Fabulously Festive Fall Fun!

I am absolutely delighted that my favorite season is upon us!  Fall just matches my hair, my style, my mood, possibly my soul ;)  Even though I feel the pressure to meet all of the state and national standards in education...I just had to incorporate some fall fun into my lessons lately.

I started with a new (and literal) twist on poetry.  I found this lesson a couple of years ago here:  http://www2.crayola.com/lesson-plans/detail/falling-leaves-poetry-spinners-lesson-plan/

I wasn't sure how to implement it until I did a unit on poetry.  We focused mostly on sounds and did some easy acrostic poetry, but I let them write their favorite poem on one of these spinners; which I drew on construction paper beforehand.  I was surprised at how well they were able to cut in a continuous spiral without being confused!  It feels great when something actually goes right!  It might have been a little more educational if I had had them write their own poetry on it; but, that would be a good idea for 4th or 5th graders.  We definitely need to work on writing!

Also, check out www.shelsilverstein.com for some awesome links to Shel's poetry, which is my all time favorite!  We divided up his poems and performed them as reading groups...it was so fun!

Last but not least, here is a pic from our Fall Carnival.  We had a night full of western fun and the kids surprisingly loved the corn hole that I brought from home.  Corn hole is a fun and simple game that the middle schoolers (and middle aged men) get seriously competitive about.  I loved the view of the sun setting and the fresh air that night.  Stay tuned for more posts after my fall break!  I am hoping to upload a matrix containing a review of all of my favorite picture books...coming soon!