It may not yet feel like it in my neck of the woods, but fall has officially arrived. As we wait for the crisp autumn air to settle in and the leaves to *hopefully* change color this October, I thought I would bring you 3 FREE fall reading activities and fall books that you can use in your elementary classroom to celebrate reading this season!
Disclosure: Affiliate links have been used in this post but I only share items I use and enjoy!
Let’s kick things off with a fall story retelling activity.
Throughout the year, students will practice the important reading comprehension skill of identifying story structure and retelling the important parts of a story. Because this is often spiraled through the year as students understand more and more story elements, it’s important to present the concept in new and exciting ways so students stay engaged.
Candy corn is the perfect way to do that in the fall. Not only is it a fun representation of the season, but since candy corn naturally has three parts, it’s perfect for defining the Beginning, Middle, and End of a story!
Expert tip: Choose a book with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Sylvie by Jean Reidy is a great option along with a few others from my favorite fall picture books list. As you are reading the story, stop to discuss each part of the book and the important events in that section of the story. After reading, students write or draw the events from the story.
Bonus Tip: Bring candy corn to taste-test during this activity! You can have students snack on candy corn while retelling the story to a classmate.
Now let’s FALL right into reading activities for nonfiction skills. Owls are fascinating creatures to study and read about in picture books. Let me give you three owl facts that your students will HOOT about!
Interesting facts like those are what will make this owl activity a winner in the classroom! After reading an informational book, students can create an owl craft to highlight interesting facts learned about these fascinating creatures.
Expert Tip: Choose a book that covers various aspects of owls, such as their diet, habitat, and physical characteristics. This will give students a lot of information to work with! Owls by Gail Gibbons is a great option.
We’ve retold a story and presented information learned about owls, now let’s dig into fall research. Fall lends itself really well to student-led research in the classroom. There are so many interesting topics such as spiders, bats, owls, pumpkins, nocturnal animals, and more!
This research activity promotes research skills and independent learning while providing a structured organization for students to follow. Students will use a booklet to document everything they’ve learned on a fall topic.
Expert Tip: Present several fall-related topics to the students. In the free download, you will find multiple sources to choose from. Allow students to choose their research focus to give them more ownership over their work. Once students have researched and compiled their information into a booklet, allow students to share their findings with a friend.
Hey, y’all! My name is Amy Lemons and I am passionate about providing students with both engaging and effective standards-based Math and ELA lessons.
Sample a day of Rooted in Reading with these lesson plans and activities for Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, and Grammar!
2 Responses
This is such a valuable post, thanks for putting it together.
This is exactly what I needed to know—great job.