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Falling for Autumn

Celebrate fall with 16 sites full of K-4 resources on autumn foliage, including printouts, online games, ideas for songs and books, collaborative projects, and even breaking news on the genetics of the changing colors.

The changing fall foliage can be a show stopper on school campuses. This year, bring some new activities and resources into your fall lesson plans with these exciting Web sites. From online puzzles and games to photosynthesis explanations for the elementary classroom and more, it's here. So read on!

EEK! A Tree's True Color
This site by Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources gets top marks just for the acronym EEK: Environmental Education for Kids! All on one main page, information is divided into four sections: Where do leaf colors come from? How do leaves change color? Do leaves change color because of weather? and Why do leaves fall? Text is written at a upper elementary level and is very informal, making this an excellent choice for a KWL activity requiring some independent computer work. Another unique characteristic of this site is its use of mostly student-drawn illustrations. (See the half dozen drawings of leaves). Links to further resources also are listed. EEK is a simple-to-use and quick resource for introducing your fall unit.

Autumn Leaves
This is an easy-to-navigate site with four sections of activities on the changing fall colors. Begin with the online jigsaw puzzle. The number of pieces can be adjusted from 240 to just six, making this is one of the few online activities suited for preschool and kindergarten students. The leaf collection page gives details on collecting leafs in a binder with seven printable (color and black and white!) pages, each containing a description, picture, and short answer blanks on different species of trees. The Learn About Why Leaves Change Color in Autumn page is actually an eight-page online book for students. The graphics and text are designed for students in grade two and up, either as independent work or projected in a whole class presentation. Finally, the Autumn Leaves section displays nine photos of actual leaves. (Note that this site is from Canada and leaves in your area may vary.) Don't miss the pointers on scanning leaves yourself to create your own community's leaf album!

Fall Bucket List For Families Printable
Why not make autumn a fun time to look forward to with the ultimate fall bucket list for kids and the whole family. The changing colors of the falling leaves and sips of hot cider and pumpkin picking, fall harvest festivals, there’s just so much to see and do with the family this fall.
Check out these awesome fall activities for the whole family and print out a copy of our fall bucket list for the kids to work through.

Primary Games' Fall Fun
Primary Games has a variety of teacher-led activities, some online and some in print, on fall and fall foliage. Start with Fall Games; the jigsaw puzzle, slide puzzle, and match game are quick and easy activities for a classroom computer. In particular, students in PK-4 can work on the online Fall Color Jigsaw Puzzle; note that you can change the number of pieces from 20 to 240. The Fall Coloring Pages and Fall Craft sections have printouts to copy for students to color by hand. And don't miss the stationery, with versions for both older and younger students. Print the stationery, or for a fun twist, copy and paste the .jpg image into Microsoft Word or AppleWorks and have students use the Drawing tools or Text Box tools to write on it!

Fall Books & Short Stories For Kids about Autumn
Wonderful autumn books about the changing color of the leaves, pumpkins, and fall harvests spark your little one’s imagination and will entice them to get outside and jump in a pile of leaves. Here’s a list of 17 autumn themed books to get your little one excited about everything this beautiful season has to offer.
This teacher’s autumn reading list also includes after-reading activity ideas and free printables like worksheets. word searches and more at the end of this post. Get started on your own fall reading challenge now!

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Article by Lorrie Jackson
Education World®
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Updated 08/27/2019