Fall Teaching Tools: The Harvest is Good!

Autumn has been my favorite time of year for as long as I can remember. Scuffing through fallen leaves, sipping pumpkin spice lattes, enjoying fall sports and receiving a jar of my mother-in-law’s homemade applesauce are just a few of the season’s charms.

Even the earth joins the chorus. Tomorrow the northern hemisphere will experience the autumn equinox, which heralds the change of seasons from summer to fall. The sun will rise directly in the east and set precisely in the west – thanks to the positioning of the earth’s axis, which will tilt neither toward nor away from the sun.

Fall provides a rich harvest of vocabulary words, obvious themes for bulletin boards and interesting topics for classroom lessons. Today’s online resources make it easy to flesh out lessons in multiple ways. Here are some poems and a few links to get you started.

Poems

Leaves

By Elsie N. Brady

How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow.  

A Funny Pumpkin Poem

One day I found two pumpkin seeds.
I planted one and pulled the weeds.
It sprouted roots and a big long vine.
A pumpkin grew; I called it mine.

The pumpkin was quite round and fat.
(I really am quite proud of that.)
But there is something I’ll admit
That has me worried just a bit.

I ate the other seed, you see.
Now will it grow inside of me?
(I’m so relieved since I have found
That pumpkins only grow in the ground!)

Picture Books

Big Universe features an online autumn counting book with verses by Fran Hawk and colorful pictures by Sherry Neidigh. It’s titled “Count Down to Fall” (Sylvan Dell). Other picture book selections from Big Universe include “Fall” by Ann Herriges (Bellwether), “Migrating Animals of the Air” (Weekly Reader) and “My Calendar: Seasons” (Rourke). Click on the links to read a few pages. (Premium members can read the whole thing anywhere, any time.)

The Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Ind., provides an extensive list of children’s books about fall topics – complete with call number and author. Thank you, Teresa Walls, for putting together this LIST.

Another midwestern library lists autumn  books in a user-friendly manner. Visit Kansas Public Library‘s suggested readings, which include author, title and a helpful synopsis. Thank you, Brenda. (Argentine Branch, Kansas City).

Word Search Puzzles

BusyBeeKids.com offers several fall word search printables that would make nice companion pieces after reading. Though they are marked “easy,” the word search puzzles will require a certain level of reading skills. The puzzles – Autumn, Fall Harvest and Deciduous Trees – include word banks.

First-School.ws has a Fall Word Search and Trace printable designed for preschool and kindergarten students.

Games for Fall

I liked the Scarecrow Memory Game printable found on BusyBeeKids, too. The game pieces have vividly colored graphics. Simply print them on heavy cardstock paper, laminate and cut apart. Readers and pre-readers can play this game together.

ClassroomJr.com has a few fall-themed mad lib sheets that will reinforce lessons about parts of speech: Pumpkin Picking, Apples and Scarecrow.

Fall Crafts

For the pre-K to first grade set, consider some of BusyBee’s crafts ideas. There’s a Finger Print Corncob craft and a Paper Bag Scarecrow art project that look fun. DLTK.com provides templates for simple lacing crafts.

Coloring Pages

• Squirrel with Nut
• Turkey
• Basket of Apples
• Pumpkin Patch

Movement Song

“I’m a Flippy Floppy Scarecrow”  (See YouTube clip)

When all the cows were sleeping
And the sun had gone to bed
Up jumped the scarecrow
And this is what he said!

I’m a dingle, dangle scarecrow
With a flippy floppy hat
I can shake my hands like this
And shake my feet like that

When all the hens were roosting
And the moon behind the cloud
Up jumped the scarecrow
And shouted very loud

I’m a dingle, dangle scarecrow
With a flippy floppy hat
I can shake my hands like this
And shake my feet like that

When the dogs were in the kennels
And the doves were in the loft
Up jumped the scarecrow
And whispered very soft

I’m a dingle, dangle scarecrow
With a flippy floppy hat
I can shake my hands like this
And shake my feet like that

I’m a dingle, dangle scarecrow
With a flippy floppy hat
I can shake my hands like this
And shake my feet like that

Enjoy.

*Note: Both of the poems above were found on the FANtabulous DLTK-kids.com website. If you haven’t visited, put it on your to-do list.