Resources for Early Childhood Activity 5 – Signs of Fall

Through these experiences, children will explore the signs of autumn and will play with falling, changing, and dancing leaves.

This is one of 11 activities that can be found in PLT’s Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood guideTo get the activity, attend a training either in person or online and receive PLT’s Early Childhood guide. Below are some supporting resources for this activity. 

STUDENT PAGES

Download the copyright-free student pages that are included with this activity:

Family and Friends Page (PDF)

Spanish Student Page:

Familia y amigos (PDF)

RECOMMENDED READING

Expand your students’ learning and imaginations. Help students meet their reading goals, while building upon concepts learned in this activity, with the following children’s book recommendations:

FAMILY ACTIVITY

Try a simple variation of this activity to engage children in the outdoors at home. Download this fun and easy-to-do family activity.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The following tools and resources may be used to enhance the activity.

  • Identify Trees from Leaves

    Leafsnap is a free app that uses visual recognition software to help identify tree species from leaf photographs you take in the field. Leafsnap currently focuses on tree species found in the Northeastern United States and Canada, but expansion is underway to include all U.S. regions.

  • The Science of Fall Leaves

    The US National Arboretum has collected online resources on the science of fall foliage. Resources include “The Science of Color in Autumn Leaves,” which describes how and why leaves change color; an extensive photo gallery of trees in fall color; and a list of “Selected Plants Providing Colorful Autumn Foliage.”

  • Find Nearby Trails and Parks

    AllTrails is a free app that helps users discover the outdoors. Use it to find a hiking path suitable for children, to search for local places to bike or fish, or to plan a national park visit.

  • Early Childhood Education

    Are you looking for information on the field of childhood education? All Education Schools offers a clearinghouse of resources to explore professional organizations, licensing and credentials, teaching strategies, research, and more – all related to early childhood.

  • WildLab Bird

    A free app that can be downloaded onto any Apple device (try iBird Lite for Android). Use WildLab Bird to learn the basics of bird identification. This application uses audio, photographs, maps, and the process of elimination to help identify over 200 bird species. Sightings can also be entered into a national bird watching database for comparison. 

  • Epic! For Educators

    Are you looking for new literature connections to support your favorite PLT lessons? This growing Epic! online library offers thousands of picture books, chapter books, early readers, and even nonfiction books (think Common Core Connections!) that elementary teachers can access free of cost. Registered users receive unlimited access to books and customized recommendations for readers’ age levels and interests. Epic! is available for iPads, iPhones, and Android devices.

  • Nature Maestro® App Series

    With Nature Maestro®, sound recordist and composer Dennis Hysom is your guide. Use this series of applications to explore sounds in nature. You might compose a soundscape for the rainforest, build a nature scene using audio paired with imagery, and discover fun facts about animals all along the way. Immerse yourself in these biomes to compose and share creative soundscapes and then share them with others.