Autumn

Audience/grades: 1 & 2 (K – depending on proficiency level)

Proficiency Level: level 2 - 3

Objective: SW discuss changes in the climate and outdoors for Autumn

WIDA: 2, 4

NJCCCS: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 5.8

Resources: Scholastic Month-by-Month Write and Read books(k-2) isbn 0-590-98360-1

Procedure:

The teacher will start off the lesson by tapping into the students’ prior knowledge about the climate change this time of year. The teacher will ask the students to discuss the changes that they see and feel outside this time of year. A list will be made on the board or whatever is available as to the changes that they are witnessing.

The list should include the following topics:

weather changes (getting colder, needing blankets on the bed at night)

trees (leaves changing to yellow, red, and orange, then eventually falling off) fruit/vegetables (seeing pumpkins and apples are ripe to pick, make cider, pies, etc) sunshine (the daylight is getting shorter in the day and there is more nighttime),

animals (bears are getting ready to hibernate – other animals? – list – and squirrels are gathering nuts for winter).

If the students think of anything else, that will be added to the list as well, but these are the key changes from summer to autumn.

The teacher will then ask the students if they think that these changes happen in all of the different states in our country. Hopefully the answer is “no”  The teacher and students will discuss how some states in the south stay warmer than states in the northern part of the country. The teacher will also ask the students (if they have lived in another country) if their country experiences weather changes like Autumn.

What states do you think stay warmer in the fall and maybe don’t experience fall at all?

The teacher and students will make a list of the states they think stay warmer and don’t have fall.

Then, the students (depending upon their ability and proficiency level) will be asked to write some of the key changes of Autumn down in their notebooks.

Writing Activity:

The students will be told that they are going to complete a mini-book on Autumn. In the booklet, the students will read each page (with help from the teacher if needed for some words), but they will be asked to fill in the missing autumn word from each page. Most of the words will be generated from the list above. If any additional words are needed (the only word that might not be mentioned is sky), the teacher will provide that word to the students. The last page of the booklet, the students get to list their favorite part of autumn. Answers for this will vary, and the teacher will again help the students with the writing if needed. Students will be encouraged to try to write on their own, if appropriate.

Assessment:

Assessment is on-going and informal. The teacher will be able to tell from the discussion and what topics are generated from the students if they are following the idea of weather and climate changes with the season of Autumn. The teacher will also monitor the students’ progress on the mini-book, and successful completion of the mini-book will be used as assessment as well.