Lesson Plan: Plonk! It Is Autumn!

A guide for using our resources

Children will identify things that fall off trees in autumn.

Vocabulary: blossom, gather, scatter

Science Focus: seasonal changes, plant life cycle

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

• Plonk! An acorn falls on Chicken Little’s head. Is the sky falling? This classic tale is a perfect companion to the issue.

• Collect items from a tree such as acorns, pine cones, leaves, sticks, and so on. Put them in a paper bag.
• Before reading, pull the items out one at a time. Let kids explore them and make a list of their names. What do they all have in common? (They come from trees.)

• A is for apple! Together, find and circle each word in the issue that starts with a. You can use different color markers for uppercase and lowercase a’s.

Skill: investigating and observing

Materials: apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, blender

• Turn snack time into science time with two super-easy apple snacks!
• For air-dried apple slices, core and slice apples to make rings. Thread the slices on strings, leaving space between each slice. Hang horizontally in a dry spot until the slices dry out and get chewy (this may take up to a few days, depending on the environment). Let kids observe the changes as the apples dry, and then have the dried apples for snack!
• For no-cook applesauce, peel, core, and chop 12 apples. Put them in a blender with 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup water, 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Blend until smooth and enjoy!