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Sustainability Lesson Clearinghouse
Nature Bookmarks
Lesson Description:
Students will collect interesting plants they find in their garden. Once collected the plants will be dried, pressed and made into bookmarks.
Eco-fact: Photosynthesis is the process that allows plants to take energy from the sun and create sugars.
Procedures:
Collecting plants
Making a Pressed Plant Bookmark
Adaptations:
Students will collect interesting plants they find in their garden. Once collected the plants will be dried, pressed and made into bookmarks.
Eco-fact: Photosynthesis is the process that allows plants to take energy from the sun and create sugars.
Procedures:
Collecting plants
- Walk around outside with your group and observe the different types of plants found there.
- Have each kid find the most unordinary, extraordinary, not your average plant and cut a four to six inch piece with scissors or gardening sheers. Include a few leaves, but be careful not to cut a small, young plant. Children should not cut from the same plant – over-pruning can cause damage while just a snip won’t be noticed. They should cut from the outside of the bush or plant (the inside tends to be new shoots).
- Bring your plant findings inside.
- Place a piece of cardboard on the table, with two pieces of newspaper or tissue paper on top of it.
- Then lay a plant clipping on top of the newspaper.
- Cover the plant with two more pieces of newspaper or tissue paper and another piece of cardboard.
- Lay down two more sheets of newspaper and repeat the same process until all the plants have been placed in a stack. You can top off your stack with a brick or stone if desired.
- Set the stack in a cool, dry spot and place several heavy books on top. Let the plants remain in the stack for 24 hours or more, until they have completely dried.
Making a Pressed Plant Bookmark
- Each child will cut out a bookmark shape from the card stock. You can use the typical rectangle shape or get creative. your bookmarks can be in the shape of a huge flower or an oval. it is up to you.
- Next kids will lay out the dried, pressed plants on the book Mark in a pleasing manner. do not glue them down until sure you like the plant placement. glue the plants in place. Now kids can decorate bookmark with markers, crayons - even glitter.
- Kids will trace a shape a little bit bigger than their bookmark out of the contact paper. Cover book mark with the contact paper. if you have a laminator you can laminate your bookmark.
- Punch a hole in top of the book mark. Cut a piece of ribbon or yarn to hang out of the book. Tie it in the hole.
Adaptations:
- Use dried and pressed flower petals in bookmarks. follow same procedure.
Lesson Type:
- Project
Sustainability Topic:
- Gardening
GEF Program Category:
- Green Thumb Challenge
Materials Needed:
Materials for pressing plants:
Materials for making bookmarks
Materials for pressing plants:
- Newspaper or tissue paper
- Cardboard for plant pressing (recycled from cereal boxes, works great!)
- Several heavy books or phone book
- Scissors or garden pruning shears
- Brick or stone
- Glue
Materials for making bookmarks
- Card stock or construction paper
- Dried pressed flowers or flower petals
- Ribbon or yarn
- Glue
- Contact paper or a laminator
- Paper hole punch
Submitted By:
Green Education Foundation
Green Education Foundation
School or Group:
GEF
GEF
Contact Email:
service@greeneducationfoundation.org
service@greeneducationfoundation.org
Located in: Green Thumb Challenge Middle School