10 Favorite Fall Read Alouds & Engaging Leaf Activities For Your Elementary Classroom
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10 Favorite Fall Read Alouds & Engaging Leaf Activities for Your Elementary Classroom
As the leaves turn vibrant colors and the temperatures begin to drastically drop, fall is the perfect time to shift things in your elementary classroom to keep students engaged and eager to learn. Use these 10 favorite fall read alouds and engaging leaf activities to get your students engaged in learning!
Why Use Themed Read Alouds with Students
Before diving head first into the list of favorite fall books for your classroom library, let’s explore why you should really use themed books in your early elementary classroom.
There are so many benefits of using themed read alouds with students:
- Help captivate students’ imagination
- Introduce new vocabulary
- Foster love of learning
- Help students make connections
- Enhance comprehension skills
- Encourage critical thinking
- Promote active participation
- Increase speaking skills in students
All of these reasons (and more!) are more than enough to incorporate themed books in your lessons this fall!
Don’t fret about the time it will take to find these books– your list of high-quality fall read alouds is covered!
10 Favorite Fall Read Alouds for Your Classroom
These 10 books are perfect for introducing students to some fall fun:
- Leaves by David Ezra Stein
- The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming
- Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson
- A Very Big Fall by Emmy Kastner
- Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
- Awesome Autumn by Bruce Goldstone
- In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes
- The Very Last Leaf by Stef Wade
- Fall Mixed Up by Robert Raczka
- We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steven Metzger
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1. Leaves
This sweet book by David Ezra Stein is the perfect way to introduce children to the wonder of the changing seasons. It is the young bear’s first fall and he is confused by the falling leaves. He tries to put them back on the trees, but when he is unable to, he ends up getting sleepy and snuggling in for a long nap. He awakens in spring to find his surroundings have drastically changed.
2. The Leaf Thief
This silly book by Alice Hemming will easily become a classroom favorite for sure! Squirrel loves counting the leaves on his tree, but chaos ensues when he finds that one of his leaves is missing. Squirrel enlists his good friend Bird to help him search for which of their forest friends could possibly be the leaf thief.
3. Fletcher and the Falling Leaves
This heartwarming book by Julia Rawlinson is sure to bring out all the feelings of empathy and wonder in your students. Fletcher the fox becomes very worried when the leaves begin falling from his favorite tree. This is another great introduction to the changing of the seasons.
4. A Very Big Fall
This fun book by Emmy Kastner is one your students will want to hear again and again. Three adorable autumn leaves discover through this story that change can be scary, but also exciting and fun at the same time.
5. Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn
In this book by Kenard Pak, a young girl greets all the signs of the coming new season in this beautiful book by Kenard Pak. The child takes a walk through the forest and the town having conversations with all of nature’s key players as she says goodbye to summer and welcomes fall.
6. Awesome Autumn
This informational book by Bruce Goldstone is definitely one that your students will want to look at again and again. Beautiful photography brings autumn to life, while the text does a great job of explaining all the amazing things that happen when autumn rolls around.
7. In the Middle of Fall
Poetic text and beautiful illustrations make this book by Kevin Henkes a must-have for your classroom library. It perfectly captures the sights and feelings of the changing of seasons between fall and winter. This book is part of a series of seasonal books by Kevin Henkes.
8. The Very Last Leaf
This funny and encouraging picture book by Stef Wade is going to quickly become a favorite in your classroom! The author addresses social and emotional struggles that kids face every day like feeling anxious, wanting to be perfect, and facing fears in a way that is very endearing to children. Lance Cottonwood is a leaf ready to face his final exam…falling to the ground, but Lance has a problem, he has a fear of falling.
9. Fall Mixed Up
This silly book by Robert Raczka is sure to bring out the belly laughs in your students as they race to point out the mistakes in both the text and the illustrations. The author has purposely made a mixed-up mess of several fall scenarios to keep children on their toes and using their best critical thinking skills!
