Activity overview
Science topics:
Plants
Examine three different records of leaves. Ask the children to compare them and think about how they make their own records. This activity is great for promoting observation and discussion skills.
Run the activity
1. Show the three images above and ask everyone to come up with as many similarities and differences as they can. If they get stuck, prompt them to think about:
- appearance
- what they do
- where they might be found
2. Then, everyone needs to decide which one is the odd one out and why. Encourage a reason for every answer and there is no wrong answer!
Top Tips:
How to run Odd One Out activitiesBackground science
There are many ways to record what we see around us – here are just three! The three images are a crayon rubbing of leaves, a fossilised leaf, and a sketch of a leaf. We know a lot about plants from a long time ago through fossils, like the one in the image. These are like nature’s own recordings of living things!
Take it further
Think of your own way of recording plants outdoors, perhaps using pencils, crayons or paint. Do you get different results depending on what paper you use? Have a look at the Jurassic Coast Fossil Finder if you'd like to see more examples of fossilised plants.
Image credit:
Undergroundarts.co.uk via Shutterstock;
Edelwipix via Shutterstock,
SofiaV via Shutterstock