Seasons & Weather Links

MAKE A WINDSOCK:
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/earthspace16.html
You choose the method and materials; find instructions
here for creating four different kinds of windsocks,
from paper bags, tissue rolls, construction paper, or
wire hangers.

MAKE SOME STORMY WEATHER ART:
http://www.arts.ufl.edu/art/rt_room/sparkers/stormy/storm.html
Approaching storms are often used as subject material
by famous artists, among them Thomas Hart Benton and
Winslow Homer. View examples here, and then follow
directions to have your students visualize and then
paint their own storm scenes.

SEASONS
Fall- Leaves
TREE JOURNAL:
http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/gen_act/nature/tree.html

Here is an excellent exercise for exploring autumn themes
with primary students. Including a student handout, "Take
a Closer Look", your class will be honing their observation
skills as they adopt a tree and log its changes through the
season, recording their findings in simple journals they
create.

LEAF CAMOUFLAGE:
http://www.ducks.org/puddler/teachersguide/fall00activity/k3_fall00.html

Combining both science and art, early elementary students
will create their own leaf bugs in a classroom art project,
then scatter them among leaves outside to see how well they
blend in. Various camouflaging characteristics are covered
in the lesson plan.

FALL COUNTING WORKSHEET:
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/new_page_18.htm
Beautiful autumn leaves are the theme behind this math
worksheet, where kindergarten and first grade students
must write the correct number of leaves in the corres-
ponding box of this printable student worksheet.

WHY DO LEAVES CHANGE COLOR?
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html
In this "Science Made Simple" lesson plan, students will
explore the reasons behind the season, in how and why
leaves change their color. A word scramble based on the
subject matter is included.

SEPARATING LEAF COLORS:
http://www.4yi.com/2000/0925Autumn/s1.html
Students will get hands-on experience in colors in a leaf
by using rubbing alcohol to separate color. Follow the in-
structions here in this supervised experiment for upper el-
ementary to middle school students.

THE SEASON AND LANGUAGE OF COLOR:
http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2002/09/092302_fall.jhtml
Welcome to autumn, when leaves changing colors are one of
the first visible signs that long summer days have defin-
itely left us. What are some of the other signs of fall?
Why does the autumnal equinox occur, and what does it mean
to various animals, plants, and humans? Let students begin
their investigations of fall here, and then read and dis-
cuss the poetry included in the article. After locating
further examples of favorite autumn poems have your stu-
dents create their own versions, perhaps using acrostic
formats for leaf, autumn, apple, or other symbols of fall
and building a class word bank with younger students. Be 
sure to post your student poems on your fall bulletin
boards for a wonderful Open House display.

FALL LEAVES COUNTING BOOK:
http://www.cstone.net/%7Ebry-back/actpag106.html
Print out this mini counting book for your early elemen-
tary students, or create your own similar book, collect-
ing beautiful autumn leaves and preserving them in a
special class counting book. You can dry your leaves be-
tween pages of a heavy book, or iron them between pieces
of waxed paper for another preservation method.

COMMON FALL LEAVES:
http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/nathis/seasons/fall/fleaves/fleaves.htm
Print out copies of this fall leaf identification page,
and then try to create your own scrapbook by collecting
corresponding leaves, researching and including a bit
of information on each leaf and tree, in the style of
a nature guidebook. Also consider contacting other class-
rooms across the country for a leaf exchange for this
project.

 

EXPLORING THE WEATHER:
http://www.ttsd.k12.or.us/district/curriculum/elem/pscience/weather/lessons.html
Geared to early elementary classes, this weather unit
offers several possible lesson plans to explore differ-
ent facets of the weather. Students can examine the dif-
ferences between hurricanes and tornadoes, look at clouds,
create a simple graph on daily highs and lows, write a
story about clouds or write a letter to the weatherman,
learn a weather word of the day, or be introduced to
weather maps and national weather data.

WEATHER RECIPES:
http://library.thinkquest.org/3805/recipes/recipe_menu.htm?tqskip1=1
These weather recipes would make great bulletin board
printouts, along with graphics, for students to pull out
according to the current weather patterns. Find weather
recipes for hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, mudslides,
thunderstorms, and more.

A YEAR OF SCIENCE ACTIVITIES:
http://www.waterfordpress.com/game1.html

Animals, seashore studies, pond life, geology, weather,
the night sky, or plants... Find loads of elementary ac-
tivities to download in pdf printable sheets here for ex-
periments, inquiries, animal tracks, picture scrambles,
worksheets, art pages, origami, mazes, connect-the-dots,
name scrambles, spotting the differences... a huge re-
source for a year of elementary science studies.