Autumn 76 Autumn

Further SuggestionsAutumn WindsRecite the poem Autumn Winds (See Resource 1: Autumn Songs and Prompts)

Sing Autumn Winds (Sung to the tune of Ring a Ring O’ Roses)

Action: Turn on electric fans or use hand fans to blow over learners’ arms and legs.

Autumn winds begin to blow

Action: Flutter leaves over the learners’ heads.

Coloured leaves fall fast and slow

Action: Wave leaves tied to a stick around in a whirling movement.

Whirling twirling all around

Action: Flutter the leaves on the learners again, focusing on them landing on the ground around them.

Till at last they touch the ground

You can find the lyrics for The Leaves of the Trees and Falling Leaves at www.brighthubeducation.com

You can find further suggestions for extending this activity at www.flolonghorn.com

What You Need • Battery-operated or electric

fans • Autumn leaves • Pine cones• Conkers • Straw• Twigs• Bird seed• Barley• Moss• Birdsong recorded on a

switch device • Large trays

Setting the SceneYou could:

• paint the windows in oranges, brown, reds, and yellows;

• use autumn colours in spotlights, bubble tubes, projector wheels and fibre optics or use an umbrella/peg line to hang pine-scented air fresheners, pine cones and conkers;

• take the learners for a walk around the school grounds, or to a park if possible, and collect different types of autumn resources to bring back to the classroom; or

• prepare a story to accompany the walk, or use the proposed framework sample set out in the next column.

What To Do• Set up trays large enough to hold two feet and fill each

with items listed in What You Need (opposite).

• Make a line with the trays. Remove the learners’ socks and shoes so that they can experience a sensory walk over all the different stimuli in the trays through their feet. Place each learner’s feet in a tray.

The following is a suggested framework for your story. You can repeat this when introducing each tactile or auditory experience.

We’re going on a walk today,I wonder what we’ll see.

Will I like the things we find?Will they frighten me?

Mmmmmmm, what is this?It’s …………………………… under my feet!

I’m looking rather …………………………… and feeling/action ………………………….

(Describe the learners’ responses and progress as you see fit)

Use a wide selection of adjectives, exaggerated dramatically to mimic the words such as:- Mmmmmm, what is this?- It’s crunchy under my feet- I’m looking rather surprised now and feeling a little

bewildered.

Action: Take each learner’s feet out of the tray. Use an electric fan to make the walk windy. Spray water onto the learners’ feet and dampen some items to replicate a walk on a rainy day.

Areas of LearningPrimaryLanguage and LiteracyThe World Around Us

Post-PrimaryEnglish Environment and Society

An Autumn WalkLearning Activity 3

6 Autumn