Scarecrows

Pumpkins

I came up with this bulletin board this year because I wanted to do a fall bulletin board.  And, I had a ton of leaves already cut out that were never used for a school program.  I totally love this board and it was very simple except for having to staple each leaf onto the tree.  The trunk of the tree is the same one that I use with my apple tree at the beginning of the year.

 

I have this poem on sentence strips to be used in the pocketchart.   I also have it written on a second set of sentence strips which I cut apart into word cards.  But instead of using the color words, I drew that color leaf onto a card.  The students match the word cards to the text in the poem and the colored leaves to the correct color word.  I also wrote the sentence strips in alternating colors of markers.  This helps some of my students who need the additional support to find the correct matching text.  They know an orange word goes on an orange sentence strip, etc.  It narrows their field of choice.  (Because I forget how the poem goes from year to year, every year it's a little different!  The strips are interchangeable and they still work together nicely.)

If you're working with more advanced students, this would be a good poem to use while working on the "ow" sounds.  It's also good for reinforcing color words.

Another pocketchart activity that I do with every theme is to use the Ellison machine and cut out appropriate die-cuts for that theme.  For fall, I cut out acorns, leaves, pumpkins, turkeys, owls, footballs, etc. to use in the pocketchart.  If you laminate your paper first, then cut them out with the Ellison machine, it will cut down on your cutting time.

I keep a set of number cards laminated in the pocketchart, then all I have to do is change out the die-cuts.  The students count the die-cuts on each row, then insert the correct number card to match.  Or, you can do the opposite and put up the number card and have them place the correct number of die-cuts on the row beside the number. 

Down! Down!
Yellow and brown.
The leaves are
falling all over town.

~ Author Unknown

Here's a variety of versions of "5 Little squirrels".  You could choose the one of your choice to make a flannelboard activity. 

Version 1:

Five little squirrels sitting in a tree
The first little squirrel said, "What do I see?"
The second little squirrel said, "I see a gun."
The third little squirrel said, "Oh let's run."
The fourth little squirrel said, "Let's hide in the shade."
The fifth little squirrel said, "I'm not afraid."
When bang went the gun and away they did run!

~ Author Unknown

Version 2:

Five little squirrels with acorns to store.
One went to sleep and then there were four!
Four little squirrels hunting acorns in a tree.
One fell down, and now there are three!
Three little squirrels wondering what to do.
One got lost, and now there are two!
Two little squirrels tossing acorns for fun.
One got tired, and now there is one!
One little squirrel playing in the sun.
He ran away, now there are none.

~ Author Unknown

Version 3:

Five little squirrels sitting in a tree.
The first one said, "What do I see?"
The second one said, "Some nuts on the ground."
The third one said, "Those nuts I found."
The fourth one said, "I'll race you there."
The Fifth one said, "All right, that's fair."
So they shook their tails and ran with glee.
To the nuts that lay at the foot of the tree.

~ Author Unknown

Falling, falling,
Autumn leaves are falling.
Falling, falling,
Falling all around.

Whirling, whirling,
Autumn leaves are whirling
Whirling, whirling,
Whirling all around.

~ Author Unknown

AUTUMN WINDS
(Tune: Ring Around the Rosie)

Autumn winds begin to blow.
Colored leaves fall fast and slow.
Whirling, twirling all around,
Till at last they touch the ground.

~ Author Unknown

Ten Little Leaves
(Ten Little Indians)

1 little, 2 little, 3 little leaves,
4 little, 5 little, 6 little leaves,
7 little, 8 little, 9 little leaves,
Blow them all away. 
POOF!

~ Author Unknown

(another version of this poem also says "Whoosh!" at the end instead of "Poof!")

The leaves on the trees turn orange and red, orange and red, orange and red, 
the leaves on the trees turn orange and red, 
all through the fall. 

The leaves on the trees come tumbling down, 
tumbling down, tumbling down, 
the leaves on the trees come tumbling down, 
all through the fall.

The leaves on the ground so swish, swish, swish;
swish, swish, swish; swish, swish, swish.
The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish,
all through the fall.

~ Author Unknown

Leaf Sort:  Photocopy 3 - 6 different types of leaves in assorted colors onto construction paper.  Laminate and cut out.  (I photocopied my patterns out of a book and they were in a grid format.  This makes it easier to cut them out because you're not actually cutting around each leaf.  Basically you're just cutting the cards apart.)  Students can sort leaves by color or by leaf type.

