PAPER SACK TREE

Here's a simple craft activity that you can tie into science (seasons), reading (letters and word families), and writing. It's good for small motor skills and can be adapted to different age levels and skills.

Directions: Tear or cut 3 or 4 strips half way down from the top of the bag as shown. (You might want to draw these lines for younger children.) Open the bag and twist in the middle to make a tree.

Seasonal Trees
*Tear red, yellow, and orange scrap paper and glue them on the strips to make an autumn tree.

*Pink and white tissue paper can be waded up to make blossoms on a spring tree.

*Use Q-tips to paint white snow for a winter tree.

*What fruits and nuts grow on trees? Let children make their favorite fruit tree.



Letter Tree
*Write letters (or use letter stickers) to make a "chicka chicka boom boom boom" tree.

Word Family Tree
Have children choose a rime and then write all the words they can think of that end with that sound.
*This would be a great partner project.




Word Tree
Children can write sight words, vocabulary words or spelling words on their tree branches.
*Wouldn't this be a more fun way to have children practice writing and reading words than with a worksheet?

Numbers Bonds
Children can choose a number and then write different ways to make the number on the branches.

Family Tree
*Let children make a family tree by writing names of family members on their tree.

Spooky Old Tree

Twist the strips of paper as shown to make a spooky tree. Let children cut bats, cats, and other spooky things to go on their tree.

*Use these trees to prompt descriptive writing or poems.

Fall Centerpiece

If you're entertaining this fall here's a centerpiece will get rave reviews. All you need is a large paper grocery sack. Wad and crush the sack until it is soft and pliable. Next, make a large tree using the same process you did with the lunch bag. Use fake leaves, small pumpkins, and other seasonal objects to decorate your tree. Taaa daaa!!

LEAF LABS

Take advantage of the science lab on your playground with these leaf activities.

Leaf Hunt
Give each child a lunch sack and let them collect 2 or 3 leaves from the ground. Bring these back in the classroom and sort by shape, color, etc. You could also graph the leaves by shape. (Whenever you collect items outside emphasize the importance of taking things from the ground. Return the objects to where you found them after exploring with them in the classroom.)

Science Center
Let children investigate leaves in the science center with a magnifying glass or microscope. Ask children to draw the enlarged leaf.

Hint! You can also take a photo of a leaf with your phone and enlarge it to show the veins and details.

Research
Check out a leaf identification book from the library. Can children match up their leaves with those in the book to identify which tree they came from?

Leaf Rubbings
Lay a sheet of paper on top of a leaf. Remove the paper from an old crayon and rub the side over the leaf to make a print.Hint! Use rubber cement to glue the leaf to the table. It will be easier for the children to make a rubbing, and you can just rub off the rubber cement after the activity.

Leaf Book
Let each child find a "favorite" leaf. To preserve, place the leaf in a sheet of newspaper and put a book on top overnight. Place the leaf in a zip baggie. Encourage children to dictate or write a sentence about their leaf. 

*Put several baggies together to make a book.

I Wonder Why?
Brainstorm why leaves turn colors and fall off trees in the fall. Have children go home and do a little research with their parents and report results in class the following day.

Deciduous Trees (Sandra Kelley)
Tune: "Do Your Ears Hang Low?"
Do your leaves fall down?
Do they tumble to the ground?
Do you lose your leaves in the fall?
Then you are deciduous that we know
because in the fall your leaves all go!

*What's the difference between deciduous trees and evergreen trees? Take a nature walk and ask children to identify both types of trees.

IT'S FALL Y'ALL!

Fall, fall, the best season of all!

Pumpkins, leaves, and fun football!

Leaves Are Falling
(Tune: “Where Is Thumbkin?”)
Leaves are falling (Echo song. Children repeat each line.)
Leaves are falling (Flutter fingers down.)
To the ground. (Touch the ground.)
To the ground.
Red, orange, and yellow (Flutter fingers.)
Red, orange, and yellow
Falling down. (Touch the ground.)
Falling down.

*Let children dramatize being leaves and dancing in the wind. As the song ends they fall quietly to the ground.

*What happens to leaves after they fall from the trees? Later in the fall when there are lots of leaves on the ground demonstrate how to pick up a handful of leaves and crumple them in your hands. Explain how those leaves will decay and turn into soil.

Fall
Why do you think they call this season “fall”? What’s another name for fall?
What season comes before fall? What season comes after fall? Fall is a cool off time between hot summer and cold winter.

