Time: 25-30 minutes
Grade Level: Second-Fourth
Materials: The Giving Tree (Shel Silverstein), Leaves from different types of trees, crayons,
white paper.
Objectives: The students will identify 3-4 ways trees are used. The students will produce 3 different leaf rubbings using one color for each leaf
Introduction:
The lesson will open with the reading of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree. Students will be instructed to think of how the tree was used in the story.
Procedure:
When the story is finished, the students will be asked how the tree in the story was used. The students will also be asked to state other ways that trees are used. . Next, show the leaves of the different types of hardwood trees to the students. The uses of each tree will be described, and how they benefit us.
Once the leaves are presented, then the students will be shown how to do leaf rubbings. The leaf will be placed on a flat surface and covered with a piece of white paper. Next, a crayon will be rubbed
gently over the paper so that the features of the leaf appears. Pre-made examples of all leaf rubbings will be presented for the students to look at. The students will then be dismissed to their tables
to work on the rubbings. They will be instructed to share the leaves and work as neatly as possible.
Closure: Students will write description of leaf and how the tree benefits us on each leaf
page.These leaf rubbing pages will be collected and collated into a classroom scrapbook
Assessment: The rubbings will be looked over to see if they were completed neatly and described properly.
Modifications for Special Needs: The leaf coloring will help develop fine motor skills.
Possible Extensions:
. Students could also make bark rubbings. Students can adopt a tree and record seasonal changes in student journals. Students could also go on a nature walk to identify various trees on the school grounds.
