This activity works well with these resources:
Fall has so many great activities to incorporate into the classroom. One of my favorites is using fall leaves to practice word families. In the past, I’ve used real leaves we’ve collected from outside. But sometimes that gets a little messy so this year I’m trying something new. No more crunched-up leaves on the floor!
Instead of using real leaves (feel free to if you prefer!), I bought a pack of silk fall leaves. That way I won’t have any lovelies crushing them and I can pack up and reuse the activity next year. Plus if I get really ambitious I might do a parachute activity with the leaves…but more on that another day.
This activity is super easy to set up. Grab your leaves and use a permanent marker to write a variety of consonants on them.
Click here to print your Fall Leaves Word Family Free Printable from Simply Kinder.
Choose the word families you will focus on for the activity. I recommend filling them in on the top lines before making the copies. This fall we were working on the -all and -ill word families.
Put the leaves in a basket. Have the students pick out one leaf at a time and write the letter from the leaf inside the leaf circle. The kiddos love feeling around to find the ‘perfect’ leaf and it adds a tactile/sensory element to the lesson. Have the students compare the words they found to see if anyone created different words.
What are your favorite ways to bring fall fun into the classroom? Comment below and tell us about it!