I’m falling for autumn!

Today is the first OFFICIAL day of fall. Hooray!

I am LOVING this cool weather here in Maryland.  Nothing makes me happier than wearing a snuggly sweater and having a Pumpkin Spiced latte in hand. The cool change in the weather also means fall has arrived at school. I’m so excited we get to bring out the fun fall read alouds and fall-themed activities this week. Yipee!

Apparently I’m not the only one feeling festive around here! My awesome boyfriend (LOVE HIM!)  made this amazing bulletin board display for our class. He scrunched brown paper, and attached a few fall leaves. Can you spot the squirrel and leaf crafts?  I made those as little models, but my kids’ crafts and writing pieces will be hanging here all fall!

Today, I spent the day updating all of my fall activities with new clip art to give them a fresh look. I can’t wait to introduce some of these activities to my firsties this week!

Here’s an up close shot of the squirrel. My students will write what they are “nuts about” on the acorn. It’ll be a fun way to get to know each other even more! The craft is super simple so that my kiddos can do ALL the cutting and pasting.

   

We’ll be making this fun leaf kid this week! This little character is also super simple to put together. After reading Leaf Man, my students will write what they would do if there were a leaf. I know they’ll LOVE IT!

I created the following activities for Work on Writing. However, these activities could be used during other times, as well.

These little leaves will be added to our Work on Writing station this week. There are lots of different fall prompts to choose from!

I’ll also add a few of these “Words for Writing” sheets to the writing station to help them get started when writing fall stories.

My class really enjoyed the Draw and Write sheets from my setting packet. I hope they like these fall-themed ones too!

This activity was super helpful for my first graders last year. For this activity, students read the three words and then use them in complete sentences. It takes a little time and practice, but they can do it!

  

I’ll also have many new writing prompts available so that students can write about their fall experiences.

This week, I’ll be introducing my students to Word Work. I know Word Work will quickly become a favorite to many! I created a few activities that they will be completing during Word Work time. If you don’t do the Daily 5, these will work perfectly at literacy stations or for phonics practice.

Soon, we’ll begin distinguishing between short and long vowel words. This sweet (short a) versus rotten (long a) sorting activity will be a fun way to practice reading long and short vowel words.

I’ll also have a few of these fall-themed word building sheets ready for them, too. It’s always interesting to see how many words they can make. Sometimes they think of words that I didn’t even think of!

Another fun Word Work activity is Write the Room. I’m sure this will be come an instant class favorite!

During Meet with the Teacher (guided reading time), we’ll be reading lots of different fall-themed texts from Reading A-Z (I love that site!).

We’ll also be reading this mini-book, Apple Picking Time, and completing this graphic organizer.

And, we’ll be going on a fall nature walk (one of MY favorite activities) and recording what we see, smell, hear, and feel in fall. Then, we’ll complete this little book and compare/contrast summer to autumn.

My kiddos will also find a few fun fall-themed math games/activities at math stations.

Apples, Apples Everywhere! is a fun and simple game that helps students practice addition up to 12. It can be played with a  partner or by themselves. They roll the dice, add the two numbers together, find the total number on the apple, and color.

A few of my students are still struggling with counting a set of objects. They are still figuring out a system for counting. These counting sheets and manipulatives will be a huge help for them! I found these cute apples and acorns at Lakeshore and Target for SUPER CHEAP!

For this Corn Poppin’ Fun activity, students match the number sentence with the domino, record, and then solve.

      

For this Pumpkin Patch Match-Up activity, students use the Commutative Property to find the two related addition sentences. I always have my students use unifix cubes when completing this activity. It allows them to visually see how the number sentences are related.

A few years ago, I made up this cheesy song to help them understand what the Commutative Property is.

It goes like this:

The Commutative Property is easy, yes indeed!
The Commutative Property  is what you need.
Just switch the two parts, but keep the same whole.
Now we're ready to rock and roll!
Commutative Property, Commutative Property, Commutative Property!

Determining if a number sentence is true/false is TRICKY! This little activity will be a HUGE help. Students sort each number sentence and determine if it is true or false, and then record the TRUE number sentences on the Leaf Sort sheet. I always have them use manipulatives and/or draw a picture to help them decide!

We’ll also be going on an apple hunt to solve addition and subtraction problems! Scavenger hunts are always a huge hit in my room! It gets them up and moving around (which is the best way to prevent the wiggles!)

Everything, including the crafts, can be found in my Falling for Autumn packet at my TPT shop. If you own this packet, go re-download it to grab all of the new goodies! It is ON SALE until tomorrow night. Click HERE or on the preview below to go grab it!