Autumn Across America

Our class was involved in a collaborative Internet project for K - 4 classes. It will offer students an opportunity to learn about their country and the fall season through Internet sharing of writing and pictures of their own communities.

Student Showcase
of other class projects.

Click here to see a United Streaming video on seasons.
I showed just the autumn section in class.

Pictures, from our classroom, of what Corona looks like during the fall.

The city of Corona is a suburban community located in Southern California. It is home to more than 145,195 people.The City of Corona is located approximately 45 miles southeast of Los Angeles in western Riverside County. The City limits encompass 38 square miles.

I decided to give make this project open ended to see what the students would come up with. Therefore, this was used as Think About It! project for October.

Students from our class decided that Autumn in Southern California involves: pumpkins, colorful leaves, football games, blowing wind, falling temperatures, less sunlight, Halloween, picking apples, and Thanksgiving.

Each student had to tell the class how his/her project related to the theme of Autumn in Southern California.

This student gave each student pumpkin seeds to plant.

When Autumn Comes
by Chris
When Autumn is close in August the trees are mostly green, but when the month is over yellow can start to be seen.
In the middle of September, the trees are sad because they don't want to loose a single leaf. But, they will begin to fall off as if they are taken by a thief.
Red, yellow, purple, and orange begin to fall to the ground and by the end of October, almost none can be found.
Now people rake them up before they blow away. I like to roll in them so they stay.

This student brought in roasted pumpkin seeds for each student, along with the recipe.

State Standards:

Listening and Speaking
1.0 Listening and Speaking Strategies Students listen critically and respond appropriately to oral communication. They speak in a manner that guides the listener to understand important ideas by using proper phrasing, pitch, and modulation.

Organization and Delivery of Oral Communication
1.5 Organize ideas chronologically or around major points of information.
1.6 Provide a beginning, a middle, and an end, including concrete details that develop a central idea.
1.7 Use clear and specific vocabulary to communicate ideas and establish the tone.
1.8 Clarify and enhance oral presentations through the use of appropriate props (e.g., objects, pictures, charts).
1.9 Read prose and poetry aloud with fluency, rhythm, and pace, using appropriate intonation and vocal patterns to emphasize important passages of the text being read.

2.0 Speaking Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics) Students deliver brief recitations and oral presentations about familiar experiences or interests that are organized around a coherent thesis statement. Student speaking demonstrates a command of standard American English and the organizational and delivery strategies outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0.

Using the speaking strategies of grade three outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0, students:
2.1 Make brief narrative presentations:
Provide a context for an incident that is the subject of the presentation. Provide insight into why the selected incident is memorable.
2.2 Plan and present dramatic interpretations of experiences, stories, poems, or plays with clear diction, pitch, tempo, and tone.
2.3 Make descriptive presentations that use concrete sensory details to set forth and support unified impressions of people, places, things, or experiences.