Gold-Leaf Bookmark

Celebrate nature with a bookmark! Collect fallen leaves to create a unique way to mark your page.

• 1.

  Collect at least six small, fallen leaves of the same type from your neighborhood or school yard. Identify its species. Find how that type of tree reproduces. Report your findings to your class and show the leaves you collected.

• 2.

  Here's how to make a bookmark with your leaves. With Crayola® Scissors, cut a piece of cardboard, recycled file folder, or posterboard into a bookmark. Use your imagination to make an unusual shape, perhaps a tree or one with wavy edges.

• 3.

  Cover your art area with newspaper. Swirl two colors of Crayola Tempera Paint with a Crayola Paint Brush while applying it to the bookmark. Dry.

• 4.

  Brush the underside of a leaf with gold Crayola Premier Tempera. Press the painted side down on the bookmark to make an imprint. Carefully lift it off. Repeat to form a pattern. Dry.

• 5.

  Place Crayola School Glue on the back of one leaf. Attach it to the top of your bookmark. Dry.

• 6.

  Punch a hole in the top of your bookmark. Tie a ribbon through the hole. You're ready to read!

Benefits

• Students recognize various trees by examining their leaves.
• Students gather information about how different trees reproduce.
• Students discover what deciduous trees grow in their area and report their findings orally to classmates.
• Students create a bookmark showing a real leaf and its imprint.

Adaptations

• Students with special needs may prefer adult help in cutting out the cardboard.
• Encourage each student to find a different variety of leaf. Make a bulletin board display in the hall and label each tree under its corresponding leaf design.
• Create a large wall hanging of real and imprinted leaves. Identify names of the trees under the leaves.
• Use the bookmarks as a quiz. Students exchange bookmarks and identify the trees from which the leaves came.