Sports

FairyTales

Mystery

FolkTales

Other

Animals

Here’sabumpercropofharvestactivitiesjust“ripe”

foryourautumnclassroom.

We’re Harvesting Good Books!

Promoting an enjoyment of books TocreateanOctoberreading-incentivebulletinboard,enlargeonecopyofthescare-crowpatternandsixcopiesofthebasketpatternonpage10.Colorandcutoutthescarecrowandmountitontheboard.Programthebasketsandcutslitsinthemasshown.Createaborderofdriedcornhusksortwistedpaperandcorncutouts.Addthetitle“We’reHarvestingGoodBooks!”Duplicatethecornpatternonpage11foreachstudent.Aseachstudentfinishesabook,havehimfillintheinformationonanearofcornandslipitintoabasket. Tovarythedisplay,changethetitleto“SomethingtoCrowAbout!”anddisplaystu-dents’goodwork.Orchangethetitleto“We’reAllEarsforVowels.”Labelthebasketswithvowels.Program24earsofcornwithwordsorpicturesforstudentstomatch.Laminatebothbasketsandcornfordurability.Placethecorncutoutsinabasketneartheboard.Studentschooseearsofcornandplacetheearsinthecorrectbaskets.

Gather in the Harvest Using reference materials, researching local crop production

Harvesttimebringstomindmanyimages—Indiancorn,yellowsquash,orangepumpkins,andbushelsofcrisp,juicyapples.IntroduceyourstudentstoharvesttimebyreadingtheclassicAutumn Harvest byAlvinTresselt.Askstudentswhattheythinkofwhentheyhear“harvest.”Explainthattheharvesthappenswhencropsarereadytobegathered. Manycrops—butnotall—areharvestedinthefall.Askstudentstohypothesizewhydif-ferentcropsarereadytoharvestatdifferenttimes.Haveolderstudentsuseencyclopediasandotherreferencebookstofindoutwhenmajorcropsareharvestedintheirownstate.CallyourlocalAgriculturalExtensionServiceforadditionalinformationaboutcropsgrowninyourarea.Asaclass,makealistofcropsalongwiththemonthsinwhichfarmersharvestthem.Ifpossible,askafarmertodescribewhatharvesttimemeanstohim.Arehiscropsharvestedbymachinesorpickedbyfieldhands?Helpstudentsconcludethatharvesttimemeanshardwork.Whencropsarereadyandtheweatherisright,farmersandhelpersmayworkintothenighttogatherintheharvest.

ideas by Resa Audet and Kathy Wolf

4

Sports

FairyTales

Mystery

FolkTales

Other

Animals

King Corn Recognizing similarities and differences,

identifying corn products FindoutwhycorniskingwhenitcomestofarminginAmerica.Displayfoodssuchascornchips,corncereal,cornonthecob,popcorn,cannedcorn,cornmeal,cornbread,cornsyrup,andcornoil.Discussthesimilaritiesanddifferencesamongthesefoods.Explainthatallofthesefoodscomefromthecornplant. Tosharecornfactswithyourstudents,makeeightcorncutouts(seethepatternandnoteonpage11)andlabeleachwithoneofthefollowingfacts:

• CornisthemostabundantgrainintheWesternHemisphere.

• TheUnitedStatesproducesmorethanhalfthecorngrownintheworld.

• MostofthecornisgrownintheCornBelt.• NativeAmericansgrewcornlongbefore

Columbusarrived.• Thekindsofcorngrowntodayareimprovedforbig-

gerandbetterharvests.• Mostofthecorngrowntodayisfieldcornusedto

feedlivestock.• Cornisplantedinlong,straightrowstomakeit

easiertoharvest.• Cornnotfedtoanimalsismadeintootherproducts

inmills.

Mountthecorncutoutsonabulletinboardandprovideeachstudentwithablankcopy.Haveeachstudentlistasmanycornproductsashecanfindonhispattern.Studentscanreadlabelsathomeoringrocerystores.(Examplesincludece-real,syrup,cornstarch,andoil,aswellasketchup,candies,icecream,margarine,andsausage.)Havestudentscutoutandcolortheirearsandaddthemtotheboard.

