Autumn

Don’t forget to remind and reinforce students to use science routines and thinking tools, building and growing their scientific thinking toolkits all year.

In this lesson, they will be exploring and continuing to observe (I notice...), ask questions (I wonder...), make connections (it reminds me of...) as well as continue to share information and ideas, develop discussion skills, and record data and ideas. See "Notes from Training" below for a variety of ideas to reinforce these practices.

Book to read (OPTIONAL)

• A few books on Autumn are in the Bishop kit - I'll work on adding them to the other schools and also to the website if I can find them online. You don't need a book, and it is not part of the lesson plan. A good story helps with the Engagement/Invitation phase of the lesson, but is not needed as kids are excited to be outdoors - use the "notice changes" part to do this, and also share any of their own Autumn stories (have they played in leaves? Appreciated fall colors?). If you know of a book you'd like to read, let me know!

• The books I found so far are as follows - they are all kind of young:

  • Lion of the Sky - Haiku for all seasons

  • Let it Fall

  • There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves (silly)

  • I don't have yet, but Going on a Leaf Hunt is another

Scavenger Hunt Bingo - main activity - 2 rounds

• • Use INIWIRMO to facilitate the scavenger hunt discussions - What do you notice? What do you wonder? What does it remind you of?

  • Have students write any "wonderings" on the bingo squares - maybe one or two words to remind them, and ask students to share their wonderings in discussion, along with any other signs of Autumn they noticed, and anything they were reminded of.

  • Discuss after each round why these things might be signs of Autumn - what is happening this time of year? How does this affect plant and animal life? How does this relate to changes we can observe? Use broad questions and ask for evidence.

  • Instead of, or in addition to, asking students if they got Bingo "points" with things like 4 corners, Bingo and Blackout, also ask how many people found at least 5 squares. 10 Squares? etc. That way, even if they didn't find a special Bingo pattern, they can still feel accomplished for finding lots of things.

  • Watch the time and end each round a bit early if needed to make sure you have time for magic spots and more.

Leaf Rubbings

• • Leaf Rubbing backers - the corrugated cardboard shows the corrugation pattern, which isn't that bad - kind of interesting, but if you save and cut up cereal-type boxes you'll have smoother backers for this. At Bishop, just use the logs in the log circle or rocks in the rock circle to have a solid backing.

  • Make sure students use soft, pliable leaves, and place the leaves with the veins up, so they show up better in the rubbing. They can use more than one color, do more than one leaf, etc.

  • Remember to use INIWIRMO with this activity, too - ask them questions about their leaves and what they noticed, etc.

  • Do a "Gallery Walk" where students leave their journals open on their spot and we walk around and make art gallery-type comments on their work - everyone says nice things about everyone else's leaf rubbings (they can use funny voices), and when they get back to their own journal, they stop.

ALWAYS leave enough time for Magic Spots!!

Also leave at least 5 minutes at the end for students to share their reflections from the lesson - their favorite part, what they noticed, felt, etc during Magic Spots, what they learned about Autumn, what surprised them, etc. See BFF questions or guides to facilitating discussion from your Docent handbook for ideas!