As the leaves change colors and a crispness fills the air, it’s the perfect time to bring in fall lessons for elementary music. Fall offers so many opportunities to connect with students through seasonal themes, instruments, and musical concepts. In this post, we’ll go through some creative and engaging ideas for fall lessons in elementary music class that will engage your students and enhance their musical learning.
Autumn Instrument Exploration
Introduce your students to a variety of instruments associated with fall. For instance, the rainstick can evoke the sound of falling rain, or the xylophone can mimic the pitter-patter of leaves. Allow students to explore these instruments, creating their own musical compositions that capture the essence of autumn. Encourage them to experiment with dynamics, tempo, and melodic patterns to create unique musical landscapes.
You could take this activity and add it to a book, too! There are so many beautiful fall-themed books that this could work for.
K-2: “There Was an Old Lady…”
One of my favorite series of books to add instruments to is the “There Was An Old Lady” series by Lucille Colandro. “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves” is perfect for an instrument lesson in the fall for your K-2 students. I’ll give students one of eight instruments, with each instrument assigned to a word that the Old Lady swallows. Any time they hear that word, they play their instrument. I usually do the book twice in my class so students get to play two different instruments (I also reorder the students so that the students who only got to play at the very end of the book get to play first the second time through.) Students can sing the book with you or you can even have one student come up and take your place as the singer!
3-5: “Nadia and Nadir: Lunch in Leaves”
For grades 3-5, you could consider doing a longer book with more creative opportunities, like “Nadia and Nadir: Lunch in the Leaves.” Because this book is in short chapters, I would create soundscapes that go along with the chapters in the book. As a class, you could read through a chapter of the book, and then groups of students could create a song that goes along with something for that chapter. For example, in the first chapter, Nadia and Nadir go out to play in the crunchy leaves. Students’ songs might be imitating leaves falling from the trees using xylophones or a rainstick. In the second chapter, they pretend to be a dragon and unicorn and they accidentally crash into each other, so students might create a song that reminds me of one of those but ends with a big crash.
Composing Fall Songs
Guide students through the process of composing fall-themed songs. Start by discussing the characteristics of fall, such as falling leaves, cozy evenings, or the sound of the wind. Then, encourage students to write lyrics and melodies that capture the imagery and emotions associated with this season. Students could do this alone or with groups.
I love to use these fall-themed composition worksheets to help guide students through composition. The thing I love about this pack is that there is such a variety of worksheets, so they can be used for all grades, not just your older kids. And there are so many ways you could extend this activity to make it a bigger project!
Steps for Composition
- Start by adding rhythms to the page. Each box is one beat, so it’s a great time to talk about the number of beats a rhythm has versus the number of sounds it has (ex- a half note has two beats and will take up two boxes, but it’s only one sound, so you’ll draw it in the first box and either draw an arrow into the second box or leave that box blank.)
- Underneath the rhythms, add note names if you’re playing on instruments or lyrics to match the rhythms. We talk about how each sound should have a note or syllable, so sixteenth notes should have four notes or syllables while a quarter rest has none.
- If you want to extend it even more, you could have them transfer their compositions onto staff paper.
- Students could add choreography or an ostinato
- Students could perform live for the class, as part of a musical performance for families or your principal, or they could record it on a laptop to upload to your Learning Management System for families to see
If you want to learn more about composition in elementary music, you can click to read more for K-2 or 3-5.
Exploring Nature’s Symphony
Take your music class outside to explore the symphony of sounds found in nature during the fall season. Lead a nature walk where students can listen to the rustling leaves, chirping birds, or even the sound of raindrops. Afterward, talk about the different sounds they heard and how they can incorporate those sounds into their music-making. Encourage students to recreate these natural sounds using their voices or classroom instruments. This is a great time to talk about dynamics, tempos, and articulation! Here are some questions I might ask:
If a leaf is falling to the ground, do you think it would be piano or forte? Legato or staccato?
What about if I’m jumping into a pile of leaves?
How would it sound different if it was a snake slithering through the leaves? What about a bear walking on top of the pile?
Conclusion
As you’re lesson planning, take inspiration and opportunities from the season for creative exploration in the elementary music classroom. By incorporating fall-themed activities, instruments, songs, and nature into your lessons, you can continue to grow your students’ love for music while fostering their imagination, creativity, and appreciation for the world around them. Embrace the magic of fall and watch your students make joyful, meaningful music.
Do you have any favorite fall lessons for elementary music? Let’s continue the conversation! DM me on Instagram (@caffeinated.j) and we’ll brainstorm together!
