“Leaf Person or Animal”

(Literacy and Nature)

The main character in Lois Ehlert’s story Leaf Man lived in a pile of leaves until the wind blew him away over a plethora (many different) of leafy landscapes and animals.

• Students will create their very own Leaf Person or Leaf Animal by using materials found outside in nature. Students can use leaves, sticks, rocks, grass, and etc. 

• During the portion of the video where I read aloud the story of Leaf Man, I point out the illustrations to identify the different animals (characters) and locations (settings) the leaf man sees on his journey. 

• After the story, go outside to find the materials the young artists will need to create their leaf People or Animals (going outside can be during a family walk or playing in the yard).  Encourage children to have as many different types of leaves as they can find in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.

• Have students choose if they want to create a Leaf Person or Leaf Animal. Use whatever paper you have available to place the Leaf Person or Leaf Animal on with their leaves, and other items from nature. Ask students to create their own leaf person or leaf animal. The Leaf Animal can be any animal they choose: bird, turtle, dog, cat, fish, bird, etc.

• Challenge them to create something unique (one of a kind; not like anything else)  with a certain number or type of leaves, sticks, or little rocks, or let them be freely inspired and creative (imagination). Either way, encourage students to keep leaves whole as much as possible (use overlapping techniques) and try a few different arrangements of leaves before gluing.

•  Allow students to glue their leaf person securely with glue. Remind the young artists to spread glue thinly for best results. When the glue is dry, students can add simple background details with Markers or crayons or cut around their leaf people to display on a colored background.

NOTE: There are no demonstration videos for this project. I would like for the young artists to use their creativity, imagination, and skills that they have worked on this school year to create the Leaf Man Project.

Abstract - Not realistic (using leaves and other outdoor materials from nature to create people of animals).

Please watch the video below for the introduction to the project and the Read Aloud of the story of Leaf Man.