The first day of fall is a timely (and easy!) way to bring seasonal lessons into the classroom and tie them to concepts and phenomena students already recognize. Changing leaves? Shorter days? Fall sports? All engaging.

These first-day-of-fall activities turn that interest into ELA and science conversations and don’t require you to build brand new units from scratch.

[Explore first day of fall science activities](id-sci)

Key Takeaways

● Start with the season students can see: The first day of fall gives you a natural launch point for questions about seasons, sunlight, leaves, ecosystems, and weather.
● Match the activity to the evidence you need: A write prompt, leaf lab, decomposer model, or data task can show student thinking in different ways.
● Keep the lesson flexible: Articles, videos, datasets, and hands-on activities let you choose a fall science resource that fits your grade band and available time.

Start with the seasonal changes students already notice, like shorter days, cooler weather, and colorful leaves. Then turn them into science questions about sunlight, ecosystems, and weather.

What causes the seasons?

Seasons happen because Earth tilts as it orbits the Sun. This changes how directly sunlight reaches different parts of the planet. Use this first day of fall activity to help students surface, test, and correct the common misconception that seasons happen because Earth moves closer to or farther from the Sun.

Activity sequence: What causes the seasons?

Recommended for upper elementary and middle school, this 45- to 60-minute activity helps students use the fall equinox to test a misconception, read for evidence, and revise their explanation of seasonal change.

Focus prompt

What causes the seasons? Feel free to take your best guess.

Warm-up

Collect the misconception first

Have students answer before they read so you can see whether they connect seasons to Earth’s tilt, changing sunlight, or Earth’s distance from the Sun.

Activity

Use the full seasons activity

Open the Newsela activity sequence when you want the prompt, article, write prompt, and extension in one place.

Open the activity

Anchor article

Read for the core explanation

Use “Big Questions: What causes the seasons?” to help students identify evidence about Earth’s tilt and sunlight.

Read the article

Visual evidence

Show how tilt changes sunlight

Add the tilt explainer when students need a clearer visual model for why sunlight changes across seasons.

Open the explainer

Comparison text

Compare the hemispheres

Use the hemisphere article to help students see that seasonal patterns depend on where you are on Earth.

Compare seasons

Synthesis

Revise the explanation

Have students return to their first answer and revise it with evidence. For an extension, ask them to define aphelion and perihelion, then explain why those terms do not prove that distance from the Sun causes the seasons.

How can a leaf chromatography lab introduce fall science?

A leaf chromatography lab turns a known fall observation into an investigation students can test. Start with the hands-on activity, then use the supporting multimodal content to help students connect hidden leaf pigments, seasonal color changes, and the fall equinox.

Newsela STEM activity

Explore why leaves change color

Use the leaf chromatography activity as the hands-on anchor, then choose a supporting article or video to help students explain what they observed.

Open the fall STEAM activity set

Resource	Use it to	Reading level / runtime	Spanish?
Find the hidden color of leaves Activity	Start the investigation with a hands-on chromatography activity.	710L
Big Questions: Why do leaves change colors? Article	Help students explain the science behind seasonal leaf color changes.	330L–1000L	Yes
To survive wintertime, trees ditch those brilliant leaves Article	Connect colorful leaves to how trees prepare for winter.	400L–1000L	Yes
Why do leaves change colors in the fall? Video	Use a short visual explanation before the lab or as a recap after students observe their results.	2:58
Goodbye summer: Fall equinox marks the first day of autumn Article	Connect the leaf-color investigation to the seasonal timing of the fall equinox.	400L–1010L

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Where do fallen leaves go after autumn?

Fallen leaves do more than pile up and disappear. They become part of a decomposition process that moves matter through an ecosystem. Use this activity to help students investigate decomposers, model how matter moves between living things and the environment, and connect an everyday fall observation to life science.

Newsela STEM activity

Investigate where fallen leaves go

Students model how decomposers break down fallen leaves and move matter through an ecosystem.

Open the activity

Question Why do leaf piles disappear?

Task Build a decomposer model

Standard NGSS 5-LS2-1

Concept Energy and matter

Resource	Type	Reading level / runtime	Spanish?
Soils and nutrient cycling in the rain forest	Article	600L–1370L	Yes
Recycling the dead: how things decompose	Article	410L–910L	—
Good news: You don’t need to rake your leaves; experts explain why	Article	580L–1250L	—
The dirt on decomposers	Video	3:18	—

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How can football data bring fall sports into science class?

Use students’ interest in fall sports to get them working on data analysis. They can explore football physics data, look for patterns, then connect what they notice to articles about different aspects of the game. It’s a perfect fit for upper elementary and middle school students.

Newsela STEM activity

Analyze football physics data

Students explore football helmet data, look for patterns, and connect their findings to related sports science texts.

Open the football data activity

Resource	Use it to	Reading level / runtime	Spanish?
Football Physics Deck by Tuva Dataset	Introduce grouping, ordering, and data exploration before students move into Plot View.	—	—
Football Physics Dataset by Tuva Dataset	Have students explore helmet data on their own or with the guided worksheet.	—	—
Researchers reveal the secret to the perfect football throw Article	Connect football to physics, motion, and evidence from research.	510L–930L	—
Opinion: It’s time to end football in high school Article	Invite evidence-based discussion about football safety and student athletics.	580L–1400L	Yes
Can extra padding make football helmets safer? Article	Pair the dataset with a text that explores helmet design and safety questions.	700L–1300L	—
Dream Jobs: Professional football player Job Profile	Add a career connection for students interested in the sport.	360L–950L	—
How to analyze and interpret data Explainer	Support students who need a refresher on reading and interpreting datasets.	480L–960L	—

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Which Generation Genius science videos fit fall lessons?