10. We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt
In this fun action-packed story by Steven Metzger, three friends go on a leaf-finding adventure hiking over a mountain and through the forest to collect leaves of all kinds and colors. Your students will love to get up and moving to this rhyming, sing-song text, as they pretend to go on their own leaf hunt.
Leaf Activities to Accompany These Fall Read Alouds
After reading a few favorite fall read alouds together, jump into some fun leaf activities!
WHAT WE KNOW CHARTS
Begin your study of fall by getting all of your students on the same page.
It’s important to activate their prior knowledge and tap into their experiences. This helps you know where you need to begin with your lessons, what new knowledge you need to include, and even what kind of vocabulary or language you may need to review or teach so that the students can better understand the topic.
Do this by creating “What We Know” charts with your students.
Create two charts: “What We Know About Summer “ and “What We Know About Fall”.
On two separate days, work together to fill in the charts. Encourage students to draw upon prior knowledge and experiences.
LEAF DISCOVERY STATION
Set up a Leaf Discovery Station for your students to engage in independent exploration and learning!
Collect lots of different autumn leaves– including a variety of sizes, shapes, kinds, and colors.
Place them in a large bin on the table so that the students can easily get to them.
LEAF OBSERVATION
Provide opportunities for students to make close observations of different types of leaves.
Put out a stack of trays for students to use as portable workspaces, several different shapes of leaves, and different sizes of magnifying glasses so students can look closely at the leaves.
LEAF SORTING
Practice sorting skills with different leaves.
Put out a stack of baskets for students to sort the leaves into different groups.
LEAF IDENTIFICATION
Help students identify different leaf types by looking at various nonfiction books that provide clear photos. Provide clear descriptions to help students to identify different leaves.
The book Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins is a great book for leaf identification!
LEAF MEASURING
Help students practice early math skills. Lay out different objects for students to measure the leaves with.
LEAF RUBBINGS
Create unique leaf rubbings with your students!
How To:
- Lay a few leaves on a smooth flat surface.
- Put a sheet of white paper over your leaves.
- Using the side of a crayon, rub gently over your paper and leaves.
- Watch the outlines and vein lines of your leaves appear on your paper.
First thing first– model how to do this activity so that students can be successful at their attempts.
Then, put out a stack of plain white paper and some crayons with the paper peeled off so that students can further explore the leaves by creating leaf rubbings.
LEAF SCAVENGER HUNT
After you have read a few of the fall read alouds and the students have had a chance to visit the Leaf Discovery Station, engage your students in some fun fall movement and critical thinking while you go on Fall Leaves Scavenger Hunt together!
Give each student a paper bag with the list of leaves you are hunting for attached to it.
Go over the list together before you head out on your hunt.
As you are walking, do your best to point out the kinds of leaves you need when you come across them so that all the children will be successful in the hunt.
PRO TEACHER TIP: You can also gather multiple leaves that match each category just in case there is a child who is unable to find a few on the list!
Once you return from your leaf scavenger hunt, have your students go through their bags and glue or tape their leaves into booklets to celebrate their hard work!
*If you do not have a good area near your school where you can take your students to search for leaves, you can also assign this scavenger hunt as a homework assignment.
Create your own Leaf Scavenger Hunt Activity pages or use this Scavenger Hunt Activity Book!
Fall is a magical season full of opportunities to engage little minds. Use these fall read alouds with companion activities to create memorable experiences, increase vocabulary and speaking skills, and foster a love of reading!
Happy Reading!
Let me know if you have any questions about anything you see here. Don’t forget to pin this post to refer to it later!
Other posts you may enjoy:
Fun Fall Crafts for Little Learners
8 Best Brain Building Toys to Make Indoor Recess Engaging and Fun
Flashlight Fridays: Not Just for Fun and Games!
MAKE COMPREHENSION INTERACTIVE AND FUN!
Retelling Bookmarks
This FREEBIE is going to change the way your students spend their “after reading” time!
Diane Romo
Thank you for being here! I love sharing ideas with other teachers! If you are looking to enhance your teaching and build a positive classroom community, you have come to the right place!
