Autumn Lesson Plans and Ideas
Take Advantage of the Seasonal Changes to Excite Students About Fall
Welcome autumn into your classroom by celebrating harvest time and the changing foliage. These fall-themed lesson plans, activities, and resource lists cover a variety of subjects, appeal to different learning styles, and can be taught in your classroom today!
Articles
Lesson 1: Who's Busy in the Fall?
Discuss the changing colors and cooling temperatures of fall while students practice sorting and counting. Wrap up by creating an autumnal bulletin board.
Harvest Time Math
Combine real-world math skills with information about harvests by using raw data provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Colorful Fall Fun
Teaching with Clifford |
Woof! Woof! With the help of Clifford, children compare problem solving strategies used in his stories. Also, find a variety of fun ideas to celebrate one of the most brilliant colors of autumn--orange.
Fresh Fall Ideas
Instructor Magazine |
Tested in classrooms by Instructor readers, these activities include hosting a math and science pumpkin party, creating masks from around the world, and keeping a tree journal.
A Look at Life Cycles
Illustrate the life cycle of an apple tree by having students work as a team to create a display about the four seasons.
Teachers' Picks: Fresh Picks for Fall
by Hannah Trierweiler
Instructor Magazine |
From apples to pumpkins, Ramadan to Halloween, autumn has plenty of things to celebrate. Here are some books that will help.
Books for Teaching With Pumpkins
by Jan Tankey
Use this book list as a starting point for discussions and experiments about pumpkins. These titles can be used as read-alouds, pocket chart stories, and choral readings.
Autumn Leaves Curriculum Connections
Explore leaves through exercising estimation skills, expanding leaf-themed vocabulary, and moving like a falling leaf.
Activity Plan 3-4: Fingerpaint Leaf Prints
by Early Childhood Today Editorial Staff
Early Childhood Today |
Observe the different shapes, sizes, and vein patterns of leaves by using finger paints and leaf prints.
See the Fall Foliage
Take a tour of what the Web has to offer on autumn. Featured sites contain a comparison of fall in different biomes, step-by-step directions on how to preserve leaves, and a kid-friendly explanation of why leaves change colors.
by Jessica Tom
Scholastic Parents | Encourage outdoor exploration and promote creativity by crafting these natural autumn bouquets.
Outdoor Activities/Music & Movement: Falling Rain Dance
by Ellen Booth Church
Early Childhood Today |
June ,2003
In this ready-to-use teaching idea for mixed ages, children go on a short rainy day walk while developing their observational skills and exercising creative movement.
Harvest Prints
Through using fruits and vegetables as stamps, students create prints and patterns to reinforce that only fruits contain seeds.
Resources
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf Extension Activities
Engage the children in a discussion about the different types of trees in your community.
Fall Leaves Fall! Lesson Plan
In this brilliantly hued celebration of the fun of fall, two brothers enjoy everybody's favorite autumn activities: chasing leaves through the air, stomping on them, raking them into piles, and jumping in!
Now It's Fall
In this lesson plan for the picture book Now It's Fall by Lois Lenski, students will learn about autumn and different objects and events associated with this special season.
Lesson Plans
Fall vs. Spring
by Andrea J. Spillett
Connect science and language arts in these activities, which include comparing and contrasting fall and spring, engaging in a color science experiment, and identifying the different characteristics of a flower.