The cards were copied from this resource book:

Learning Centers through the Year (Teacher Created Materials #059)

Real Leaf Sort:  Provide each student with a brown lunch bag.  Take them on a walk around campus and have them pick up leaves.  Once they're back into the classroom, have them sort the leaves into categories based on types.  Then let them choose one leaf of each type and glue them onto butcher paper.  If appropriate, have them label each type of leaf. 

Fall Tree Art Project:  Provide each student with a brown "bare" Ellison die-cut tree.  If you don't have this, you can either provide them with a photocopy of a tree trunk to color, or have them draw their own.  Glue the tree trunks onto the bottom of construction paper.  Students will fill in the top of the tree using small wads of brown, orange, yellow, and red tissue paper dipped in glue.  The tissue paper should be cut into about 1 inch squares prior to the activity. 

If you choose, you can fill in the tree with the students' fingerprints instead of the tissue paper.  Let them use each finger for one color of ink or paint.

Another version would have the students use a q-tip to make the leaves instead of their fingers.

And still another version would be for students to use their forearm and hand print to form the tree trunk.  You'd need to brush brown paint on the bottom of their arm and palm of their hand, then have them press them to the paper to form the tree trunk.

Fall Wreath:  Cut the center from a paper plate and glue multi-colored fall leaf die-cuts around the plate, overlapping them to cover all of the plate.  Add a raffia bow and a hanger to the back.

File Folder Activity:  Choose a summer time graphic or picture and one that depicts fall.  Glue each to the inside of a file folder turned vertically.  Have students sort provided pictures into the correct season.

If you choose, they can work on all 4 seasons using the pocketchart instead of a file folder.

An alternate activity would be to let them create their own patterns and then have them describe the type of pattern to you or create their own card for each pattern they create (cards would say AB, etc.)

Fall Patterns:  Use the activity above but provide die-cuts of leaves, pumpkins, corn, or anything that depicts fall.

Fall Hats:  Provide students with fall or leaf die-cuts and have them glue them onto sentence strips.  When dry, fit the sentence strips around their head and staple (but not to their head ;)  ).  If you prefer, you could even have them create a pattern using the die-cuts.

Graphing:  Pass a basket of multi-colored die-cut leaves (or even fall die-cuts) around to the students and have them choose one.  Once everyone has made a choice, graph what they chose making a pictograph with the die-cuts.

Comparing & Contrasting:  Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two types of leaves or a leaf and pine needle.

Writing Prompts: 

If I had a HUGE pile of leaves, I would ....

If I were a squirrel, I'd hide some nuts ....

The squirrel hid nuts for ...

The last leaf on the tree ...

When the weather turns cooler, I ...

Poems/Songs:  Be sure to add all the poems/songs you use to the students' Poetry Journals as well as to Song Charts or the pocketchart.  Don't miss the opportunity to use them to reinforce tracking left to right, one-to-one correspondence of words, phonics skills, and letter and sound identification.  Visit Literacy Connections for more information.

After several readings of the book Squirrels by Brian Wildsmith, have students help to create a facts chart about squirrels.  You could even enlarge a picture of a squirrel onto posterboard, laminate, and then use it for your chart.  By doing this, you can use the chart again from year to year.

Making Words:  Use a phrase of your choice, like "Fall Leaves" and have your students make new words from the letters. (See picture of this activity on the Literacy Connections page)  Some possibilities are:

Tasting:  If there are no nut allergies in your class, have a nut tasting party then graph everyone's favorites.

Weighing:  Use nuts to explore weight and balance scales.

Nut Sorting:  A good Center activity would be to provide a bag of mixed nuts and have students sort them according to type.  A good thing for them to sort them into are those green, plastic baskets that strawberries and blueberries come in.

Squirrels scurry,

Rabbits hurry,

Ants hide,

Food inside.

Woodland friends, everywhere.

For long winter,

Must prepare

And just in time

They pile away their stock -

All without benefit

Of calendar or clock!

~ Author Unknown

Leaf Mobiles:  Use different leaf die-cuts and multi-colored paper to make a leaf mobile. 

