Autumn brings cooler temperatures, falling leaves, apples, and football! Get free lessons from Evan-Moor resources that feature symbols of the season, including apple art and cooking activities, an apple shape book, a football player drawing and writing activity, an apple math activity, and a science unit about why leaves change color in the fall. These classroom activities are perfect for September and October.
From My Farm to Your House: Art and Cooking Activities
This unit provides directions and patterns for making a paper apple that shows the interior of the fruit with seeds, plus how to turn apples into applesauce. Recipe included! From Early Childhood Thematic Series: All About the Farm
Grades PreK–K
Apple Shape Book
The unit includes reproducible forms in the shape of an apple, plus directions for students writing at three levels, a short poem about apples, and literature connections. From The Ultimate Shape Book
Grades K–2
Johnny Appleseed and Apples
Included in this activity are a minibook about Johnny Appleseed, a math activity about adding numbers of apples, and a four-part sequencing activity about making an apple pie. From Seasonal Activities
Grades 1–2
Why Do Leaves Change Color in the Fall?
This daily science unit presents five activities in which students learn how chlorophyll and photosynthesis help plants make food and that leaves change color as chlorophyll disappears in winter. From Daily Science
Grade 3
An Apple a Day Writing Prompt
Students taste an apple and write words or phrases that describe how the apple looks, smells, tastes, feels, and sounds. Then students are encouraged to use some of the words in a poem frame and create a poem about apples. From Giant Write Every Day
Grades 3–6
Football Player (Draw Then Write)
This creative drawing and writing unit provides simple steps for students to draw a football player and then write a paragraph or story. The unit includes story prompts on multiple levels of difficulty. From Draw…Then Write
Grades 3–6
Additional Writing Ideas
Use these story starters and titles from Giant Write Every Day to add an autumn flair to daily writing prompts.
Story starters:
- The best thing about fall is…
- Pretend you are a leaf on a tall tree. Describe what happens to you when autumn comes. Tell how you change and how you feel.
- Think of some interesting ways to use colorful fall leaves.
- One crisp fall morning, I decided to take a stroll in the woods. I had no way of knowing that…
Titles:
- How Fall Got Its Name
- How to Climb a Tree
- Why Leaves Change Their Colors (invent a legend)
- The Year the Leaves Turned Purple
- In the Squirrel’s Nest
For more ideas, see these blogs: How Watching Football with Your Child Can Be Educational and Apple Taste Test.
What are your favorite classroom activities to celebrate the fall season? Please share!
Theresa Wooler has more than 10 years’ experience in K–6 classrooms as a parent volunteer and homeschool educator, has taught high school English, and is currently involved in education through Evan-Moor’s marketing communications team.