Below are lessons from Growing in the Garden and Where We Live that are timely for fall while the outdoor temperatures are still comfortable and there is an abundant supply of natural materials and fresh produce.

• GITG Unit 1, Lesson 1: Project Discovery. When set loose outside to find living and non-living things, children do not have to look very far this time of year. Trees and other plants have produced an abundance of seeds and caterpillars, butterflies, lady beetles and other insects can easily be found.

• GITG Unit 1, Lesson 2: Gardeners and Farmers. Farming activities are so visible this time of year as the combines and corn pickers roar through the fields and wagons full of grain are collected and hauled to the elevators. Take a class field trip to a farm and conduct this lesson there!

• GITG Unit 2, Lesson 2: Meet Johnny Appleseed. It is apple harvest season throughout the state and fresh apples and apple products are readily available.

• GITG Unit 3, Lesson 1: When is it Ready to Eat? This is a perfect time to find produce at all stages of maturity. The garden season is winding down and there are many crops just being harvested or are hanging green on the plants, threatened by the first frost.

• GITG Unit 2, Lesson 3: Be Loyal to the Soil. This is a great time of year to discuss wind and water erosion and the value of soil as farmers and gardeners work their fields and gardens and add soil amendments.

• GITG Unit 2, Lesson 3: Keeping Soil Alive. What becomes of all the leaves that fall from the trees each autumn? They are composted! This is the perfect season to teach children about composting and a great time to start a compost pile on your school grounds.

• GITG Unit 3, Lesson 3: The Life of Garden Produce. The supply of fresh, Iowa-grown produce will soon end abruptly. This is the perfect time of year to discuss storing and preserving our bountiful harvest. You may even want to preserve something by canning or freezing something in your classroom.

• GITG Unit 2, Lesson 1: Traveling Seeds. You certainly don’t have to look very far to find seeds on the move – acorns and maple seeds cover the ground and milkweed fluff is blowing in the wind. Fall is a perfect time to slip an old pair of socks over your shoes and pant legs and walk through a weedy field or empty lot – you will be surprised at the number and variety of seeds that stick to the socks.

Where We Live: History of the Land :

• Unit 2, Lesson 5: Land of the Tall Grasses. Native and cultivated grasses are stretching tall to the sky with seed spikes and plumes that blow in the wind. Use this time to imagine what it was like when Iowa was covered with prairie grasses.

• Unit 2, Lesson 6: The Value of Trees. There is no better time than fall to study trees as the trees take on their fall splendor and apple and nut trees are bearing fruit. Use some of the resources listed on this website to teach tree identification and the value of trees in our lives.

Where We Live: Weaving Food Webs :

• Unit 2, Lesson 5: We Depend on One Another. A large portion of the corn crop harvested this fall will go to feed livestock. This is a good time to make the connection of how our crops “feed the world”.

Where We Live: Living with the Land:

• Unit 1, Lesson 1, Living with the Land. When students read A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold, examine the cartoons by Ding Darling, listen to and watch the Stewards of the Land video from the Iowa Beef Producers, or enjoy the For Land’s Sake poster, discuss how autumn affects the land and how people view the land.

• Unit 1, Lesson 2: Maybe You’re a Poet. Follow the activities to create a poem about relating to nature during the fall.

• Unit 2: Lessons 3 through 6. What happens during the fall regarding pest management, soil conservation, water quality, and animal health? Why should every person be concerned with these issues during the fall?