Leaf Rubbings:  Show your students how to place different types of leaves underneath a sheet of white paper to make leaf rubbings with the side of a crayon. 

Leaf Prints:  Use different types of leaves to make leaf stamps.  Press the leaves on to a stamp pad or into a very shallow pan of tempra paint.  Then press them onto paper to make leaf prints.

Resource Book:  Teacher's Helper Sept/Oct 1997

Autumn Addition (addition - 6)

Autumn Delight (addition - 5)

A Harvest of Good Work! (open)

Resource Book: Teacher's Helper Oct/Nov 2002

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf (fall patterning)

Fall Harvest Discussion: 

* What do farmers have to do before a harvest?

* Why do farmers make scarecrows?

* What do farmers do with the food after it's harvested?

* Why do people celebrate a good harvest?

* Does your family have a garden? Do you help plant it? What sort of things grow in your garden?

Resource Book: November Idea Book (Teacher's Friend Publications TF1100)

Harvest Activities

Window Painting:  Mix 1/2 C liquid starch with 1 C brown tempra paint and paint a tree onto your classroom window.  Use the same recipe with red, orange, and yellow to add leaves to the tree as well as some falling to the ground. 

Leaf Shapes:  Place red, yellow, orange, and brown crayon shavings on wax paper.  Top with another piece of wax paper.  Iron and cut into leaf shapes.  Hang in the window of your classroom.

Fall Foliage:  Supply students with several types of leaves copied onto red, yellow, brown, or orange construction paper.  Have them cut out the leaves and crumple them up.  Then have them spread them out and paint them using red, yellow, brown, and orange paint.  After they're dry, have them crumple them up and press them out flat again.  Add them to a bare tree shape or other fall art projects, or use as classroom decorations.

Resource Book: Falling Into Colors (Lasting Lessons)

Raking Leaves

I like to rake the leaves (raking motion with hands)

Into a great big hump (pretend to pile leaves)

Then I move back a bit

Bend my knees and jump!

~ Author Unknown

Have each student complete an acrostic poem using the word "FALL" on a piece of paper smaller than the construction paper they painted.  An acrostic poem is one where the chosen word is written vertically on the paper and each sentence must begin with that letter and must relate to the subject.  For instance ...

Falling leaves flutter down

A slight chill in the air

Lovely colors everywhere

Lonely scarecrows standing guard

~ Cindy Montgomery

Squirrel Facts:  Have each student either color a picture of a squirrel, draw a squirrel during a directed drawing lesson, or assemble a squirrel using provided pieces on a sheet of paper.  Then have them write one fact about a squirrel at the bottom of their paper.

Patterns: Use real nuts for pattern practice.

Nutty Counting:  Provide students with paperplates that have a fall die-cut glued to the center that has been programmed with a number.  They will count out the appropriate number of nuts to match the number on each plate.

Describing Words:  Fall is the perfect time to introduce/reinforce describing words.  Have students brainstorm words that describe the fall leaves and make a chart of the words.  Have students then use those words to help them to write describing sentences.

The same activity can be done for fall in general, the weather, etc.

Graphing Center:  Provide students with graph papers and different colors of die-cut leaves.  Have students sort the leaves by color and color in the correct number of spaces on their paper for each set (color) of leaves. 

Squirrellin' Around:  Help your students to improve their balance while having some fun.  Using masking tape, make a "telephone line" across your classroom floor or down the hallway.  Have your students pretend they are squirrels and walk along the line without falling off while holding a "nut".  (The nut can be anything that they have to hold with both hands, like a basketball.)  When they get proficient at this, then have them walk along the telephone line while being chased by another squirrel (another student) who wants their nut!

Cut two ears of corn from bubble-wrap (without the husks), then have the students take turns painting the bubble-wrap yellow and pressing it to pieces of white construction paper.  This should look like the kernels of corn on the cob.  Then provide two  husk shapes copied onto green construction paper to cut out.  Once the leaves are cut out, have them glue one to each side of the corn.

Leaves Are Falling

(tune: Jingle Bells)

Leaves are falling

Leaves are falling

One fell on my nose.

Leaves are falling

Leaves are falling

One fell on my toes.

Leaves are falling

Leaves are falling

One fell on my head.

Leaves are falling

Leaves are falling

Yellow, orange, and red.

