Fall Roundup! Fun Fall Lessons for Your 2nd-4th graders

In my opinion Fall is the best time of year to teach. All the fun holidays, the cooler weather, and the breaks from teaching really make it a fun time of year. I've compiled a list of my favorite Fall activities that I hope you'll try out in your classroom. While most of these are geared toward 2nd-4th graders, you can adapt a lot of these to fit the needs of your students in other grades as well. Without further adieu, let's get into these 6 activities that will add engagement AND a bit of on theme fun to your classroom this Fall.

Halloween Rules and Procedures Review

A well managed class is a FUN class. Have you ever seen something fun that you want to do with your students and then has the immediate thought, "oh my class could never handle something like that." I'm here to tell you that with a solid management system and consistency with your classroom rules and procedures, your class CAN do fun things! I love reviewing my rules and procedures throughout the year. October is the perfect month to do that because it's been about a month or 2 since school has started, and it's great to give your class a metaphorical "oil change" to keep everything running smoothly. This Spooky Procedure review is the perfect activity to get your students up and moving (plus it has a built in fast finisher!) Your students will walk around the classroom with a recording sheet and find the picture that matches their paper. They can answer each question that pertains to your classroom rules and procedures (totally editable,) and then earn a piece of clipart. At the end of their review they will have 9 little pictures they can color and create a spooky Halloween scene.

Frankenstein Text Feature Operation

I love this activity for really bringing in that Halloween spirit! You can even dress up to really enhance the engagement! (insert reel of me from last october all dressed up with this activity below.)

Students get to operate on Frankenstein while also reviewing text features. This activity is perfect for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Check out what other educators are saying about this activity!

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Fall STEM Teamwork Challenges

These activities will keep you busy through the Fall! In my class my students are split up into "class houses" (link class house resource.) Every Friday we do a "house challenge" which is really a fun teamwork activity that is designed to let me students practice working together, good sportsmanship, and working on communication skills. Let's be honest, we could all use a little more of this in the classroom.

Your students will work together completing 5 different challenges and completing the STEM pages that go along with it. For example, they'll be constructing a catapult to launch pumpkin candies off of and trying to get there's to go the furthest.

Or, you could try the No Hands Ghost Stacking challenge where students will stack "ghosts" up using whatever they can....except their hands!

All 5 challenges are different, and will keep the fun AND teamwork going all season long.

Fall Lucky Grammar Games

October is a month can bring a lot of craziness. The kids are excited, there's different events happening, the full moon just seems to ignite a wave of behavior issues and sometimes you just need a break! Well that's where these lucky grammar games comes in. Simply have your students pull out a whiteboard and marker and display these hilarious photos! As each one pops up, students scramble to write down as many nouns/verbs/adjectives (depending on the game you play) as they can. As soon as time's up, the "lucky" words pop up! If a student wrote down one of the lucky words they get to record their points!

The best part about these games is the element of LUCK! Your "smarty pants" student is not necessarily the winner. That extra element of luck really makes this game fun and engaging. Try it out, and watch your student's cheer when you say, "time for a lucky grammar game!"

Thanksgiving Text Features Review

If you missed the Frankenstein Operation, then you won't want to miss out on reviewing text features with a Thanksgiving twist! Your students will read each clue and try to decide which text feature matches the right Thanksgiving food! After they've labeled all their food, it's time to create their Thanksgiving feast! I love these types of "craftivities" because there's a built in fast finisher. So put on the Thanksgiving Day Spotify Playlist, get out the art supplies and let your students work, create, and VIBE with the Thanksgiving theme.

October Callbacks for the Classroom

Why not add some fun into your practice WHILE also keeping up your classroom management? Yes please! These set of 10 callback posters are perfect to hang up in your classroom and switch out through the month. Callbacks are a great way to grab your students attention...and with these you may get a smile too.

Example: Teacher says, "Who you gonna call?" and the students respond, "ghost busters!"

You can add additional expectations for your students that after they respond their eyes should be on the teacher, voices off, and body still. If you like these October callbacks you can also get callbacks for every month of the year in my call back bundle!

Pumpkin Launch FREEBIE

One of my favorite engagement tools (that I keep printed in my classroom at all times,) is my snowball fight engagement page. However, I wanted to create a fun Fall version of that activity to mix it up and have an engagement tool I could use for ANY topic. So how do you do a pumpkin launch? Simply give each student a pumpkin launch page and ask them a question. This truly works for any topic. You could have them solve a math equation, or maybe write down the main idea from a passage you just read, or even draw a diagram of the water cycle! Once your students complete it they will crumple up their pumpkin and LAUNCH it! On your say so, students will then retrieve a new pumpkin and inspect the answer (correct it, add to it, etc.) in the inspector space. Want to snag it for FREE? Grab it here!

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Autumn Extravaganza! Exciting Lessons for Your 2nd-4th Graders

In conclusion, fall truly stands out as the ideal season for teaching, offering a unique blend of exciting holidays, cooler weather, and well-deserved breaks. As we've explored in this blog post, there are six fantastic activities that can infuse your classroom with the spirit of fall while keeping your students engaged and learning. From Halloween rules and procedures review to the thrilling Frankenstein Text Feature Operation, and from the Fall STEM Teamwork Challenges to the entertaining Fall Lucky Grammar Games, these activities promise to make the autumn season a memorable time for both you and your students. Don't forget the Thanksgiving Text Features Review and October Callbacks, which add an educational twist to the holiday spirit. And, of course, there's the Pumpkin Launch FREEBIE, a versatile engagement tool for any topic. Embrace the magic of fall in your classroom, and watch as your students thrive in this enriching and exciting learning environment. Happy teaching this fall season!

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