Sample file. Contents. An Autumn Unit Study. St Aiden s Homeschool 2009 ~ All Rights Reserved Donnette E Davis 2

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1 Contents Section Details Page Nos Introduction 4 1 The Dusk of Autumn 5 What is Autumn? 7 Crossword 11 The Old Oak Tree 12 The Last Dream of Autumn 17 Student Comprehension & Vocabulary Activity 20 Autumn Colour Palette Activity 44 Autumn Crossword 46 How the Leaves Came Down 48 Why do Leaves Fall? 50 Before the Leaves Fall Poem 51 Student Activity 52 2 Learning About Leaves 53 Student Activity 54 True or False 57 Leaf Math 58 The Painter Poem Activity 59 Copywork 60 Poem October 61 Leaves Glossary 62 Student Activity Leaves 63 Wordsearch 64 REVISION AUTUMN 65 Autumn Crossword 68 Leaf Activity 70 3 Birds 72 Parent/Educator Lesson Guide 73 Lesson Idea : Birds 80 Lesson Plan : Bird Study 86 Bird Vocabulary 87 The Dove & The Woodpecker 88 Poem 89 Crossword 90 Bird Families Activity 92 Types of Birds Crossword 94 4 The Grey Squirrel 97 Squirrel Copywork 99 Squirrel Activity 100 Squirrel Vocabulary 101 Squirrel Crossword 102 Student Activity 104 Wordsearch 106 Word Unscramble 107 Squirrel Colouring 109 Autumn Activities & Crafts Thematic Printables, incl. acrostic poem, flashcards, calendar, tic-tac-toe, 119 concentration, days & Number Cards Acknowledgements & Terms of use 162 St Aiden s Homeschool 2009 ~ All Rights Reserved Donnette E Davis 2

3 Introduction October is the month of painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruit and leaves, and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky. November the later twilight. ~ Thoreau In this Autumn Unit Study I have attempted to touch on interesting and important aspects of the season, and have included studies on harvest, birds, squirrels, trees and leaves by way of comparing how each adapts to the changing seasons. Because the seasons are more pronounced in the Northern Hemisphere than what we experience in South Africa I have based my research on those regions and included events/celebrations surrounding the autumn season. New vocabulary will be introduced into each section, as well as a number of poems, songs and Copywork/writing exercises. Fun mathematical exercises, as well as a number of crafts, recipes, crosswords, word searches, and general vocabulary exercises have been included. As with all activities involving crafting, cutting, cooking, pasting, the use of small, sharp or hot objects, I urge parents/educators to exercise the utmost caution and supervision. This unit contains activities suitable for very young children to children in around Grade 5. Not all exercises are suitable for all age groups, but some can be adapted to younger or older ages. Where possible, blank templates have been included for parents/educators to create their own age-appropriate exercises. Images utilised in this book are licensed to me by Green Label Clipart where not in the public domain. Credits, acknowledgements and terms of use can be viewed on the last page of this book. Thank you for downloading this product. I wish you a safe and blessed educational journey. Warm Wishes Donnette E Davis St Aiden s Homeschool 2009 ~ All Rights Reserved Donnette E Davis 4

4 The Dusk of Autumn Autumn is one of the four seasons that every country on every continent experiences at some stage during the year. In the Northern Hemisphere Autumn is known as Fall and occurs from around September/October through November/December. In the Southern Hemisphere autumn occurs from around February/March to around April/May. We know that spring comes after winter, and this is the time when trees, flowers and plants awaken from their winter sleep. New buds and shoots are bright green, orange or yellow and sweet smelling. After spring comes summer when the plants and trees are in full bloom, soaking up the sun and summer rains. Autumn occurs after summer. This is the time when the trees, plants and flowers get ready to rest for winter. For me this is the most beautiful time of the year. Probably the best way to sum up what actually happens with the change from summer to autumn, before winter, is this age-old story of the Old Oak tree. THE LAST DREAM OF THE OLD OAK The monarch oak, the patriarch of trees, Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees; Three centuries he grows, and three he stays Supreme In state, and In three more decays. In the forest, high up on the steep shore, and not far from the open sea-coast, stood a very old oak tree. It was just three hundred and sixty-five years old, but that long time was to the tree as the same number of days might be to us; we wake by day and sleep by night, and then we have our dreams. It is different with the tree; it is obliged to keep awake through three seasons of the year and does not get any sleep till winter comes. Winter is its time for rest; its night after the long day of spring, summer and autumn. The oak remained awake through the morning of spring, the noon of summer, and the evening of autumn; its time of rest, its night, drew nigh winter was coming. Already the storms were singing, Good-night, good night. Here fell a leaf and there fell a leaf. We will rock you and lull you. Go to sleep, go to sleep. We will sing you to sleep, and shake you to sleep, and it will do your old twigs good; they will even crackle with pleasure. Sleep sweetly, sleep sweetly, it is your three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth night. Correctly speaking, you are but a youngster in the world. Sleep sweetly; the clouds will drop snow upon you, which will be quite a coverlid, warm and sheltering to your feet. Sweet sleep to you and pleasant dreams. St Aiden s Homeschool 2009 ~ All Rights Reserved Donnette E Davis 5