Signs of Fall
Brainstorm signs of fall and write them on the board. What kind of clothes do we wear in fall? What’s the weather like in the fall? Are there any special seasonal foods we eat? What kind of sports are popular in fall? What holidays do we celebrate in the fall? What do animals do to get ready for winter? What do plants do in the fall?

*Let children make an attribute web and label it with pictures or words of things that remind them of fall. Older children can do this as a writing assignment, but for younger children this can be an opportunity for the teacher to model writing and develop vocabulary.

Nature Walk

Go on a nature walk and look for signs of fall. Provide children with tablets, paper, and pencils so they can record their “observations” on the walk.

I Like Autumn Language Experience Chart
Let children dictate sentences about why they like autumn. Older children could write their own original stories about, “Fall, Fall, Best of All!”

Acrostic Poem
Write the words “fall” or “autumn” vertically down the side of a sheet of paper. Children think of a word that starts with each letter that relates to fall.

"SCARED" OF VOCABULARY?

When teaching vocabulary to children, experts suggest using interesting words and building bridges between children’s experiences and words. What a perfect time of year to enrich children’s vocabulary with “spooktacular” and “bootiful” words.
Note! These activities can be used for Halloween words, Thanksgiving words, autumn words, or any unit of study.

Brainstorm
Brainstorm “spooky” words, Halloween words, or other seasonal words. How many words can they come up with? Write them on the board as children call them out.
*Older children could brainstorm as a small group activity.

Dramatize Words
Call out nouns or adjectives like “skeleton,” “mummy,” “spooky,” “haunted,” for the children to dramatize. Encourage them to use their faces, hands, and whole bodies.

Pantomime
Write seasonal words on index cards and put them in a sack. Children choose a word and pantomime while their friends try to guess.

Seasonal Alphabet
Write the letters of the alphabet on a sheet of paper. Can they think of a seasonal word for each letter? Example: A - apples, B – bats, C – candy, D – Dracula…

Picture Words
Challenge children to turn words into pictures they represent.



Grow a Sentence
Write a simple sentence on the board. Can children add words to the sentence to make it grow?
I see a pumpkin.
I see a big pumpkin.
I see a great big enormous pumpkin.
I see a great big orange enormous pumpkin.
I see a great big orange enormous pumpkin on the porch.
I see a great big orange enormous pumpkin on the front porch.
I see a great big orange enormous pumpkin on the front porch smiling….

Build a Pumpkin
This is similar to hangman, but you will be drawing a pumpkin, which is much happier than a noose! Put blanks on the board for the number of letters in a word. As children call out letters write them on the appropriate place on the line. If the letters are not in the word make a “bone pile.” For each letter you put in the bone pile draw part of a jack-o-lantern. Start with the pumpkin shape. Add a stem. Add a mouth, nose, eyes, etc.

 

Special Edition of Fall Jokes and Riddles for you today!

 https://bit.ly/drjeanFallJokes2023 

TREERIFIC IDEAS

Here's a simple craft activity that you can tie into science (seasons), reading (letters and word families), and writing. It's good for small motor skills as well as cutting.

Directions: Tear or cut 3 or 4 strips half way down from the top of the bag as shown. (You might want to draw these lines for younger children.) Open the bag and twist in the middle to make a tree.

Seasonal Trees
*Tear red, yellow, and orange scrap paper and glue them on the strips to make an autumn tree.
*Pink and white tissue paper can be waded up to make blossoms on a spring tree.*What fruits and nuts grow on trees? Let children make their favorite fruit tree.

Letter Tree
*Write letters (or use letter stickers) to make a "chicka chicka boom boom boom" tree.
*Make a word family tree by writing all the words they can make from a specific rime.

Family Tree
*Let children make a family tree by writing names of family members on their tree.

Spooky Old Tree

Twist the strips of paper as shown to make a spooky tree. Let children cut bats, cats, and other spooky things to go on their tree.

Hint!  Use these trees to prompt descriptive writing or poems.

Fall Centerpiece

If you're entertaining this fall here's a centerpiece will get rave reviews. All you need is a large paper grocery sack. Wad and crush the sack until it is soft and pliable. Next, make a large tree using the same process you did with the lunch bag. Use silk leaves, small pumpkins, and other seasonal objects to decorate your tree. Taaa daaa!!

READY FOR WINTER?

December 21st is known as the winter solstice or the first day of winter. It is the shortest day and longest night of the year. Although your students will probably have sugar plums dancing in their heads this week, you might want to add a touch of science to your lesson plans with these ideas.

