Geometry lesson plan: How will symmetry help me draw the leaf of a rainforest plant?
Learn how symmetry can help Year 3 pupils draw a rainforest leaf
Using this lesson plan, developed as part of our collaboration with The Eden Project, teachers can guide pupils in Year 3 through the process of drawing a leaf from the philodendron verrucosum plant. This belongs to a family of plants which can be trees, shrubs or climbers. It has large, distinctive, leathery leaves and is native to the rainforests of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
This geometry activity has been developed as part of a wider enquiry of learning, linked to the principle of Diversity, which poses pupils in lower KS2 the question: Why should we protect the rainforest? It teaches students about the incredible biodiversity of rainforest habitats, explores some of the threats to their health and looks at what we can do to protect them.
The geometry lesson presented here would work equally well as a standalone activity to celebrate World Rainforest Day, for example, or as part of learning about the forms of the leaves of different plants found around the world.