~ Author Unknown

Five Little Leaves

Five little leaves up in the tree,

They're bright as can be.

Along came the wind,

And blew them all around.

And one little leaf fell to the ground.

Four little leaves ...

(Keep repeating the poem subtracting one each time.) 

~ Author Unknown

This could be used on a flannelboard as well.  Start with a bare brown tree trunk and 5 colored leaves.

Fall Is Here

(tune: The Farmer in the Dell)

The leaves are falling down.

The leaves are falling down.

Red and brown they flutter down.

The leaves are falling down.

The squirrels hide their nuts.

The squirrels hide their nuts.

They hide them away for a winter day.

The squirrels hide their nuts.

The children go to school.

The children go to school.

They learn and play through out the day.

The children go to school.

~ Author Unknown

Red leaves and yellow leaves,

Orange leaves and brown.

Leaves are dancing everywhere,

Happily dancing down.

~ Author Unknown

Gray Squirrel

Gray squirrel, gray squirrel,

Doesn't make a sound.

As he buries acorns

Under the ground.

Later, when it's cold

And food isn't around.

The gray squirrel will dig

His acorns from the ground.

~ Author Unknown

Fall Tree:  Paint a large brown tree trunk onto butcher or bulletin board paper.  Then have students stamp their handprints to form the leaves using fall colored paint.

Found a Pine Cone

(tune: Oh, My Darling Clementine)

Found a pine cone, found a pine cone,

Found a pine cone on the ground.

Oh, I'm so very lucky,

A pine cone to have found.

Picked it up, picked it up,

Picked up just like that.

Picked up that pretty pine cone,

Then I put it in my sack.

Found a pine cone, found a pine cone,

Found a pine cone on the ground.

Oh, I'm so very lucky,

A pine cone to have found.

~ Author Unknown

Fine Motor Trees:  Use brown playdough to form tree trunk flat on table or mat.  Then place small balls of fall colored dough around the tree top.  Squash balls flat to form "leaves".

Fall Counting:  Cut fall shapes using die-cuts.  Either program each shape with a number and another matching shape with the appropriate number of matching dots, or cut each shape in half.  If cutting them in half, program one half with the number and the matching half with the appropriate number of dots to match the number.

Leafy Art:  Tape leaves to white paper.  Using a sponge bottlewasher, dab fall colored paint totally covering white paper.  When the paint is dry, remove the leaves to see white leaves surrounded by fabulous fall colors.

Harvest Time

(tune: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)

Harvest time is here again.

In the garden we must dig.

Carrots, radishes, onions, too,

All so fresh and yummy, too.

Harvest time is here again.

Won't be long till you know when!! (Thanksgiving)

~ Author Unknown

Rhyming: Program leaves or other fall die-cuts with rhyming words.  Laminate.  Have students match the rhyming words.  This works well for any type matching skill.

Beginning Sounds:  Make a fall tree workmat for each sound.  This could be done by drawing a tree trunk on light blue construction paper and coloring it with a brown marker.  Then use the sponge bottlewasher to add fall colored leaves.  Program the tree trunk with a letter.  Add pictures that begin with the same sound to die-cut acorns.  Laminate all.  The students sort the pictures/acorns to the appropriate trees/sounds.

Resource Book:  Teacher's Helper Aug/Sept 2001

Rake Five! (counting game)

Fabulous Fall Journal (writing prompts)

Resource Book: The Best of Teacher's Helper* Seasonal & Holiday Activities (TEC1478)

Candy Corn Counting (Counting to 5)

Candy Corn Patterning

Graphing Fall Leaves

Funny Fall (fall booklet)

Fall Page Topper

Fall Is Here (booklet)

Kitties In The Leaves (visual discrimination)

Fall "FUN-tasy" (classification)

Resource Book: The Mailbox* Kindergarten Oct/Nov 1997

Nuts To Counting!

