Autumn is a great time to welcome new students, start new classroom routines, and jump into the Science curriculum. There are many fabulous science lessons and activities to teach in the fall. These hands-on science and reading activities are such a fun way to learn about apples, pumpkins, and leaves in second and third grades.

Which science topics are great for fall?

Aligning your science lessons to the season around you is a great way to make real-world connections. Fall is often filled with warm days, crisp nights, and many familiar sights. In the fall we often study apples, pumpkins (Hello, thanksgiving!), leaves, decomposition, and seasonal animals like turkeys or deer.

The easy way to teach pumpkins, apples, and leaves…

Plan your fall science units in a snap with these three hands-on, engaging science and reading units all about pumpkins, apples, and leaves. They’re perfect for 2nd and 3rd grade and integrate science and literacy standards. Just click and print!

check out fall science

LEAVES

Leaves are changing on the trees and falling from their branches. Students see this and might be wondering why this is happening. Jump feet first into some fabulous activities about leaves. These might include getting outside to become observers/detectives of leaves, conducting an experiment to answer the question “Why Do Leaves Change Color?”, doing art projects with leaves, and much more.

Check out this blog all about leaves activities.

APPLES

Apples are a such fun fall topic. There are many awesome books and YouTube videos about apples to engage students as they begin learning. Have students experiment to find out why apples turn brown. Take a look at and compare the nutritional information of various products made with apples. Learn about the life cycle of apples and create a spinner craft.

This blog has more details and ideas for teaching the topic of apples to second and third-grade students.

PUMPKINS

Pumpkins are another fall-tastic topic. Whether it’s watching YouTube videos, reading about pumpkins, learning the life cycle, or doing math with pumpkin seeds, there are plenty of activities to engage students as they learn about pumpkins.

For more details on these ideas, check out this blog about pumpkin activities for second and third grade.

Autumn is a natural time to teach apples, pumpkins, and leaves. Have fun engaging in these topics and teaching students to love science (and fall).

A classic symbol in elementary school is an apple. Apples are put on “Welcome Back” bulletin boards, teacher newsletters, and classroom walls. There are endless examples of activities about apples for Kindergarten, but Apples are also a great unit of study for older students in second and third grades! Explore the best apple science and literacy activities sure to engage 2nd and 3rd grade students.

WHY do APPLES TURN BROWN?

Get hands-on with apples and conduct an experiment to see which substances will keep apples fresh the longest. This science experiment is also a great way to teach the scientific method.

Left Brain Craft Brain provides step-by-step instructions to answer “Why Do Apples Turn Brown?”

The EASY way to teach about apples in 2nd and 3rd grades.

Are you ready to explore apples this fall? In just a few clicks you can print all the science and literacy pieces you need: nonfiction reading, comprehension activities, apple life cycle crafts and worksheets, and more!

see the apple unit

exploring apples with youtube videos

Learn all about apples with these engaging videos that are perfect for older elementary students. Even I learned new things about apples!

1. Check out these fun Apple Facts by Hey! Guess What?

2. Peterson Farms Inc. shows How Applesauce is Made in the Factory.

3. Check out this Apple Time Lapse by Mountainview Orchard Inc.

4. Follow along with SciShow Kids as they experiment with making caramel apples. This video mostly teaches chemical reactions, the Maillard Reaction, and food science, but it could be a fun way to integrate other Science topics into your lessons on apples.

learning about apple anatomy

Have you ever tried to dissect an apple? Exploring the inner anatomy of an apple is a great way to get hands-on without having to spend too much money. Grab some local apples, help students cut them in half, and learn about what’s going on inside an apple.

READING ABOUT APPLES

Reading about apples is another way to engage students. There are some fabulous information books and storybooks about apples. These are a few that come to mind:

• Gail Gibbon’s “Apples” gives some historical information about apples and describes how farmers grow apples today. (Click here for the Amazon.ca link to Gibbon’s Apples) 

• The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall is a story about an apple tree through each season.  

• The Apple Orchard Riddle by Margaret McNamara engages students as they try to discover the riddle about an apple orchard. (Click here for the Amazon.ca link to The Apple Orchard Riddle)

Students can also read this age-appropriate printable nonfiction reading passage about the life cycle of an apple. After reading, complete two engaging comprehension activities so kids can show what they’ve learned.  

