Autumn Deeper Learning

Fall, also known as Autumn, is a wonderful time of year to introduce activities such as gardening, cooking, and many art projects as well as outdoor physical fitness and other outdoor activities.?

Here are some ideas and resources for project-based learning during Autumn. Note: This page contains resources related to the Fall Season as well as some special dates in October. You will want to do them all! (Thanksgiving and other special dates in November will be in a separate post.)

As you think about the following possibilities for Autumn PBL21 bear in mind which disciplines are integrated in each project or theme, which of the 21st century skills are being developed and which of the 21st century multiple literacies are being utilized? These are listed at the end of this post.

First of all, A Study of Seasons.

What are seasons and why do they occur? This takes you right into a focus on Earth and Space Science. Your students may explore explaining the seasons, why leaves change color and the Harvest Moon.

Fall Harvest

When we think of Fall, we think of Harvest. What is harvested in the Fall? Many crops from Apples, Artichokes and Arugula to Pomegranates, Potatoes, Pumpkins and Quinces. And many more in between.

Here are a few projects to do and questions to explore for Autumn:

• Where does our food come from???This question is actually as relevant for high school as it is for elementary students!
• Visit a pumpkin farm or an apple orchard. Let students take photos and then create a photo essay when they get back to school. Or, they could choose one photo then write a haiku to accompany it. Or write a story, then convert it to video/animation, beginning with storyboarding. See digital storyboarding tools here and here.
• Do some classroom farming!?See these outstanding projects from the?Green Bronx Machine!?Watch this excellent?introductory video.
• Visit a local farmer's market.
• Culinary Arts - explore recipes for vegetables and fruits harvested in the fall. Then prepare some dishes, perhaps apple or pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, butternut squash soup, apple butter. . . . go high tech and let students work in teams to create a cooking show.
• Urban Farming - many schools in large cities conduct complete farming projects, including marketing and sales. An excellent example is Our School at Blair Grocery in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans.
• Garden Teaching Kitchen - If you school has an edible schoolyard, or a living schoolyard, then you should also have a garden kitchen. Here is a video one school in Washington, DC created for funding their teaching kitchen. (Scroll down a bit for the video.)
• K-2 Science Lesson - Where Does Food Come From?
• Window Farming
• Students can plan and supply a new, sustainable School Lunch Program.

Johnny Appleseed Projects

Johnny Appleseed brought faith, hope and courage to the pioneers living on the Ohio frontier.?Philanthropist, conservationist, environmentalist, horticulturalist, visionary, missionary, humanitarian and border scout, Appleseed is a true inspirational hero for all generations. From the Johnny Appleseed Heritage Center

There is a wealth of curricular connections to a theme/project developed around Johnny Appleseed. An excellent culminating event for such a project would be a community-wide Johnny Appleseed Festival.?They happen every fall all over the country!

This image from a Johnny Appleseed festival reminds us that Johnny Appleseed's father, Nathaniel Chapman, fought as a minuteman at the Battle of Concord, and later served in the Continental Army under General George Washington.

This is also a great theme from which to develop a high quality service-learning project, from PK to 16!?If you do one that is geared toward environmental studies - for example planting apple trees like Appleseed did (or other trees native to your area) you can then circle back and make connections to it next Spring when you do a project for Earth Hour and/or Earth Day!

See our?Johnny Appleseed?page for many resources and ideas for teaching the standards, literacies and 21st century skills through a project based upon this wonderful real person from history!

Weather and Disaster Preparedness?

Weather hazards?associated with fall - droughts, floods, fog, hurricanes, tornadoes, space weather, wildfires, wind, winter weather . . also see La Ni?a?and?El Ni?o

You could divide your students into teams, and let each team study one of the above weather events. Then let each team also create a kit or PSA (public service announcement) on disaster preparedness, and distribute them to the community. This could be done online. They could also interview some professionals such as paramedics, firemen, police officers, other medical personnel, government agency personnel and ham radio operators who are often the last resort for communications.

Please share the video above, Vorticity, with your students. It is quite impressive!

Other Fall Celebrations

The Jewish?festival?of?Sukkot?or Succot (Hebrew: ????? or ???????, sukkōt)?, which commemorates the time spent in exile by giving thanks.?

Halloween?(All Hallows Eve) celebrations on Oct. 31 remind people of the connection with death, the spirits of those who have left this earth, and thus rebirth.?This link to Halloween contains pages dedicated to the history of Halloween, Halloween tech, Frankenstein, Day of the Dead, Zombies, War of the Worlds, Witches, Ghosts, Monsters and Vampires, and a page dedicated to Projects, Lesson Plans, Activities, Music, and more!?

On the following day, Christians, especially Catholics, celebrate All Hallows Day, or All Saints' Day, when people visit their departed and bring flower to their graves.?

Dia de los Muertos?-?the living celebrate their ancestors during the Day of the Dead on Nov. 2.?

Literature related to Autumn

• Autumn-Fall Poetry
• Children's Books for Fall
• Native American Indian Harvest Legends
• Astronomy Myths and Legends
• Demeter - Greek Goddess of the Bountiful Harvest

Other Special Dates in October

Taco Day is October 4

You may be surprised at the huge range of possibilities for projects based on tacos! This lesson, or project, was done by a group of university students of architecture. They deconstructed a taco! The students wanted to explore the "local tacoshed!" This is actually a very high level project involving economics, globalization, environmental studies and social justice.

Another less comprehensive, and simpler, project would be to have students determine the nutritional value of various taco recipes. Please see many curricular connections and project ideas on our Taco Day page.

Chocolate Day (in the USA) is October 28

Designing a project based upon the theme of Chocolate opens doors to avenues from the history of chocolate to the chocolate industry, health benefits, marketing, economics, geography, environmental studies and important social issues such as contemporary child labor and slavery.

Visit our?Chocolate page?for a starter list of resources!?Oh, and don't forget the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?or the film,?Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!

Thrill Day is Saturday, October 29, 2016

Thrill the World?- you and your?students can participate in this global event on Halloween weekend.?A celebration of community and a passion for life, it is a tribute to the work of Michael Jackson. Each event is also a fundraiser for a local charity.?

?Learn the Thriller Dance?- by York University, Fine Arts Faculty, Dance Department

View?worldwide list?of events, including their email addresses, registered to participate.

Professional Development Activity for Faculty:

This is an excellent activity for a PLC (Professional Learning Community), or it may be used independently with one or more teachers interested in exploring the possibilities for one or more of these themes.

Using the 3 compasses to 21st century education brainstorm all the connections you can for your chosen theme. THEN, check the CCSS or your state, or national, standards and discover how many can be taught through this project for each discipline. You will be amazed.

For additional information and directions on planning a project please see Mapping Out the School Year and Serendipity in Curriculum Design.

Better yet, attend our 21st Century Schools Institute in San Antonio in 2023 (Date To Be Determined) where you will create your very own PBL21 curriculum designed specifically for your students, in your community! At the link you will find complete information on the two workshops (attend one or both), registration, venue,

To access some of the resources on the 21st Century Schools web site please subscribe (free of charge) to obtain a password. Thank you!

Anne Shaw, Director

[email protected]

7 Survival Skills of the 21st Century:

* Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

* Collaboration Across Networks & Leading by Influence

* Agility & Adaptability

* Initiative & Entrepreneurship

* Effective Oral & Written Communication

* Accessing & Analyzing Information

* Curiosity & Imagination

Multiple Literacies

* Creativity & the Arts

* Ecoliteracy

* Media Literacy

* Financial Literacy

* Emotional/Social Literacy

* Physical Fitness & Health as Literacies

* Global Competencies