5 So now we know that fall is the time before winter, when the trees, flowers and plants prepare themselves to rest until the time again when spring replaces winter, and when they will awaken with new life, glorious colours and beautiful scents. Leaves are to plants what lungs are to animals. Where there are no trees the water from melted snow disappears too rapidly; moisture that is needed in the soil is taken away by floods. Forests build up a wall and protect the farmers crops. We would have greater extremes of heat and cold if it were not for the trees. The leaves catch the rain and hold it for a time before sending it to the earth. There are few birds where there are no trees. The old leaves make a deep carpet in the woods and keep the ground from freezing. Trees can prevent dangerous floods. The roots and trunks stop the water that comes pouring down the hillside. We have severe droughts in places where there are no trees. It has been estimated that a large plant (sunflower) gives off over a quart of water a day. The beauty of colour and texture combined with the endless variety of leaf forms cannot fail to prove a constant source of wonder and delight to children during this season of bright, blue weather. For the purpose of this unit study we will focus on one tree, the oak. There are stupendous questions even in leaves, questions yet unanswered in opening buds, questions that glisten in the air on plumy seeds, riddles in rainbow colors imprisoned in a petal, and an endless catechism hangs on many a fragile stem. ~Gibson Highways. St Aiden s Homeschool 2009 ~ All Rights Reserved Donnette E Davis 6

6 What is Autumn? f you are lucky, you live in one of those parts of the world where Nature has one last fling before settling down into winter's sleep. In those lucky places, as days shorten and temperatures become crisp, the quiet green palette of summer foliage is transformed into the vivid autumn palette of reds, oranges, gold s, and browns before the leaves fall off the trees. On special years, the colours are truly breathtaking. How does autumn colour happen? For years, scientists have worked to understand the changes that happen to trees and shrubs in the autumn. Although we don't know all the details, we do know enough to explain the basics and help you to enjoy more fully Nature's multicoloured autumn farewell. Three factors influence autumn leaf colour: ~ leaf pigments, length of night, and weather, but not quite in the way we think. The timing of colour change and leaf fall is primarily regulated by the calendar, that is, the increasing length of night. None of the other environmental influences-temperature, rainfall, food supply, and so on-are as unvarying as the steadily increasing length of night during autumn. As days grow shorter, and nights grow longer and cooler, biochemical processes in the leaf begin to paint the landscape with Nature's autumn palette. Where do autumn colours come from? A colour palette needs pigments, and there are three types that are involved in autumn colour. Chlorophyll, which gives leaves their basic green colour. It is necessary for photosynthesis, the chemical reaction that enables plants to use sunlight to manufacture sugars for their food. Trees in the temperate zones store these sugars for their winter dormant period. Carotenoids, which produce yellow, orange, and brown colours in such things as corn, carrots, and daffodils, as well as rutabagas, buttercups, and bananas. Anthocyanins, which give colour to such familiar things as cranberries, red apples, concord grapes, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and plums. They are water soluble and appear in St Aiden s Homeschool 2009 ~ All Rights Reserved Donnette E Davis 7

Why Do Leaves Change Color?

Why Do Leaves Change Color? A Reading A Z Level M Leveled Book Word Count: 548 LEVELED BOOK M Why Do Leaves Change Color? G J M Written by Kira Freed Visit www.readinga-z.com for thousands of books and