From Field to Feast Sequencing steps to plant and harvest corn

Forafascinatingsocialstudieslesson,fol-lowthejourneyofcornfromthefieldtothetable.ReadaloudCorn Belt Harvest byRaymondBial.HavestudentslocatetheCornBeltonamapoftheUnitedStates.Thenreviewthestepsintheplantingandharvestingofcorn. Toprepare,makeonecopyofthecornpat-ternonpage11,maskoutthewords,andduplicatetenearsofcorn.Colorandcutouttheears;thenprinteachsentencebelowonanear.Laminatetheearsandplacetheminabasket.Providetenclipclothespinsandhelpstudentscliptheearsinorderonalinebelowthechalkboard. 1.Ahugetractorpullsadisktobreakupthesoil. 2.Thefarmerloadsaplanterwithseedcorn. 3.Bylatespring,youngcornplantssprout. 4.ByJuly,thecornmaybe“head-high.” 5.Inautumn,thegreenleavesturnlightbrown. 6.Inlatefall,machinescalledcombinespick,shuck,

andshelltheears. 7.Combinesunloadthecornintotrucksorwagons. 8.Thecornisstoredingrainelevators. 9.Traincarstakethecorntomillsandprocessing

plants.10.Atthemills,cornismadeintocornproducts.

Youmaywishtoplacethelaminatedearsandananswerkeyinabasketatalearningcenterforindividualsequencingpractice.Asafollow-upactivity,assiststudentsinpreparingcornbreadfromamix.Serveitwarmwithbutterasyoureviewthestepsfromfieldtofeast!

5

Here’s Something to Crow About! I was tired of standing all day in a field. I asked the Corn Fairy to wave her magicwand. It worked! I jumpeddown and ran away.

8 + 3 =

Crows In A Row

1.Chooseacolorsetofcrowcards.2.Putthecardsinorder.

3.Turncardsovertocheck.

squash

pumpkin

okra

6 + 6 =

7 + 5 =

Candy Corn MathUsing manipulatives to solve math facts, writing word problems

Here’samathactivitythat’ssomethingtocrowabout!Programthecrowcardsonpage12withadditionorsubtractionproblems,andduplicateasheetforeachchild.Providepiecesofcandycornforstudentstouseasmanipulativestofindtheanswers.Varythisactivitybyhavingstudentscreatemathwordprob-lemsaboutcrowsandwritetheproblemsonthecrowcards.Putallthesetsofcardstogetheratacenter,andhaveeachstudentusethecandypiecestosolvetheproblemsposedbyhisclassmates.Whenthemathlessonisover,allowstudentstoeattheircandycorn.

Crows in a RowUsing manipulatives to reinforce sequencing skills

Explaintochildrenthatfarmersputscarecrowsinfieldstofrightenawaycrowsthatmighteatnewlyplantedseedsordam-agecropsbeforetheycanbeharvested.Thecrowslearn,how-ever,thatthescarecrowsareharmless. Forthissequencingactivity,studentslineupthesecrowsinrows.Toprepare,duplicate,color,andcutouttheartonpage10andmountitonastring-tieenvelopeasshown.Programthecrowcardsonpage12withordinalnumberwordstosequenceorsetsofvocabularywordstoputinABCorder.Duplicateeachsetofcardsonadifferentcolorofconstructionpaper.Laminatefordurability,ifdesired,beforecuttingthemapart.Programthebacksofthecardsforself-checking.Bandthesetstogetherandstorethemintheenvelope.Thestudentchoosesasetofcoloredcrowcards,putstheminsequence,andturnsthemovertocheck.

6

Here’s Something to Crow About! I was tired of standing all day in a field. I asked the Corn Fairy to wave her magicwand. It worked! I jumpeddown and ran away.

8 + 3 =

Crows In A Row

1.Chooseacolorsetofcrowcards.2.Putthecardsinorder.

