Create a Leaf Door Wreath and Teach Important Math Skills at the Same Time

Thanksgiving Crafts for School Teachers

Kids love to do Holiday crafts. Using craft projects to teach important skills is sure to engage students and provide a fun activity for all.

A simple wreath of leaves for the classroom door can become the basis for building math skills throughout the week.

Initial preparation: Print out a variety of leaf shapes. Copy them onto colored construction paper in fall colors. Make sure you have enough for all students to have a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Decorative basket or bin for storing the cut out leaves.

Day One:

Begin by having students cut out the various shapes. This will develop fine motor skills and provide practice with cutting.

Provide a decorative basket for students to store the cut out leaves in.

Once all the leaves have been cut out, challenge students to sort leaves by one or more attributes. When students demonstrate success with one attribute, encourage them to resort by another. For more advanced students, challenge them to discover how many different ways the leaves can be sorted.

Ask students to explain their sets to the class.

Day Two:

Students can also create patterns with these leaves. Encourgae students to find new ways to use the leaves in patterns. (color, size, shape or some combination of all three) and explain their pattern to the class.

Day Three:

Graphing. Ask each student to select a certain number of leaves. On large chart paper, draw and label the x and y axis. Remember to add a title. Ask each student to count the number of leaves he has that fit the category (color, size, shape). Have students come to the chart and record the number of leaves to the appropriate category. You may wish to use leaf stickers, small cut outs of leaves to paste on, or simply marking the boxes with a marker.

When you have finished with the class chart, ask students questions about the chart. How many oak leaves are there? Which has more oak leaves or maple leaves? Which has less maple leaves or birch leaves? Which kind of leaf has the most? Which kind of leaf has the least? (For younger children you may wish to chart the color or the size of the leaves instead of by leaf type.)

Day Four: