Fall is a favorite season for many reasons. Mostly pumpkins and sweater weather, but also because teaching can be tons of fun during the fall. There are many fall science activities and topics that can be covered during this season. Check out a few fall science experiments and ideas I have compiled for you to implement into your primary classrooms!
Fall Science Activities Topic #1: Apple Life Cycles
Teaching the apple life cycle is very tricky for primary students because they can’t see the actual cycle happen firsthand. With technology and informational texts, though, we can help students understand apple life cycles.
Start by collecting prior knowledge with this freebie (link below). It comes with an apple life cycle header, pumpkin life cycle header, and changing leaves header. You can gather their prior knowledge before starting this unit.
Next, bring in literature and nonfiction text to help them learn these new science topics. This book is called Fall Apples: Crisp and Juicy. It’s a Cloverleaf book, which is my absolute favorite! Here is my affiliate link for this book from Amazon! Also shown in the picture is a life cycle cut and paste activity, which is included in my Fall Life Cycles science unit.
Topic #2: Pumpkin Life Cycles
Just like with apple life cycles, pumpkin life cycles are tricky to teach because the students can’t actually see the process of a pumpkin move from seed to pumpkin. So technology, reading passages, and other activities will help them grasp that knowledge.
Start with a KWL chart for the pumpkin life cycle, too! This anchor chart header is a freebie for you! Gather up your student’s prior knowledge of pumpkin life cycles and what they’d like to learn throughout this unit. Leave the “learned” column empty to come back to later!
Pumpkin Circle is one of my favorite texts to use when teaching the pumpkin life cycle. Here is the link to my affiliate book link for Pumpkin Circle. It’s perfect when outlining the different steps and shows pictures of each step.
Topic #3: Changing Leaves
Students know that leaves are green in the summer and red, yellow, orange, and brown in the fall. However, they can’t tell us why. The science behind leaves changing can be really fun for students to learn about… especially when you get to teach them big science terms like photosynthesis.
When you move on from life cycles and you start talking about the leaves changing colors, you will want to start with another KWL chart to gather prior knowledge. This header is a freebie you can grab with the link at the bottom of the blog post.
(Source: A Little Pinch of Learning)
This science experiment would be great to teach how leaves’ colors change in the fall. Check out this blogger’s experiment suggestions.
There are two videos on Brain Pop Jr. that cover Fall and Plant Life Cycles. Both have information about pumpkin life cycles, apple life cycles, and leaves changing colors. Check them out!
Topic #4: Five Senses
The five senses may seem like a simple skill to master, but using their five senses while learning about fall science is very important. They are really getting involved with their learning when they use their sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing to learn more about apples, leaves, and pumpkins.
Fall Science Experiments Topic #5: Experimenting Time
There are many manipulatives, candies, and other items you’ll find for the fall season. Bring some of these fall items into the classroom. Check out a few of these experiments that other teacher bloggers have created! They use Halloween candy, fruit, and more!
(Source: Teaching to Inspire with Jennifer Findley)
This experiment is shared by Jennifer on her blog and is all about using different liquids to see how these candy pumpkins dissolve.
(Source: Little Bins for Little Hands)
STEM and STEAM are big in schools these days. What better way to bring in apple and pumpkin STEM activities? Check out this blog post outlining a few STEM projects.
Want Ready-to-Go Fall Science Activities?
FALL LIFE CYCLE READING PASSAGES & WORKSHEETS
FALL LIFE CYCLE READING FLIP BOOK
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