A book showing a year in the life of an owl and a tree begins this two-day lesson about the four seasons. Students will discuss the changes in weather and activities as one season blends into another.
Objectives
Describe observable changes in weather. SC00-S06-C03-02
2. Give examples of how the weather affects people’s daily activities.
SC00-S06-C03-03
Materials
- The book Tree by Patricia Hegarty
- Slips of construction paper: white, green, orange and pink
- Prepare four equal groups of strips with the total amount being equal to the number of students in your class. Write the designated season on each strip: white=winter, green=summer, orange=autumn and pink=spring. Place the strips in a bag, box or basket for students to choose one strip while hiding their eyes.
- Light colored drawing paper, crayons
Procedure Day One
Say, “Today we are going to talk about changes in the weather as one season moves into another. Can anyone name a season?”
Read the book Tree to your students. It’s written in a rhyming verse and has a cutout in the book showing an owl sitting in a tree. The owl observes the change in weather throughout the year. After reading, review the book and talk about the changes as the seasons change. Discuss what the tree looks like in each season.
Then allow each student to choose a slip of paper from the container. This will determine what type of tree they will draw. The assignment is to draw a large tree the way it looks in the season the student has chosen. Today the students will only draw the tree.
- Winter- a bare tree, no leaves
- Spring- tiny light green leaves, some flowers
- Summer- lots of green leaves, apples optional
- Autumn/Fall- colorful leaves on the tree and ground
Procedure Day Two
Say, “Think about the owl and tree in the book we read yesterday. Can someone name the four seasons of the year? Today we are going to talk about what people and animals can do in each season. Then we will add a few things to the tree pictures that we drew yesterday.”
Read and discuss About the Seasons, which contains photographs of activities being done in each season.
Next, the students will add to their tree pictures. Try to include an animal and a person in each picture. Some ideas might be:
- Winter- Children building a snowman, animal underground sleeping
- Spring- Children picking flowers, birds in nest
- Summer- Children swimming in small pool, birds flying
- Autumn/Fall- Children raking leaves, squirrels gather nuts
Display the drawings on the wall or on a bulletin board titled “Seasons Come and Go.”
References
- McKay, Sindy. About the Seasons. Treasure Bay, 2000.
- Hegarty, Patricia. Tree. Little Tiger Press, 2015.
