The weather has been really hot this week, so it is kind of strange to be thinking about fall, but it is just around the corner. With fall on my mind, I just want to say that I think that it is important for children to learn about the different seasons, plus it is fun, so I definitely include the seasons during each part of the year.
Fall is a great time of the year and usually the first season that we teach students about. This is logical of course since it is normally the first full season of our school year. Some might think, "What is there to know or teach about fall?" It is a season, that is it, but this is not true. There are plenty of things that our students need to learn or at least think about. These include the changes in weather (cooler), clothing (sweaters, light jackets), nature (leaves, plants die, fall fruits, temperatures around the world), and also fall holidays.
There are many fun ways to teach about fall. Using the fall theme during this time of the year, both in classroom decorations and your curriculum keeps students thinking about fall throughout the season.
There are a lot of fall books that you can read in the classroom. These books may focus specifically on fall in which they talk about the temperature and the colors of the leaves, but there are many others that go along with a fall theme (apples, Halloween, pumpkins, bats, spiders, owls, Thanksgiving, etc.).
There are a lot of good books, but one of
my favorite fall books is “The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything.” It is a Halloween book. If you don’t already have it, I recommend adding it to your collection. My students
always enjoy chanting along as I read it. You can also find a song version on YouTube,
which I like to use after I have read the book.
The Little Old Women Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything - Song
It is easy to make the fall theme part of
your classroom with practice pages and games. This is a time in which students are able to learn more
about fall or just have more time to think about it. You do want to be sure to teach the word “autumn” so that students learn that this is another word for fall.
Here are some resources that you might be interested in using with your fall unit.
Fall Poem Freebie - Fall is Here!
Fall Themed Activities
It is Time for Fall Reader
Fall Matching Game
Fall Double Digit Addition and Subtraction
Fall Ten Frames
Activity days are a really fun way to teach students about fall. You can team up with one or two other teachers to make this a special event for all. Each teacher can be responsible for three or four different activities. This may include reading, art, math, science, and writing activities. You can usually recruit some parent helpers that are willing to take part in this Fall Activity Day.
Having detailed directions for each center activity is helpful, especially if you are recruiting parents that don’t normally help in the classroom. I’ve shared an example of my math center activities. You can get a PDF copy if you are interested.
Art is always a fun activity for students, and there are plenty of art ideas that you can find on Pinterest. Here are a few easy ones that I like.
Fall Tree – I like to have students draw their tree trunk and color it rather than paint it. This makes it easier for students to simply add the leaves without smearing the paint colors. After students have finished drawing the tree trunk they can add the leaves using fall colors. The leaves can be added using cut-up sponge pieces, Q-tips, and/or cotton swabs.
Scarecrow Directed Drawing – Most students really enjoy directed drawing. Some students are a little intimidated by it, but after telling them that we are just having fun, they usually feel more comfortable and are willing to give it a shot. Provide extra paper for those who are not happy with their first attempt. Model slowly, step by step, how to draw the scarecrow. Then have students color their pictures and add any other fall thoughts they have. Once students are done with their scarecrow you can have them write about it.
Parts of an Apple - As part of my fall unit I teach about apples, so this art project is perfect. You can have students do this project solely as a "tear art" project where they tear apart paper to make their apples. But, I actually like to provide students with precut rectangles and have them cut the corners of the red pieces of paper. I have them cut the yellow paper strip into smaller rectangles. Then I have them tear apart pieces of paper for the core and the stem. After students have drawn on the seeds and completed their apples, we write the name of the apple parts together.
You can read more on my Apple Art Blog Post.
YouTube is another resource that is very helpful. I’ve already mentioned one of my favorite stories, but there are many other videos that you can find. I have found videos about apples, pumpkins, bats, owls, past/present, Thanksgiving, and more. It is too bad that YouTube no longer lets you make playlists for kids' videos. Fortunately, I was able to save some before the change occurred. Even though you can't do this, you can save them as a “liked” video. You can also save your favorite videos to a Pinterest board. It may take a little more effort to access them, but at least it reminds you of videos that you want to use again.
Here are a couple of “Unscramble the Word” fall videos that you might be interested in.
Unscramble the Fall Words
Unscramble the Halloween Words
I hope that I have given you some new ideas for teaching fall. Thematic learning provides a unique and special experience for students, so making fall one of those units is definitely a wonderful way to teach young learners.
Well, I’m happy to say that I have just published my first book. Wow! I can officially say that I am an author. For those of you who are interested, it is really not that difficult and I suggest learning more about self-publishing on Amazon.
