Leaves change color to become vibrant reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. Leaves fall from the trees. Piles of leaves are found on lawns. These are all good indicators that fall is here! So it’s also a great time to teach about leaves. There are some fabulous science activities for second-grade and third-grade all about leaves.

Text: The Science of Leaves Lessons and Activities for 2nd and 3rd Grades Image shows kids laying in a pile of leaves

CONIFEROUS AND DECIDUOUS TREES

There are a wide variety of trees, but they all fall into one of two categories: deciduous or coniferous. Coniferous trees keep leaves on their branches all year round. Deciduous means ‘falling off’, so these trees shed their leaves every fall to conserve energy in the winter.

A series of worksheets about leaves is pictured on a table with red and green leaves sprinkled beside them. — The EASY Way to teach about leaves in 2nd and 3rd grades.

Ready to learn about leaves this fall? In just a few clicks you can grab all the science and literacy pieces that you need: nonfiction reading, comprehension, science and math integration, and a fun art project!

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the anatomy of a leaf

Did you know that there are many different parts to a leaf? These ‘anatomy’ of a leaf teaching posters are a great way to learn the parts of a leaf. Then, head outside and grab your own!

YOUTUBE VIDEOS about the science of leaves

Learn even more about leaves with these engaging videos that are perfect for 2nd and 3rd-grade students. These are some of my favorite YouTube videos to show in class:

READING ABOUT LEAVES

A reading passage and comprehension activities are pictured. The passage is titled "Just Leaf it There: Exploring how leaves decompose in the fall"

Reading about leaves is another way to engage students. Learn about how leaves decompose in the Fall with this printable reading passage. Then follow up the reading with comprehension questions.

get outside and explore autumn

Bundle up and head outdoors. Give each student a clipboard with paper, a crayon, and a pencil. Have students record their observations about leaves like shape, color, texture, etc. Then have students do leaf rubbings of a variety of leaves.

While students are out making observations, have them collect leaves from a variety of trees. Give each student a small basket or Ziploc bag to contain their leaves. These leaves can be used for more leaf activities in the classroom.

LEAF DETECTIVEs

Become leaf detectives and engage students’ observation skills. Use magnifying glasses to take a closer look at the fine lines and details on a leaf. Challenge students to draw what they see.

Examine leaves and discover the differences between coniferous and deciduous trees. Check out SciShow Kidz’ Guess that Tree for info about telling the difference between some common coniferous tree needles.

Do leaf pressing by getting students to press leaves in a book, or get fancy and create leaf press bookmarks like these ones from Buggy and Buddy.

teaching symmetry with leaves

Teach a lesson about symmetry. Students will take a leaf, cut it along the line of symmetry, and glue it to a piece of paper. Next, they will sketch in the missing half and use pencil crayons to color/shade so it’s symmetrical.

Students can also use a variety of collected leaves and arrange them to create a land art installation, or have them glue the leaves to a piece of paper.

ART WITH LEAVES

There is an abundance of leaf art activities to be done in the fall. Read Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. (Click here for the Amazon.ca link)This is a book where all the pictures are created with leaves. Then have students glue leaves into various configurations to make leaf creatures. Read the book Leaf Man to get students thinking about what their creation might look like.

Create a leaf garland like this one from Hands on As We Grow

Follow along with these instructions by Elementary Art Rocks and paint leaves using lines and repetition.

WHY DO LEAVES CHANGE COLOR EXPERIMENT

The word ‘chromatography’ means a technique to separate the compounds of mixtures. Leaves get their color from different pigments like green, yellow, orange, and red.

To engage students with a hands-on experiment to separate the color pigment in leaves, check out this experiment about Leaf Chromatography by Home Science Tools. This experiment doesn’t use any fancy equipment. The materials needed are common house items like coffee filters, plastic wrap, and rubbing alcohol.

Teaching about leaves can be simple, yet engaging. Have fun teaching your second and third-grade students all about leaves this fall!

Leaves, Activities and Experiments for 2nd and 3rd Grades - A cartoon picture of a tree with orange leaves is pictured.

Leaves Activities for Second and Third Grade