LIFE CYCLE SPINNER

Teach a lesson on the life cycle of an apple and complete an apple spinner craft to display each life cycle stage.

There are three versions: the first asks students to color the pictures, the second has space for students to create their own drawings, and the third is nearly blank so students can color/label their own pictures. Check out the template by clicking on the link above. 

APPLE POEM CRAFTIVITY

The Applicious Teacher has a fabulous Apple Poem Crafitivity. This project would be a good way to integrate Literacy and Science (specifically the five senses).

apple nutrition

Ask students to raid their recycle bins to find various packaging for products made from apples such as apple sauce, apple juice, and apple crisps.

Take time to compare the nutritional value of each item. Try to compare the sweetened and unsweetened apple products as well. Students might be surprised by what they find!  

Explain that all foods fit into a balanced diet, so it’s not bad to eat certain foods occasionally. However, we can be mindful of how much sugar is added to apple-related products.

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Fall is here, so apples are here. Enjoy teaching some lessons about apples to your second and third-grade students!

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Leaves change color to become vibrant reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. Leaves fall from the trees. Piles of leaves are found on lawns. These are all good indicators that fall is here! So it’s also a great time to teach about leaves. There are some fabulous science activities for second-grade and third-grade all about leaves.

CONIFEROUS AND DECIDUOUS TREES

There are a wide variety of trees, but they all fall into one of two categories: deciduous or coniferous. Coniferous trees keep leaves on their branches all year round. Deciduous means ‘falling off’, so these trees shed their leaves every fall to conserve energy in the winter. 

The EASY Way to teach about leaves in 2nd and 3rd grades.

Ready to learn about leaves this fall? In just a few clicks you can grab all the science and literacy pieces that you need: nonfiction reading, comprehension, science and math integration, and a fun art project!

see the unit

the anatomy of a leaf

Did you know that there are many different parts to a leaf? These ‘anatomy’ of a leaf teaching posters are a great way to learn the parts of a leaf. Then, head outside and grab your own!

YOUTUBE VIDEOS about the science of leaves

Learn even more about leaves with these engaging videos that are perfect for 2nd and 3rd-grade students. These are some of my favorite YouTube videos to show in class:

• SciShow Kidz - Why Do Leaves Change Color? 

• SciShow Kidz -  Trees that Never Lose Their Leaves. 

• Colossal Cranium - Why Do Leaves Change Color?
  
  
  

READING ABOUT LEAVES

Reading about leaves is another way to engage students. Learn about how leaves decompose in the Fall with this printable reading passage. Then follow up the reading with comprehension questions. 

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get outside and explore autumn

Bundle up and head outdoors. Give each student a clipboard with paper, a crayon, and a pencil. Have students record their observations about leaves like shape, color, texture, etc. Then have students do leaf rubbings of a variety of leaves. 

While students are out making observations, have them collect leaves from a variety of trees. Give each student a small basket or Ziploc bag to contain their leaves. These leaves can be used for more leaf activities in the classroom. 

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LEAF DETECTIVEs

Become leaf detectives and engage students’ observation skills. Use magnifying glasses to take a closer look at the fine lines and details on a leaf. Challenge students to draw what they see. 

Examine leaves and discover the differences between coniferous and deciduous trees. Check out SciShow Kidz’ Guess that Tree for info about telling the difference between some common coniferous tree needles.  

Do leaf pressing by getting students to press leaves in a book, or get fancy and create leaf press bookmarks like these ones from Buggy and Buddy. 

teaching symmetry with leaves

Teach a lesson about symmetry. Students will take a leaf, cut it along the line of symmetry, and glue it to a piece of paper. Next, they will sketch in the missing half and use pencil crayons to color/shade so it’s symmetrical.

Students can also use a variety of collected leaves and arrange them to create a land art installation, or have them glue the leaves to a piece of paper.

ART WITH LEAVES

There is an abundance of leaf art activities to be done in the fall. Read Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. (Click here for the Amazon.ca link)This is a book where all the pictures are created with leaves. Then have students glue leaves into various configurations to make leaf creatures. Read the book Leaf Man to get students thinking about what their creation might look like. 

