The leaves are falling, the temperatures are cooling, and the season to be thankful is here! Honestly, this is such a refreshing time of the year. Children can still go outside with hats and coats while embarking on so many family celebrations during this festive season. So, it is crucial to incorporate this happiness in the classroom. Whether students are listening to seasonal books or writing about seasonal connections, there are so many options. I love to explore the poetry of falling leaves during this time. It is an amazing way for students to explore nature through essential reading and writing standards.
First-Hand Experiences
Honestly, it is so helpful for students to have first-hand experiences when working on their writing. If they get to experience it first, they can use their senses to support their thinking. Children explore the school grounds, gather leaves, and look for signs of the season. Returning to the classroom, they are immersed in literature, poems, and songs. With leaves in hand, the children experience the cycle of nature again through drama.
Listening to Stories
Another great way to bring excitement to learning involves reading fiction and nonfiction about the selected topic. This is a fantastic way to build background information and teach students about rich vocabulary. Additionally, it helps students visualize the topic. Thankfully, there are so many unique ways to explore the poetry of falling leaves.
- Leaves Are Falling, Nellie Edge
- Like a Leaf or a Feather, anonymous
- Leaves Fall Down, Margaret Wise Brown
- Who Has Seen The Wind? Christina Rosetti
Acting Out the Poem
Children need to move throughout the day! So, teachers can combine movement while students explore the poetry of falling leaves. Students will focus on memorizing, reciting, and performing a poem to do this. I love to use Leaves Are Falling. As a class, we discuss what leaves do during fall and how their colors change. We also practice reading the poem together. This includes where we pause and the pace we read.
After comfortable doing this, we move to our carpet and put actions into the song. Honestly, this is so much fun! We practice multiple times and then have a final performance as a class. This is a fantastic way to bring so much learning to the classroom.
Home-to-School Connections
Meaningful “parents as partners” connections encourage families to take walks with
their children and collect leaves. The leaves are pressed and returned to school for science, drama, and art explorations. Students can even illustrate their new poems about leaves. When the child brings home their Poetry (“I Can Read”) Notebooks featuring poems about leaves, the parent and child can celebrate together. They can talk about the rich language of fall while sitting outside to enjoy nature.
Fall is such a special time of the year. Thankfully, there are amazing ways that students can explore the poetry of falling leaves. They will have so much fun going outside to explore nature and bringing their learning back to the classroom.
