Kindergarten
Millcreek Elementary School
Developed by: Martha Berginski, Sarah Clinkenbeard, Amy Emmons, Sherry Jacobs

What changes can I see during fall?

Academic Expectations and Demonstrators

• When is fall?
• How does the weather change in fall?
• What changes do we see in nature during the fall?
• How do animals change their behavior in the fall?
• What changes do people make in the fall?

Each Kindergarten class will create a whole class A…B…"C"eason Book. Each student will be responsible for creating a ‘letter’ page relating to changes, adaptations, or other fall concepts. After hard copies of the class ABC books are created, the teachers using Microsoft Publisher will make an electronic ‘talking book’. These ‘talking books’ will be used for literacy reinforcement in the classroom.

SC-E-1.1.1 Objects have many observable properties such as size, mass, shape, color, temperature, magnetism, and the ability to react with other substances. Some properties can be measured using tools such as metric rulers, balances, and thermometers.

SC-E-2.2.1 The Sun provides the light and heat necessary to maintain the temperature of Earth. The Sun’s light and heat are necessary to sustain life on Earth. 

SC-E-2.3.2 Weather changes from day to day and over seasons. Weather can be described by observations and measurable quantities such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation.

SC-E-3.1.1 Things in the environment are classified as living, nonliving, and once living. Living things differ from nonliving things. Organisms are classified into groups by using various characteristics (e.g., body coverings, body structures).

SS-E-4.4.2 People adapt to or modify the environment (e.g., produce food, build shelter, make clothing) to meet their needs.

MA-E-3.2.3 Construct and interpret displays of data (e.g., line graph, bar graph, pictograph, line plot, simple Venn diagram, table)

• Kidspiration or other mapping software will be used to brainstorm living/nonliving things.
• Websites to access information in order to reinforce/teach concepts.
• Students creating pieces of art/text using Paint, KidPix, or other publishing software.
• Use math software (Cruncher, Graph Club, Microsoft Excel) to graph data.
• T4.4.2 Access and navigate web sites
• T4.5.2 Use mouse (double-click, right click drag, etc.)
• T4.5.3 Open, close and use application
• T5.5.1 Be a risk taker
• T6.5 Create a presentation or product using application software.

• Science Skills
  • Observing
  • Classifying
  • Identifying
  • Sorting
  • Gathering
  • Predicting
  • Organizing data
  • Processing data
• Math Skills
  • Collecting data
  • Constructing graphs
  • Interpreting graphs
  • Numeration
• Social Studies Skills
  • Identifying
  • Explaining
• Literacy Skills
  • Writing
  • Reading
  • Speaking
  • Listening

Timeline for Unit: 3 weeks

Lesson Goals

Lesson 1: KWL

Objective: Students will share what they know, what they want to know about fall.

Description: Using chart paper in the shape of a leaf, pumpkin, acorn, apple, the class will work together to start their KWL chart.

Assessment: discussion; completed chart at end of unit

Lesson 2: Living/ Non-Living

Objective: students will be able to classify objects around the room as being either living or non-living.

Description: Use Kidspiration, Inspiration, or some other mapping program with a classroom scan converter or school LCD projector to conduct a whole class discussion on living/non-living things. Use classroom materials to sort according to their properties.

Assessment: worksheet

Lesson 3: When is fall?

Objective: students will be able to state which months are included in the fall season (part of September, October, November, part of December).

Description: Read aloud, When Autumn Comes, by Robert Maass. Teach months of the year through songs. Complete an art activity related to the months of fall.

Assessment: art activity

Lesson 4: Temperature

Objective: students will understand how temperature is measured

Description: Display class thermometer. Brainstorm how we use thermometer on day-to-day basis. Guest speaker – weather person. Introduce weather journal.

Assessment: weather journal which will be kept for one week

Lesson 5: Precipitation

Objective: students will be able to define precipitation and describe various forms of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, fog).

Description: Read aloud or video introducing concept of precipitation. Graphing activity – students use raindrops to graph monthly rainfall.

Assessment: completed graph; asking students to define precipitation and also which month had most/ least precipitation.

Lesson 6: Night/Day

Objective: students will understand that during fall, the days get shorter and the nights become longer. Also, students understand that the Earth’s seasons are influenced by it’s axis tilt and orbit around the sun.

Description: Guest speaker – science professor. Activity will involve flashlight/ planets/ movement by students. http://www.brainpop.com/science/weather/seasons/index.weml  …movie on the seasons.

Assessment: TBA

Lesson 7: Fall Walk

Objective: students will observe, discuss, record signs of fall around the school.

Description: students will have a checklist and clipboard which they will use to check off signs of fall as they see them on their trip around the school (i.e. turning leaves). Digital pictures will be taken and put into a separate Living/Non-living/Once-living class book. After walk, class will discuss and sort things they observed into Living/Non-living/Once-living categories. Be sure to include a picture of your students and put into the "Living" category.

Assessment: class book/ sorting activity/ checklist from walk

Lesson 8: Trees & Leaves

Objective: students will be able to describe the life cycle of a tree throughout the seasons

Description: Read aloud, My Favorite Seasons. Tree art activity – class divided into four groups, one per season. Students use their own brown paper sack to trace arms and then decorate according to the season.

Assessment: students take scrambled pictures of trees in different seasons and sequence the pictures in the correct order

Lesson 9: Trees & Leaves

Objective: students will understand why leaves change color in the fall

Description: Read aloud, Why Leaves Change Color, by Betsy Maestro. Autumn Leaves Experiment – using Scientific Method. My Book of Leaves – math activity

Assessment: My Book of Leaves

Lesson 9: Apples

Objective: TBA

Description: TBA

Assessment: TBA

Notes Page

• Why do leaves change color?
• What changes in fall? (weather, animals, nature, people)
• Why does it get cold during the fall?
• What months are during fall?
• Why do lakes dry up?
• How do geographic features get affected by fall? (snow in mountains, milder weather closer you get to equator?)
• How does the weather change in fall?
• How do animals behave differently in fall?
• What changes do we see in nature during the fall?

How do people/animals adapt to changes in the fall?

Fall 1-10 Book

Look what we did today! - Kindergarten display

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