3.Turncardsovertocheck.

squash

pumpkin

okra

6 + 6 =

7 + 5 =

Animal HarvestsResponding to literature, researching

animal harvesters Autumnisatimeofharvestforpeopleandforsomeanimalstoo.Assummerends,squirrels,chipmunks,andcertaintypesofmicebegingather-ingfoodstoresforwinter.IntroduceyourclasstoananimalharvesterbyreadingHeetunka’s Harvest byJenniferBerryJones.InthisstoryHeetunkatheBeanMouseisbusygatheringearthbeanstostoreinherundergroundhome.TroublebeginswhenawomantakesHeetunka’sbeanswithoutleavingsuetordriedcorntoreplacethem. Afterreadingthisstory,haveeachstudentillustrateHeetunkagatheringherearthbeans.Pro-videeachchildwithafewdriedlimabeanstoglueonhispicture.Provideolderstudentswithavarietyofreferencematerialstofindouthowotheranimalsgatherandstorefood.

Scarecrow PalsMaking comparisons, writing from

a character’s point of view ShareThe ScarebirdbySidFleischmanwithyourstudents;thenmakescarecrowpuppetstoencouragecreativewriting.Thisheartwarmingstoryisaboutalonelyoldfarmerwhobuilds—andthenbefriends—ascarecrow.Eventually,Lone-someJohnrealizesthevalueofhumanfriend-shipwhenayoungmancomestohelphimonhisfarm.Afterreadingthestory,askstudentstocomparethefriendshipthatthefarmerhadwiththescarebirdtothefriendshiphedevelopedwiththeyoungman.Askstudentstotellwhyascare-crowwouldorwouldnotmakeagoodfriend. Thenhaveeachstudentcreatehisownscarecrowpal.Duplicatethescarecrowpatternonpage10foreachchildtocolorandcutout.Demonstratehowtoattachittoarulerwithtapetomakeastickpuppet. Tosetthestageforcreativewriting,askchildrenhowlonesomeitwouldbetostandaloneinafieldallday.Whomightascarecrowtalktoinafield?Whatmighthappenifthescarecrowranaway?Onacopyofthereproducibleonpage13,haveeachchildwriteastoryfromhisscarecrow’spointofview.Bindthestoriesinaclassbooktitled“IfScarecrowsCouldTalk.”Youngerstudentscanusetheirstickpuppetstoactoutconversationsbetweentheirscarecrowsandotherpuppetsthatyouprovide.

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A Bushel of Harvest BooksAddthesetitlestoyourbasketofharvestbooks!

Corn Belt Harvest byRaymondBialBarn Dance! byBillMartinJr.andJohnArchambaultThe Scarebird!bySidFleischman

Indian Corn MosaicsFollowing directions

Aw,shucks!Thesecolorfulcornmo-saicswilladdabrighttouchtoyourroom.Purchaseasupplyofcoloredpopcornkernels.Filleachsectionofamuffintinwithadifferentcolorofkernels;thenplacethemuffintin,alongwithsomeglue,construc-tionpaper,andpencils,atacenter.Instructeachstudenttodrawortraceasimpleseasonaldesignonconstructionpaper.Thenhavehimgluekernelsofcorntothedesign.Allowthedesigntodry;thenmounttheprojectsonabulletinboardtitled“IndianCornMosaics.”

Shine on, Harvest MoonWriting a poem

Fullmoonsarefullofmagicandmystery.They’remadeforstorytellingandwishing,too!Theseharvestmoonsshinetoinspirepoetry.ExplainthattheharvestmoonisthefullmoonnearesttheSeptemberequinox(usuallySeptember23),whendaysandnightsareequalinlength. Tosetthestageforpoetrywriting,readaloudtherhym-ingBarn Dance! byBillMartinJr.andJohnArchambault,andpointoutthemoonlitillustrations.Withyourstudents,makealistofwordsorphrasestodescribethefullharvestmoon.Thenhaveeachchildcreateapoemabouttheharvestmoon. Tomakeaharvestmoondisplay,eachchildwillneedone9”x12”sheetofblackconstructionpaper,onesix-inchyellowconstructionpapercircle,onesmallindexcard,onepaperfastener,goldandsilverfoilstars,chalkorawhitecrayon;glue;andapencil.Haveeachchildwriteherpoemononesideofherindexcard.Demonstratehowtogluethecardtothecenteroftheblackpaper.Coverthecardwiththemooncutoutandattachit,asshown,withapaperfastener.Forafinaltouch,stickthefoilstarstotheblackpaper.Haveeachchildwritehernameonthebackusingthechalkorawhitecrayon.Displaytheprojectswhereyoungsterscanturnthemoonsupwardtoreadthepoems.

