Pile of Whole and Sliced Button Mushrooms

Four pieces of mushroom are piled together in this drawing. Two whole mushrooms lie on their sides on the left, each with a round smooth cap and a thick stem. One cap is turned toward us so you can see the ring where the stem meets it. On the right are two cut slices showing the classic mushroom profile, each with a flat cut face, small oval gill openings and a stem section sticking out below. Short lines on the stems and cut edges suggest texture. The word MUSHROOM sits at the bottom in chunky outlined block letters. Since mushrooms are usually pale, try cream, tan and soft gray for the caps and a light brown for the gill areas. Parents and teachers can use the whole and sliced pieces to talk about what a mushroom looks like outside versus inside. The big letters are also good for a spelling warm-up with younger kids.