Fall is all about brilliant colors, cooler weather and the excitement of autumn activities. It’s the perfect time to bring fun, seasonal books into your reading routine. Doing hands-on activities with the books can help young readers connect with the stories in meaningful ways, building literacy skills through play and creativity. Here are some seasonal topics and activities to inspire your reading sessions this harvest season!
Fall/Autumn
Fall is full of sensory experiences: the crunch of leaves, the smell of pumpkin spice and the warmth of a cozy sweater. Books about fall can bring these feelings to life and help children understand the changing season.
Fall Phonogram Art: Gather construction paper, markers, glue and fall-related pictures. Create a page by gluing or drawing pictures for each phonogram they have learned or your current focus phonogram. Once complete, bind the pages together to create a Fall Phonogram Book.
Pumpkins
Pumpkins are a fall favorite, seen everywhere from harvest festivals to decorations. Books about pumpkins are a fun way to introduce young readers to this iconic fruit’s life cycle and significance in culture.
Pumpkin Hop: Lay pumpkin-shaped paper plates with words your reader can decode, and have them hop from one to the next, reading each word aloud. If they get one wrong, they start over, reinforcing decoding skills.
Leaves
The falling leaves are perfect for inspiring readers' curiosity and creativity during fall.
Leaf Word Sort: Write words on collected fall leaves, focusing on phonics concepts like vowel sounds or syllables. Kids can sort and read the words while enjoying nature's fall colors.
Bats
Bats are an exciting subject for young readers. These books can help dispel myths and teach young readers about these fascinating nocturnal animals.
Bat Rhyming Game: Using phonogram game tiles, create rhyming words by changing the first sound while keeping the vowel and ending sound the same (e.g., bat, mat, flat). This game is a fun way to practice phonemic awareness and decoding.
Spiders
Spiders might be spooky to some, but they area fascinating subjects for children’s books and activities in the fall.
Spider Web Phonics: Draw or print a spider web and write a phonogram at the end of each web spindle. Create a spider and cut it out. This will be the “spider” that moves around the web. To play, say a word aloud and have the child move the spider to the phonogram that spells out the word. For example, to spell “web,” the child would move the spider to “w,” then move to “e,” and finally to “b.” You can adjust the phonograms on the web according to the child’s skill level. For example, use single-letter phonograms for beginners and include blends for more advanced readers. If working on letter recognition, say a sound and have the child move the spider to the corresponding phonogram.
Apples
Apples are a classic fall treat and a great subject for books and activities that explore both the science and fun of this harvest season fruit.
Apple Word Hop: Similar to the Pumpkin Hop, readers hop quickly from one word to the next, reading each word aloud. If a word is misread, they return to the beginning and start again. To add a fun twist, use different colored apples for them to hop on, and provide a variety of real apples for tasting. For each word read correctly, the child gets to eat an apple slice and then choose their favorite kind.
Incorporating seasonal books and activities into your reading is a wonderful way to engage curious minds and make learning fun. You can search your bookshelf, local library or favorite bookstore for books about fall that provide a range of topics to explore, and pair them with activities that offer hands-on, interactive ways to reinforce foundational literacy skills.
Enjoy the season and happy reading!