Resource Book: The Mailbox* Kindergarten Oct/Nov 1998

"My Book of Leaves"

The Colors of Fall (graphing)

Resource Book: Teacher's Helper* Oct/Nov 2000

Bring in the Harvest (sets/more)

Autumn Journal (prompts)

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf (classification)

Leaf Sorting (classification)

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf (story starter)

All About a Leaf (leaf observation)

Maple Tree Seasons (story sequence)

Let's Investigate (collecting data)

The Seasons of a Tree (booklet)

Resource Book: Teacher's Helper* Sept/Oct 1998

Fall Lineup (patterning)

Resource Book: Teacher's Helper* Oct/Nov 2001

Fall on the Farm (booklet)

Resource Book: Teacher's Helper* Sept/Oct 1999

A Crop To Crow About (letter recognition)

Fall Fun (matching uppercase/lowercase)

Leaf Leaping (matching uppercase/lowercase)

Crunchy To The Core (letter recognition)

The Treetop Tango (visual discrimination)

A Squirrel Song (Gray Squirrel song stretcher)

Resource Book: Teacher's Helper* Grade 1 Sept/Oct 1992

Acorn Collection (initial consonants b,r,s,f,l)

Fall Leaves Falling (initial consonants y,v,n,k,j)

Football Fling (initial consonants h,d,t,z,q)

Autumn Leaves (open)

Resource Book: SCHOOLDAYS* Nov/Dec/Jan 1990 - 91

Harvest Patterns (patterns)

Resource Book: SCHOOLDAYS* Sept/Oct 1986

We're Nuts About School (writing page)

Fall Stationary page

The leaves are falling,

One by one.

Summer's over,

School's begun.

~ Author Unknown

Resource Book: Teacher's Friend* October

Autumn Leaves (fall patterns)

Even if you don't have an archive for all the past Mailbox magazines like we do at our school, if you have a subscription, go and check out the online extensions for each of the magazines that are listed.  You'll find a wealth of printables and other valuable activities at The Mailbox Companion.com.

Give each person a detergent cup that has a small branch that has lots of little branches off of it (resembles a small tree that way) stuck into the cup with playdough.  Put pieces of crumbled tissue paper on the branches and turn it into a mini 3-d fall tree.

Use the water table to predict, experiment and record to see if an acorn will sink or float, a milkweed pod, pine cone number 1, 2, 3 (all different kinds of pine cones), maple seed wings, etc.

Use tweezers to pluck the kernels from Indian corn. The kids love this activity-and it can get expensive. But you can get a lot of mileage from the corn kernels after they are plucked-sorting, patterning, gluing them on toilet paper tube napkin rings, etc.

Use an egg carton for a seed sampler (like a Whitman candy sampler). Put a picture of a pumpkin in the lid of the carton and a pumpkin seed in the first egg cup. Next a picture of an oak tree in the lid and an acorn in the second egg cup. Sunflower picture in the lid and a sunflower seed in the third egg cup. You can use stickers or tiny black and white reproducibles for the picture source.

Similar idea-make an accordion book and draw a pumpkin on the first page and put a pumpkin seed near it.

When using poems in pocketcharts, put a reduced picture of a "squirrel" above the word squirrel. Then on the cards for matching text, put a larger picture of the same squirrel on one side of the sentence strip and the word squirrel on the back of the same strip. For the children who are at the picture matching level they can match the squirrel pictures-but are still exposed to print from the lines in the rhyme. For the children who would be matching the word squirrel to the word squirrel, they can turn the sentence strip over and see the picture of the squirrel. In the case of color words, put a "scribble" or orange on one side of the card and the color word orange on the other side of the card.

Up in the Treetops
(Tune: Up on the Housetop)

Up on the treetops, I see leaves! (Hold leaf high above head)
They are swaying in the breeze. (Sway back and forth)
First they are green, but when it turns cold, (show green side of leaf)
They change to red and orange and gold. (show fall color side)
Go, go, go! Where did they go? (put leaf behind back)
Ho, ho, ho! Don’t you know? (Look left and right)
That’s when the wind blows—swish, swish, swish. (Slowly swirl leaf above head)
And they come floating down like this! (slowly lower leaf to floor)

~ Author Unknown

Math Counting Mat: If I've already added this idea (minus the picture) I couldn't find it. :)  Cut a bare tree trunk using the Ellison machine and glue onto construction paper.  Program with a number and laminate.  Students count the appropriate number of silk flowers onto the mat.  I purchased two bags of leaves, each containing 88 leaves, at Wal-Mart.

(click on image to enlarge)

Writing Simple Sentence Activity Sheet

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Falling Leaf Effect

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No Right Click Script by

Dynamic Drive

10/12/02

last updated 10.24.10