Scientific Illustration Project + Leaf Identification Unit

This is a fun way to combine art and science. I developed this project this year for the Grade 4 Ontario Science curriculum: Communities and Habitats. This could work for students all all grades. 

After working through some fundamental science vocabulary about communities, habitats, and ecosystems, we studied local trees: coniferous and deciduous and how to identify trees based on the characteristics of their leaves. 

We spent a lot of time outside observing and documenting trees and collecting leaves. We then learned about scientific illustration and how to label, classify, identify, how to use a magnification bubble, and how to ask questions about what is being studied.

The final project:

Students create a poster about their chosen leaf. They draw a scientific illustration with relevant labels, questions and a magnification bubble. We got to laminate our leaves and add them to the poster. The students loved it and learned a lot!

Large group Terry Fox Poster activity

 This in a September/October project that's great to do with elementary students as a large group activity. 

Step 1: Tape a large piece of paper to the white board (in the place where the projector will project)

Step 2: Project the Terry Fox image that you want onto the paper

Step 3: Trace a light pencil outline of the image 

Step 4: Ask a student to go over the light pencil outline with a black marker

Step 5: Show the class an inspiring Terry Fox video and ask them to write down a quote that they feel inspired by (or to write their own sentence about what Terry means to them)

Step 6: Using different bright coloured- markers, have students come up one at a time to add their quote or sentence to the poster