Imperfect Leaf Shapes (Botany Cabinet) Vocabulary
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Our Leaf Shapes Vocabulary Cards show 18 real photographs of leaves, one for each shape in the traditional Montessori botany cabinet. The cards have no text, so pre-readers can focus on each leaf's shape while learning its botanical name, such as cordate or lanceolate.
Use them for three-period lessons alongside the botany cabinet, for matching to real leaves students collect outdoors, and for sorting games. They are also part of our Leaf Shapes Book & Card Set, an interactive build-a-book reading comprehension activity.
Many leaf shape names describe what the shape looks like. Cordate comes from the Latin word for heart, and lanceolate from the Latin for a small lance. Students who trace the botany cabinet insets don't always connect those shapes to the leaves on real trees. Real photos bridge that gap, and once students are reading, the matching Leaf Shapes 3-Part Reading Cards carry the same vocabulary into print.
What's included
- 18 cards, each showing one real photograph of a leaf that matches a shape in the traditional Montessori botany cabinet, with no text (see photo for list)
- Cards are approx. 4¼" x 3¾"
- Eco-laminated with a food-grade laminate and rounded corners
- Sturdy, clear reclosable bag for storage
- Lesson plan included
Add on our medium cloth pouches for an elegant, child-accessible display solution.
Created by a Montessori teacher. Eco-printed in our rural New England office.
Made in the USA. CPSIA compliant.
Note: Photos may change from those pictured.
Why do vocabulary cards matter for reading?
Interest drives learning. Montessori is a student-centered approach: the teacher observes what each student is curious about and offers materials that match. Students who love collecting leaves outdoors or tracing the botany cabinet insets will choose these cards again and again. Each time is more practice naming, discussing, and sorting. That practice builds vocabulary, part of the language comprehension side of reading in both Gough and Tunmer's (1986) simple view of reading and Scarborough's (2001) reading rope. By learning what a lanceolate leaf is now, a student will understand the word when they later encounter it in a field guide or science text.
How do you use Leaf Shapes Vocabulary Cards?
First, spark curiosity by inviting children to work with leaf shapes. Discuss the leaves students have seen. Then use the three-period lesson to teach a few cards at a time. Next, invite students to match the cards to the botany cabinet insets and to real leaves they collect outdoors. For sorting, start with an easier contrast, such as leaves with rounded tips vs. leaves with pointed tips. When students are reading, move on to the 3-Part Reading Cards, Leaf Shapes Book, and Definition Cards for a complete learning experience.
What ages is this for?
Typically ages 4 and up. The text-free format works for pre-readers and readers alike, and the cards also support English learners and older students beginning a botany study.
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