Create a leaf garland like this one from Hands on As We Grow 

Follow along with these instructions by Elementary Art Rocks and paint leaves using lines and repetition. 

WHY DO LEAVES CHANGE COLOR EXPERIMENT

The word ‘chromatography’ means a technique to separate the compounds of mixtures. Leaves get their color from different pigments like green, yellow, orange, and red. 

To engage students with a hands-on experiment to separate the color pigment in leaves, check out this experiment about Leaf Chromatography by Home Science Tools. This experiment doesn’t use any fancy equipment. The materials needed are common house items like coffee filters, plastic wrap, and rubbing alcohol. 

Teaching about leaves can be simple, yet engaging. Have fun teaching your second and third-grade students all about leaves this fall!

The season is here for sweaters, scarves, jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin pies, and pumpkin spice lattes. Families head to the pumpkin patches in droves and there are orange pumpkin decorations in many stores. So what better time than this to teach about pumpkins? Explore these activities and experiments about pumpkins that are perfect for kids in 2nd and 3rd grades.

pumpkin science - videos

Start your learning on pumpkins with some engaging videos that are perfect for older elementary students. These are some of my favorite pumpkin videos on YouTube

1. A Pumpkin Grows by Scholastic - Introduces the lifecycle of a pumpkin

2. SciShow Kids, “Why Do Pumpkins Get So Big?”

3. SciShow Kids, “Dissect a Pumpkin!”

4. Explore the question “Are Pumpkins a Fruit?” with Hey! Guess What.

The EASY Way to teach about pumpkins in 2nd and 3rd grades.

Ready to learn about pumpkins this fall? In just a few clicks you can grab all the science and literacy pieces that you need: nonfiction reading, comprehension, and an engaging STEAM project!

see the unit

FUN FACTS

It can be fun to sprinkle in fun facts while learning about a topic. Barton Hills Farm has compiled a list of 25 Fun Facts about Pumpkins. They also put together a detailed description of the life cycle of a pumpkin.

pumpkin literacy activities

After doing some initial learning about pumpkins via videos, have students read about the life cycle of a pumpkin with a grade-appropriate reading passage. This nonfiction reading passage explores each stage in the life cycle of a pumpkin using age-appropriate scientific vocabulary.

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When you’re done, follow up with a pumpkin life cycle flipbook. This project uses the information from the nonfiction reading passage to create a fun and informative flip book project.

carve a pumpkin

Many students have fond memories of carving pumpkins with their families. It may be difficult to have each child carve a pumpkin in class, but YOU could carve a pumpkin while students act as guides.

Have students draw out potential designs and vote on which design to create on the class pumpkin. 

Before carving, read “How to Carve a Pumpkin” with these differentiated reading passages. Complete the comprehension booklet where students sequence the steps of pumpkin carving and get to sketch out a design for a jack-o-lantern.

Want to take it a step further and carve a class set of pumpkins? Try using parent or older-buddy volunteers to help prepare the pumpkins (open the top, remove the seeds) and then carve in small groups! (The other group can work on the nonfiction reading activity above).

I’ve had success asking local grocery stores or farms to donate the pumpkins to our class. Many will do it for free/cheap if you’re willing to wait until the day before/of Halloween.

pumpkin math

The book How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara is an engaging way to open a lesson that integrates math and science. 

Before opening the pumpkin, have students estimate how many seeds they think are inside. Record these guesses. After opening the pumpkin, show students the contents and have them reestimate. Some students might be surprised at how many seeds there are in a pumpkin!

Next, have students count the pumpkin seeds. Try grouping the seeds together and skip count the piles by 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, etc. Compare the actual seed count to the students’ estimations. Discuss if their estimations were reasonable. Why or why not?

Try drying the seeds overnight. Give students a handful of seeds to color using markers. Let students make patterns with their coloring pumpkin seeds!

Don’t forget to roast some seeds so students can eat some 🙂

art integration - the journey of a pumpkin seed

To get students thinking creatively, have them make a comic that shows a pumpkin seed’s journey as it turns into a ready-to-harvest pumpkin! The template for this is included in this resource about the pumpkin life cycle.

There are plenty of fun and engaging pumpkin activities for second-grade and third-grade students. Enjoy this season! And as the saying goes…“When life gives you pumpkins, make pie.”