Then they colored in a bar graph to represent their leaf data. I found the bar graph worksheet on the Web at, All Students Can SHINE.

 

 

 

 

Last the children learned how to make a leaf rubbing, by placing a leaf vein side up under a sheet of paper and rubbing over it with the side of a paperless crayon.