Books in this series (Rookie Reader) are full of interesting facts in an easy to read format. This one is about the signs of fall. ( )

Leaves change color and fall to the ground, we return to school and begin wearing jackets, and flocks of birds fly to warmer places. These are all conditions that Allan Fowler lists as examples that summer is turning to fall in the book How Do You Know It’s Fall? Fowler continues in the book with how people (farmers) and animals (squirrels) prepare for winter in the fall by harvesting crops and gathering resources. Halloween, football, and Thanksgiving are listed as ways in which some people might celebrate the fall season. Fowler mentions that fall days are great for playing outside and that many people travel in the fall to see trees changing colors.
How Do You Know It’s Fall?is a very short and simple book that could be used in kindergarten and maybe first grade classrooms. I like that the book gives examples of things that most of the students have experienced and are familiar with. In an early elementary classroom, I would read this book on the first day of fall (or as close to it as possible). I would most likely have students share other ways that they know it is fall and/or other ways that they celebrate the fall season. If there are students in the classroom who do not recognize Halloween and Thanksgiving, asking students to share what their families might do during the fall season is a great way to not only make sure that those students are involved in the lesson, but also to learn more about the fall season. I would then take students on a nature walk, if possible, to collect evidence of fall. We could then repeat the nature walk one, or maybe two more times to see how much things have changed since our first walk. The class could then create a timeline demonstrating change from our first walk to our last walk.