Fall Similes

Grade Levels: 3 - 6

Objectives

• Students create descriptive autumn similes and write them on fall-themed paper.

Materials

• Flower blossoms, leaves, ferns, and grasses
• Clean scrap paper
• Heavy books
• Heavy paper (the size and shape you want your final product to be)
• Clear contact paper
• Sharp knife

Procedures

1. Discuss similes and how they compare things using the words like or as. When students are associating the various elements of autumn, they will need to use comparison words that everyone knows and can relate to.

   Samples
   The leaves are as orange as a pumpkin.
   The weather is as crisp as fresh lettuce.
   The scarecrows blow in the wind like big rag dolls.

2. First have the class generate a list of autumn words. Examples might include the months of fall or descriptive words dealing with the sights and sounds of autumn. Then have them create a sample list of simile comparisons. Examples can be written as phrases instead of complete sentences. (Explain to the students that when they are doing their comparisons they must have complete sentences.)

   Samples
   the air is as ……… as ………
   the trees are as ……… as ……….
   the leaves are as ……… as ………
   the birds sound like ………………
   the animal's coat is as ……… as ……...
   the cider smells as ……… as ………

   These lists offer assistance to students who don't know where to begin or who are having difficulty with the English language.

3. The class then creates a short example together and reviews the properties of similes. You can determine the number of similes and the length of the final product based on the students' ability level.
4. Pressing the flowers
   The objects to be pressed must be fresh and dry. Place the plants between sheets of clean paper. Then place them between the pages of your heavy book for about one to two weeks, or until they are completely dry.
5. First write the autumn simile, and then arrange the plants around the border of the paper. When it looks the way you want it to, use a little bit of glue to hold the flowers in place. Let it dry. Then cover the paper with clear contact paper that is a little larger than the paper. As you cover your plants with the contact paper, rub out any air bubbles.

Variation
A collage of the poems on a wall makes a great Back-to-School Night bulletin board. The pressed flowers could also be turned into beautiful fall bookmarks.

Place autumn-colored leaves or flowers between two layers of wax paper. Cover with an old towel or cloth rag. Press the wax paper with a warm iron, sealing it together with the leaves and flowers in between. Cut them out in any design, leaving a narrow margin of wax paper around the leaf edge.