Bring a Little Fall Fun Into Learning
Fall is one of my favorite times of year to bring a little seasonal fun into the classroom. Leaves, apples, pumpkins, and scarecrows make the perfect inspiration for activities that complement learning.
I love fall crafts that serve an academic purpose. Students solve math problems, practice poetry, and respond to reading while creating something they can display. The craft becomes a meaningful part of the learning, not just something extra to squeeze into the day.
Benefits of Using Crafts In the Classroom
Crafts, especially academic crafts, can serve a wide range of purposes in the classroom. Here are just a few of the many benefits of incorporating crafts into your lessons.
- Make learning more engaging. Crafts add a hands-on element that can make academic practice feel more enjoyable. They also offer a break from traditional worksheets and give students a different way to practice skills.
- Reinforce academic skills. Well-structured craft activities can provide meaningful practice with math, reading, writing, and other academic skills. They can also be differentiated so students can work at an appropriate level.
- Build fine-motor skills. Cutting, coloring, gluing, and assembling give students opportunities to strengthen fine-motor skills. With students spending more time using computers, hands-on projects provide valuable opportunities to develop those skills.
- Encourage focus and creativity. Following directions and assembling a project encourages students to slow down, pay attention, and work carefully. Crafts also give students opportunities to make choices and express their creativity, helping them take ownership of their work.
- Make student learning visible. Student-created work gives students an opportunity to showcase their thinking and provides a visual reminder of what they’ve learned. Displaying their finished projects adds seasonal color to the classroom. It also sends a positive message that their effort and learning are valuable and worthy of display.
Fall Math Crafts
I love a good math craft that can be used as a culminating activity! After students have learned and practiced a specific skill or standard, a fun activity helps tie it all together. I especially love math crafts that make differentiation easy in a heterogeneously grouped classroom.
Students get another opportunity to practice what they’ve learned. They’re applying what they know to create something they can be proud of and display in the classroom.
Fall math crafts can be used for math centers, independent practice or review. Crafts give students a break from traditional worksheets while still practicing important skills. With differentiated options, they also make it easy to meet the needs of students working at different levels.
Here are some of my favorite fall crafts and activities for combining creativity with math.
Fall Leaves Addition Strategies Math Craft
This Fall Leaves Craft gives students a chance to practice addition strategies. They use doubles, near doubles, making ten, and counting on strategies while creating a colorful fall tree.
Students color the fall leaves according to the addition strategy they use to solve each equation. The craft is differentiated with addition facts within 10, within 20, within 50, and within 100, all without regrouping.
Once students finish solving the problems, they cut out the fall leaves and glue them on and around the tree. They can add their own creativity by choosing to include children collecting leaves around the tree.
Apple Addition Math Craft
Who doesn’t love an adorable apple-themed craft? This Apple Addition Math Craft gives students a chance to practice 2-digit and 3-digit addition with and without regrouping.
After solving each problem, students cut out the apples. They sort them into the greater than, less than, and equal to apple barrels to create their own apple-picking orchard.
Scarecrow Subtraction Math Craft
This Scarecrow Subtraction Math Craft gives students a chance to practice 2-digit and 3-digit subtraction with and without regrouping while creating an adorable scarecrow-themed fall craft.
Students solve one of four differentiated color-by-code worksheets and then cut out the flowers and glue them around the scarecrow to complete their fall math craft.
Pumpkin Place Value Math Craft
This Pumpkin Place Value Math Craft gives students a chance to practice representing numbers in different ways.
Students practice standard form, expanded form, word form, and representing numbers with base-ten blocks. The differentiated color-by-code activity makes it easy to choose the level that’s right for your students.
Once students finish solving the problems, they cut out the pumpkins and sort them into place value hay bales.
If you’re looking for more ways to give students meaningful math practice, check out Fun Ways To Practice Word Problems Your Students Will Love!
Fall Writing and Reading Crafts
Fall crafts aren’t just for math! Seasonal crafts can also give students a creative way to respond to reading, practice writing and explore different types of poetry.
Writing and reading response crafts can be especially useful for giving students a purposeful way to show their thinking. Instead of simply answering questions or completing another writing page, students can apply their understanding to create something they can share or display.
Fall Poetry Writing Crafts
Students develop creative writing, grammar, and poetry skills while exploring different types of poems.
Students write acrostic, limerick, haiku, cinquain, diamante, shape, and sensory poems. The fall craftivity adds a hands-on component to poetry writing. It gives students a creative way to practice their skills and create something they can be proud to display.
The Leaf Thief Writing Craft
This The Leaf Thief reading response activity gives 2nd and 3rd graders a creative way to dive deeper into character analysis and comprehension. Students explore characters, their feelings and traits, and how different perspectives shape the story.
Students choose from four character analysis writing activities: Character Connection, Feelings Change, Character Traits, and Different Perspectives. After completing their writing, they color, cut, and attach a character craft topper to create a finished reading response they can display.
Ways to Use Fall Crafts in the Classroom
Fall crafts can be used for:
Math
- Math centers
- Independent practice
- Small groups
- Review
- Early finishers
If math assessment data shows that students need additional practice with a skill, a differentiated fall math craft can provide another opportunity to apply what they’ve learned.
Literacy
- Reading response
- Writing centers
- Poetry practice
- Independent writing
- Morning work
Whole Classroom
- Seasonal bulletin boards
- Hallway displays
- Student work displays
- Friday activities
- Sub plans
I like having a specific purpose in mind before choosing a seasonal craft. Teachers have so much curriculum to get through, and a craft that is purely a “fluff” activity eats into that valuable time.
When adding a craftivity to your lesson plan, ask yourself:
- Is it going to support and reinforce a skill students have already learned?
- Will it give students an opportunity to practice independently?
- Does this activity meet the needs of all of my students?
- Would the finished product be something students are proud to display in the classroom?
When the answers are yes, I know it’s a craft worth adding to our plans.
