Fletcher and the Falling Leaves: A Fall Book for Kids

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Do not worry about the leaves being Fall colors or perfectly cut out. Neither is the point. However, you could notice some Fall colors as you observe. For instance, “That red you’re using on your leaf reminds me of the deep Red leaf I had during our story time” or “That orange leaf you’re making looks a lot like Fletcher’s leaf in the story.” One of the skills I like to teach when I read Fletcher and the Falling Leaves is cause and effect. There are many parts in the story that can be used to demonstrate cause and effect. The first day of our reading, we focus on determining the main idea of the text. I set the purpose of reading before I begin and we make predictions based on the title and cover of the book. Then, I read the book straight through and let the learners enjoy it. After reading, the learners pair and share what they believe the main idea of the text is. Then we discuss as a group what the text was mostly about to determine if we all came to the same conclusion.

Read the book to students without showing the pictures. Encourage them to close their eyes and visualize the story. Discuss their visualization as a class. Encourage each child to make their leaves colorful and then cut them out. The leaves offer an excellent opportunity to work on cutting rounded edges. The fourth day of our close read, we focus on the fall leaves in the text. I explain that we will only be reading the parts of the story that involve the leaves. I ask the learners to make an inference about the leaves in the autumn by thinking about what the author is writing and what they already know about autumn. After reading we create a list of inferences they were able to make about the leaves. Then, we complete the “Falling Leaves” printable in groups and the learners illustrate and write about the inferences we made.Fall leaves in bright shades of orange, yellow, and red transforming our trees mark the change in seasons. Long before children can read a calendar or understand the mystifying concept of daylight savings time, kids notice the changing leaves. I love creating a fall tree and this is the perfect time for my learners to make a tree like the ones in the books we read. We use a brown bag , pencil, scissors, glue, some fall colored construction paper and set to work. For older children – encourage them to write either something they are thankful for or something they love about Fall on their leaf. When I taught first grade over five years ago I began doing a version of close reads with my learners. Close reading wasn’t “a thing” then, but I couldn’t stand spending so little time with some of my favorite texts with my learners. I chose to spend a week focusing on a piece of quality literature during our read aloud time. Make individual Fall trees. Brown trunks glued to paper or 3D trees using toilet paper rolls both work to make fun Fall trees.

If you are doing this at home or in a classroom, I encourage you to let your kids know that you will be putting the leaves in specific spot so they can explore them more later. For example, you could say “we’re going to set these aside right now, but you can investigate them some more on the science table after our story time.” Goodbye song. The third day of our close read, we pay attention to the structure of the text. I provide the learners with a handful of examples to help them come to a conclusion on the text structure. For example, does the text describe something, pose a problem and solution, provide a sequence of events, etc. After reading we pair and share what they believe the text structure is. Then, we come to a conclusion of the structure of the text together and complete the story map chart. Alliterative and evocative, the rich, well-crafted language stirs the senses...This high-quality selection will serve as a seasonal feast for the senses and provide inspiration for budding young artists and writers who love nature." - School Library Journal Starred Review (Fletcher's Seasons Story Collection) Each morning, Fletcher would come out of the den and explore the world, but then he realizes that the tree’s leaves were turning gold and beginning to fall off the tree. Fletcher than goes to the tree every day to keep the leaves on the tree; however, when winter came, Fletcher noticed that all the leaves were starting to fall off more rapidly than before.

After we have worked on this as a class, students record cause and effect on a recording sheet to demonstrate understanding. One of my favorite books to read during the fall is Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson. I adore the main character and how he interacts with the changes that happen in his forest during the fall. My learners are able to see fall from a different perspective and become enlightened on why the changes during autumn are so important for the animals. The fifth and final day of our close read, we read another text to compare Fletcher and the Falling Leaves to. We paired the book Leaves by David Ezra Stein. Which tells the story of another forest animal witnessing the changes of autumn for the first time. We pair and share how the books are the same and different before completing the a fall craft together. Sweet Fletcher the fox is worried. His favorite tree is losing leaves and despite his best efforts he can’t make it stop. None of the other animals share Fletcher’s concerns, in fact they seem delighted. It isn’t until all the leaves are gone and the seasons truly change that Fletcher comes to see his tree in a whole new and beautiful way. The muted pastel drawings make this Fall story seem more whimsical and dream like than most bright, bold stories of the season. This choice makes Fletcher ever more endearing and his Fall like world more akin to the Winter that is drawing it in. A warm and gentle story about Fall, friendship, and childhood discoveries.

The picture book was introducing a lot of themes here from the melancholy of Fletcher's feelings to the grief of his favorite tree changing to only being able to hold onto just a few leaves, seeing animals take the falling leaves leaving him with a sense of worry and much more...but of course being an older reader, it felt like these really impactful themes just weren't explored too much in the sparse text.Originally published in Britain as Ferdie and the Falling Leaves (and subsequently published by Scholastic, for the American school-market, as The Fox and the Falling Leaves), this delightful autumn picture-book follows the story of a young fox, and his somewhat less-than-graceful adjustment to the changing of the seasons. Deeply attached to his favorite tree, Fletcher was terribly worried, as autumn proceeded, to notice it losing leaves. Determined to do something about it, he soon discovered that it was impossible, either to prevent the tree from shedding its leaves, or to reattach them, once they had fallen. Would Fletcher's tree ever be the same? This charming autumnal picture book for young children with a gentle caring storyline by Julia Rawlinson is brought to life with stunning artwork by Tiphanie Beeke.' Books Up North