“Leaf Person”

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 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, try to find time to go outside to find the materials the young artists will need to create their leaf Person (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.

• Use whatever paper you have available to place the Leaf Person on. With their leaves, and other items from nature, ask students to create their own leaf person. This can be as structured or as loose as you wish. Challenge them to create something unique with a certain number or type of leaves, sticks, or little rocks, or let them be freely inspired without restrictions. Either way, encourage students to keep leaves whole as much as possible (use overlapping) and try a few different arrangements of leaves before gluing.

• Allow the young artists to glue their leaf person securely with glue. Remind students to spread glue thinly and to the edges 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.

Creative - to use your imagination.

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