Design A Leaf

Supplies Needed:

• Crayons, markers, paint, colored pencils (your choice)
• scissors

Directions:

1. Color the leaves, cut them out and share them.
2. To make a sturdier leaf, glue the instruction sheet to another blank piece of paper or cardstock.

How do the leaves get their colors?

In the fall when leaves start to change color it’s because of the chemicals in them called pigments. There are four different kinds.

Chlorophyll (greens)

Xanthophylls (yellows)

Carotenoids (oranges)

Anthocyanins (reds)

In spring and summer the sunlight triggers the Chlorophyll (like tiny factories) to absorb sunlight–through photosynthesis the leaf uses that stored energy to convert carbon dioxide (absorbed from the air) and water into glucose, a type of sugar (food for the tree). So like a tiny factory that creates food for the tree the factory starts to change as the weather gets cooler and the amount of sunlight also changes. The factories start to break down and change into other substances and get ready to close for the winter. The food get stored in the tree and what is left in the leaf gives us different colors. The tree then creates a special layer of cells creating a barrier between it and the leaf. Eventually the wind blows and the leaf falls to the ground.