Fall in the classroom means you are settling into a routine. Students are learning, you are teaching, and you’re ready to spice it up with some fall activities for your elementary students!
I’ve rounded up some of my favorite fall activities to do with your upper elementary students!
1. Pumpkin Week Activities
Pumpkin week is one of my favorite fall activities to do in upper elementary. I first love having my students “adopt” a pumpkin to take care of and write about all week long. Check out this post for more details.
Here are some great Pumpkin Stem activities from Naomi Meredith. I love the book character pumpkins that Elementary Antics shared, but That Teaching Spark took it another step by creating globes for social studies! This is the perfect way to continue with your standards and sneak in those fall-themed activities in the upper grades!
2. Halloween Costumes for Teachers
I love grade-level teams that dress up together for Halloween and these ideas over at All About 3rd Grade are so cute!
3. Halloween Transformations & Activities
When Halloween falls on a school day, I try to embrace the chaos and enhance the fun. Sometimes I do Pumpkin Week during the week of Halloween and sometimes I just do a super easy transformation. I turn the lights off and put these battery operated candles on student tables. Then I play spooky-themed music and we complete our day as normal.
I will sprinkle in Halloween themed lessons like my Halloween Poetry or some Halloween STEM activities. Check out these from North Dakota Teaching and The Average Teacher
It’s important when you’re doing something outside of your normal school day routine to set clear expectations. Let students know that if they can’t control themselves, you will go back to typical learning. This little “speech” usually always does the trick.
4. Balloons Over Broadway
This is another favorite fall activity for my students. I start by reading the book Balloons Over Broadway. Then I give my students construction paper to create their own balloons. We stuff them with scraps of paper and have a parade through our room!
5. Turkey Crafts Activities
Primary grades seem to always have such cute crafts so I love it when I can mix a craft with a standard!! That’s why I created these turkey crafts that students can use as a book review or after reading a Thanksgiving-themed book. Some of my favorite Thanksgiving-themed books are Balloons Over Broadway, How Many Days to America, A Plump & Perky Turkey. I also love this cute turkey craft from Hanging with Mrs. Hulsey.
6. Thanksgiving Class Rotations
One thing my grade level likes to do on those 2 days of school before Thanksgiving break is rotating classes to do some fun activities. Of course, I’m going to sneak in some poetry with my Thanksgiving poetry activities any way I can! We’ve done Turkey Break Outs, stem activities, thankful writing, etc. These gratitude activities are so cute from Allie the Gypsy Teacher.
This time of year can be busy with the end of the grading period, parent/teacher conferences, etc. It is always important to remember to take care of yourself too! I love the ideas shared over at Obsessed with Learning.