Harvest moonShines down like a spotlight.Raccoons in the cornfieldAre on stage in a yellow glow!

Pattern

8

Scarecrow AnnouncementsFollowing directions

Theseinvitingscarecrowsan-nounceahoedowntoculminateyourunit!Provideawhite,constructionpapercopyofthescarecrowinvitationonpage14foreachstudent.Programtheinvitationwithallofthenecessaryinformationbeforeduplicatingit.Haveeachstudentcolorandfoldherscarecrowasshown;thensendtheinvitationshome.Confirmwithparentswhooffertodonategoodiesforthecel-ebration.

Getreadyforaboot-stompin’goodtimewhenyouhostaHarvestHoedowninyourclassroom!Decorateyourroomwithbalesofhay,pumpkins,andascarecrow.

Inviteparentstojoinyouforstorytellingandsquaredancing.Yeehaw!

Sharing the HarvestFollowing directions to make a recipe Asthehoedownhullabaloowindsdown,treatyourrevelerstoaheartyfeastofvegetablesoup.Inadvance,askparentstobringorsendinabagoffreshorfrozencutvegetables(oracanofveg-etablesoup),disposablebowls,napkins,andplasticspoons.Youwillalsoneedalargesouppot,aladle,andtheseason-ingslistedinyourfavoriterecipe.Helpchildrenaddtheingredientstoabeefstockandsimmeruntilsnacktime.Whilethesoupissimmering,readGrowing Vegetable SoupbyLoisEhlerttoyoung-sters.Yummm!

You’reInvited…

to a

HarvestHoedown!

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A Guest of HonorWorking cooperatively

Gathersomegoodbooksandbalesofhay;thenbuildascarecrowpalforyourreadingcorner.Havestudentandparentvolunteersreadaloudfromyourharvestcollection(seepage8).Endthestory-tellingsessionbyreadingpor-tionsofScarecrow! byValerieLittlewood.Discussdifferentwaysofmakingscare-crows;thengiveparentsandstudentsanopportunitytomakeaclassroomscare-crow. Provideapairofoveralls,along-sleevedshirt,astrawhat,abandana,apairofgloves,apairofworkboots,apaperbag,newspaper,twine,andase-lectionofscrapmaterialsandcraftsup-plies.Withparents’help,havestudentsstufftheshirt,overalls,andpaperbagwithcrumplednewspaper.Gatherthetopofthebagandsecureitattheneckoftheshirtwithtwine.Inserttheglovesinthesleevesandthebootsinthelegs;thensecurewithtwine.Usingthescrapsandcraftmaterials,addfeaturestothescarecrow.Putonhishatandbandanaforthefinishingtouches.Givetheguestofhonoranameandsethiminachairoronabaleofhayinyourreadingcorner.

Swing Your Partner!Developing gross-motor skills

Plansomehigh-steppingactivitiesthatwillhaveyoungstersclappingtheirhandswithdelight!Ifpossible,invitealo-calsquare-danceclubtodemonstrateandteachsquaredancingtoyourstudents.Orchoosesomerecordedsquare-dancemusic.Playthemusicasparentsandguestsarrive. Readaloud Barn Dance! byBillMartinJr.andJohnArchambault.Inthisstoryayoungboy,afiddle-playingscare-crow,andapasselofbarnyardanimalsenjoyarousing,magic-fillednightofbarndancing.Afterreadingthestory,adjourntotheschoolgymandinvitestudentsandparentstograbapartner.Demonstratehowtobowtoyourpartner,promenade,swingyourpartner,swingyourcorner,anddo-si-do.Withabitofpractice,youryoung-sterswillbeabletodo-si-dolikepros!