Generation Genius videos work well when you want a ready-to-use fall lesson without building everything from scratch. Each video includes lesson supports, student-facing guides, vocabulary, discussion prompts, DIY activity guides, and Formative-powered assessment options.

Generation Genius videos

Pick a fall-ready science video by grade band

Use these videos to support lessons on seasons, weather, the Sun, and Earth systems.

Video	Grade band	Runtime
Four Seasons and Day Length	K–2	11:05
Introduction to Weather	K–2	12:02
Heating and Cooling	K–2	10:42
Earth’s Orbit & Rotation	3–5	11:16
Sun and Other Stars	3–5	10:55
Weather vs. Climate	3–5	12:41
Causes of Seasons	6–8	14:02
Air Masses & Weather Fronts	6–8	14:26

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[Use first day of fall ELA activities](id-ela)

Key Takeaways

● Seasonal texts still need a skill focus. Choose poems, fiction, and articles that help students practice close reading, summary, and genre awareness.
● Pair texts with a purpose. A Venn diagram or paired text analysis worksheet gives students a clear structure for comparing ideas, text structure, and author’s purpose.
● Use interest as the hook. Fall topics can make annotation, discussion, and evidence work feel connected to what students already notice outside class.

First-day-of-fall activities can support more than seasonal excitement. Use ELA texts to build genre awareness, close-reading habits, and evidence-based comparisons while students interact with multimodal content and supports.

What fall fiction and poetry can students read?

Use fall fiction and poetry to give seasonal reading a clear skills focus. Students can compare imagery, mood, structure, and point of view across genres.

Newsela ELA resources

Choose fall poems and fiction by grade band

Open each grade-band group to find seasonal texts for close reading, author’s craft, mood, imagery, and genre conversations.

Open the fall ELA collection

Elementary fall reads 7 resources

Resource	Grade band	Spanish?
“Gathering Leaves” By Robert Frost Poem	2–5	—
“Falling into Fall” By Carol H. Stewart Poem	2–5	—
“September” By Sharon Ruth Gill Poem	2–5	—
“Look Up!” By Karen G. Jordan Poem	2–5	—
Spring and Autumn: A Japanese Story By Angella McAlsister Fiction	2–5	Yes
Halloween’s scary fairies Article	2–5	—
The Very Wicked Witch and the Village Play By Mark Gartside Fiction	2–5	Yes

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Upper elementary and middle school fall reads 5 resources

Resource	Grade band	Spanish?
“O Autumn, Autumn!” By Effie Lee Newsome Poem	4–8	—
“Autumn” By Alexander Posey Poem	4–8	—
“Nothing Gold Can Stay” By Robert Frost Poem	3–8	—
“Song For My City” By Jessica Kim Poem	3–8	—
“Halloween” By Arthur Peterson Poem	4–8	—

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Middle and high school fall reads 4 resources

Resource	Grade band	Spanish?
“October” By Robert Frost Poem	4–12	—
“Autumn” By Emily Dickinson Poem	4–12	—
“The Sheaves” By Edgar Arlington Robinson Sonnet	6–12	—
“To Autumn” By John Keats Poem	9–12	—

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How can students compare seasonal paired texts?

Students can compare seasonal paired texts by reading with a shared focus, annotating evidence, and using graphic organizers to explain how ideas connect.

Newsela ELA routine

Compare seasonal paired texts in four moves

Use this sequence to help students read two fall texts, annotate with purpose, and explain how the texts connect.

Preview the topic

Identify the topic or general idea, then ask students what they know, wonder, or predict.

Annotate by genre

Highlight story elements in fiction or key details and main ideas in informational text.

Turn and talk

Ask partners to share annotations and summaries before they move into comparison.

Compare the texts

Use a Venn diagram or paired text analysis worksheet to connect ideas, structure, genre, and purpose.

Comparison questions

What is the main idea of each text? How are the main ideas connected?
How are the ideas similar or different? Use details from each text.
What is the text structure of each text? How does structure connect to author’s purpose?
How do genre and style affect the author’s message?

Graphic organizers

Venn Diagram

Use it to sort similarities and differences between two texts.

Download the Venn diagram

Paired Text Analysis

Use it to answer one guiding question across both texts.

Download the analysis worksheet

Seasonal paired text sets

Paired text set	How to use it
“Autumn” and Forestry	Compare how a seasonal literary text and an informational text approach the same fall-connected topic.
“Autumn” and Adaptation	Use the set to compare seasonal ideas, evidence, and author choices across two connected texts.
“Spring and Autumn” and the Changing Seasons	Have students compare how two texts present seasonal change, then cite evidence from both texts.

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Newsela Learning Suite

Plan your next seasonal lesson with Newsela

Build on students’ curiosity about fall with ready-to-use ELA, science, and cross-curricular resources that help you move from seasonal interest to meaningful instruction.