Are all oak leaves the same shape? Make children aware of the diversity within leaf structure. Introduce, or reinforce, simple recording skills, and practise basic counting skills too.
Discover if all leaves are the same
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How long will it take?
30 to 40 minutes.
What you will need
- lots of oak leaves
- a space on the floor, indoors if it's windy
- the numbers 1 to 12 written on small pieces of paper or card
Step-by-step guide
1 Tell your children to collect lots of oak leaves.
2 They should line up 12 pieces of card with the numbers 1 to 12 on them, in the correct order, on the floor.
3 Ask them to count the number of lobes each leaf has.
4 When they've found the number for a leaf, they can place it above the card with the same number on.
5 Ask them to carry on until they have done lots of leaves.
6 Now ask them if all oak leaves have the same number of lobes or not!
Tips and advice
- This will be difficult if there is any draught!
- When the children have finished the activity, ask them some questions: which is the most common number of lobes? Why aren't there any leaves in the 'one' column?
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