Fun Fall Activities to Do in your ESL Classroom

Here you will find five super fun ways to teach Fall to your students.

1-Leaf art 

When someone mentions the word fall, your mind probably jumps immediately to crisp leaves in yellow, red and brown. Leaves can be so versatile and used art to create fancy-looking hedgehogs. Provide children with the head and rough outline, and then the children can choose leaves to stick on to make the prickles. Alternatively, using marker pens, color in each section on the back in a different shade before pressing onto a blank piece of paper. The effect is eye-catching. While carrying out these activities, encourage children to use key vocabulary such as the body parts of a hedgehog as well as the colors. 

2-Fall songs 

Singing is a super way of practicing keywords. We absolutely love the following song to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. 

All the Leaves 

All the leaves are falling down 

Orange, yellow, red and brown 

Falling softly as they do 

Over me and over you 

All the leaves are falling down 

Orange, yellow, red and brown 

Other possibilities are Autumn Leaves are Falling Down (perfect if you are comparing US and British English), Dingle Dangle Scarecrow, and Five Little Pumpkins. 

3-Bingo 

Who doesn’t enjoy a game of bingo? It’s especially fun when there are prizes involved. After learning key vocabulary associated with Fall using flashcards or posters like these, ask children to draw a 3x2 grid on a piece of paper or in their books. Next, ensuring the words are hidden, encourage children to pick six words then write one in each box. Pick one word at random and read it aloud. If the child has written it down, allow them to cross it out. Three in a row, and they shout, “Line!” Once they have crossed through all six of their chosen words, they cry, “Full house!” or “Bingo!” 

4-Book study 

There was an old lady who swallowed some leaves by Lucille Colandro is the perfect book for young learners of English. Not only is the story engaging for all, but it is also a great way to pick up the vocabulary easily as it is repetitive. Encourage children to retell the story using puppets or sequence the main events from the story. There is a fantastic array of activities available with this book study pack. 

5-Roll and tell 

Not only can rolling a die be a great way of counting in English, but it can also be used in conjunction with a Roll and Tell game where children practice fall-related words. You could play it at a very basic level where students have to say what the corresponding picture is in English. However, for more advanced learners, you could encourage them to use the word within a sentence. Some children may need a scaffold for this in the form of sentence starters such as “I can see a …” or “There is a … next to the …"