Science 

Ask your students what causes winter. (Accept their answers without judging.) Have one child pretend to be the sun and stand in the middle of the circle. Use a globe to demonstrate how the earth rotates around the sun. It takes 365 days or one year for the earth to go all around the sun. Demonstrate how the earth tilts on its axis away from the sun to cause winter. Why? What happens when the earth tilts toward the sun? 

Signs of Winter 

Brainstorm signs of winter. What happens to the temperature in winter? What happens to the plants? What happens to animals?


Vocabulary 

Make an attribute web of winter words. Include winter clothing, sports, holidays, etc.




Animals Adapt 

How do animals adapt in the winter? What animals hibernate?
What animals migrate?  How do human beings adapt?

Habitats 

Some habitats are very cold in the winter with ice and snow. Other habitats are warmer in the winter. Use a map of the United States and have children identify their state. Do they have ice and snow in the winter? Can they find a state where it’s warm and sunny in the winter? What do they think causes the difference?

Internet Search

Visit a weather site, such as weather.gov, to compare regional weather.

Nature Walk 

Go on a nature walk and look for signs of winter. Let each child take a digital photograph of a sign of winter. Put these together to make a class collage.



Trees 

Explain that evergreen trees stay green all winter. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in the winter. Can they find evergreen and deciduous trees on the playground? Can they find them in their yard at home?

Make a Book

Staple two sheets of paper and let children use descriptive writing to make a book called “Winter Is…”

Creative Writing 

Invite children to write a story about “Old Man Winter.” I found this great writing paper free at www.teach-nology.com.

Read a Book 

What’s your favorite winter book to read to your class?

Wishing you happy winter days!!!

"TREE" RIFIC IDEAS

Here's a simple craft activity that you can tie into science (seasons), reading (letters and word families), and writing. It's good for small motor skills as well as cutting.

Directions: Tear or cut 3 or 4 strips half way down from the top of the bag as shown. (You might want to draw these lines for younger children.) Open the bag and twist in the middle to make a tree.

Seasonal Trees
*Tear red, yellow, and orange scrap paper and glue them on the strips to make an autumn tree.
*Pink and white tissue paper can be waded up to make blossoms on a spring tree.*What fruits and nuts grow on trees? Let children make their favorite fruit tree.

Letter Tree
*Write letters (or use letter stickers) to make a "chicka chicka boom boom boom" tree.
*Make a word family tree by writing all the words they can make from a specific rime.

Family Tree
*Let children make a family tree by writing names of family members on their tree.


Spooky Old Tree

Twist the strips of paper as shown to make a spooky tree. Let children cut bats, cats, and other spooky things to go on their tree.

*Use these trees to prompt descriptive writing or poems.


Fall Centerpiece

If you're entertaining this fall here's a centerpiece will get rave reviews. All you need is a large paper grocery sack. Wad and crush the sack until it is soft and pliable. Next, make a large tree using the same process you did with the lunch bag. Use silk leaves, small pumpkins, and other seasonal objects to decorate your tree. Taaa daaa!!

"TREE" RIFIC FALL CRAFT

Here's a simple craft activity that you can tie into science (seasons), reading (letters and word families), and writing. It's good for small motor skills as well as cutting.

Directions: Tear or cut 3 or 4 strips half way down from the top of the bag as shown. (You might want to draw these lines for younger children.) Open the bag and twist in the middle to make a tree.
                                                   

Seasonal Trees
*Tear red, yellow, and orange scrap paper and glue them on the strips to make an autumn tree.
*Pink and white tissue paper can be waded up to make blossoms on a spring tree.*What fruits and nuts grow on trees? Let children make their favorite fruit tree.

Letter Tree
*Write letters (or use letter stickers) to make a "chicka chicka boom boom boom" tree.
*Make a word family tree by writing all the words they can make from a specific rime.

                                          
Family Tree
*Let children make a family tree by writing names of family members on their tree.


Spooky Old Tree

Twist the strips of paper as shown to make a spooky tree. Let children cut bats, cats, and other spooky things to go on their tree.

*Use these trees to prompt descriptive writing or poems.


Fall Centerpiece
                                  

I'm not sure I'll be "entertaining" this fall, but here's a decoration that I will enjoy just the same.  All you need is a large paper grocery sack. Wad and crush the sack until it is soft and pliable. Next, make a large tree using the same process you did with the lunch bag. Use silk leaves, small pumpkins, and other seasonal objects to decorate your tree. Taaa daaa!!