Lesson Title: Leaf Graphing

Lesson #____

Subject:Mathematics

Grade (s):1-3

By: Jamie, Mireille & Kinnon

Rationale:
It is important to have students interact with their local environment and relate their
mathematical learning to real life experiences. In this activity, students gather recently fallen
leaves from the ground outside their classroom and organize into a graphical representation
by color.
Curriculum Connections: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/mathematics/1
Big Ideas:
-Concrete graphs help us to compare and interpret data and show one to one
correspondence.
Content:
-concrete graphs: creating, describing, and comparing concrete graphs, using one-to-one
correspondence
Curricular Competencies:
-Engage in problem-solving experiences that are connected to place
-Represent mathematical ideas in concrete, pictorial, and symbolic forms (use local
materials gathered outside for concrete and pictorial representations)
-Model (acting it out, using concrete materials, drawing pictures) mathematics in
contextualized experiences

Learning Intentions:
I can sort items into categories based on
their features
I can create a bar graph to represent the
data collected

Prerequisite Concepts and Skills:

-Understanding of how to fill out a graph
-basic adding skills

Activity:
Students will go
outside and
collect their 2
favorite leaves
and then sort
leaves into the
color where they
believe it best
belongs. Then
students will
complete their
own bar graph.

Assessment:
Observe students level of engagement
Ask students to answer questions regarding
represented, and why more colours are repre
most liked, which color was the least chosen
Completion of a graph

Materials and Resources

For Teacher

For Students

-graph handouts with questions

-crayons/markers
-plastic bag full of leaves in case there is
no leaves on the campus ground
-tape

n/a

Differentiated Instruction (DI):

-have a picture of different types of graphs students can make on the overhead projector for
students who want to turn over their page and represent their numbers their own way.
-students can fill in their bar graph with solid colors, pictures, shapes.
Organizational/Management Strategies:
-Make sure there are different colored leaves on the ground outside
-group students into groups to support each other through the learning process. Exploration
groups, and then to support each other in creation of graphs. Sharing of knowledge groups.
Possible Aboriginal Connections:
-the land provides the materials, connection to place
Lesson Activities:
Teacher Activities:
1.Take kids outdoors to collect their
2 favorite leaves

Student Activities:

pacing
10minutes

2. Students to collect their two

favorite leaves

3.Return with students to the

classroom and instruct students to
think about their leaves. Then show
have students walk over to the wall
that has the color that best
represents their leaf on the wall and
using the tape, tape their leaf to the
board.

2 minute

4. Students tape their leaves to the

board where it best belongs

5-10 minutes

5.Hand out graphs.

6. Have students count the
number of leafs in each color and
graph those leaves in the bar
graph.

10-15 minutes

7. Students answer the questions

at the bottom of the graph
Q1. What leaf color was the most
liked? How many were there?
Q2. What leaf color was the least
liked? How many were there?
Students can share their answers
with the class.

Graph
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

1.

What leaf color was the most liked? How many were there?

2.

What leaf color was the least liked? How many were there?

Graph

(The different types of graphs can give more advanced students (older ages) more options