My October Picks From the BBC Learning Hub

There’s a lot to love about fall! With a new school year underway, the changing season brings plenty of fresh learning opportunities. Leaves turn brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow; apples and pumpkins are ready to harvest; animals prepare for colder weather; and celebrations like Halloween and Thanksgiving give students plenty of reasons to get excited about the season.

Whether you want to explore the science behind seasonal changes, learn where our food comes from, or simply add a little fall fun to your classroom, the BBC Learning Hub has you covered. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite fall teaching resources for students.

1. Explore fall with Bluey.

Bluey plus fall equals a combination your little learners will love!

Our Fall Bluey Bundle brings together 12 printables for PreK to Grade 2, with activities taking students from back-to-school season right through Halloween.

Kids can create a new friend for Bluey and Bingo, fill in a family scrapbook, or cut out cards and rearrange them to create their very own spooky story. With coloring, storytelling, cutting, pasting, and plenty of opportunities to get creative, there’s something for everyone.

2. Celebrate the harvest with JoJo and Gran Gran.

What better way to welcome fall than with a trip to an apple orchard?

In JoJo and Gran Gran Harvest Fruit, JoJo and Gran Gran visit a harvest festival, where they pick apples and rhubarb before using their haul to make a delicious fruit crumble. Real-life children also visit an orchard to see how apples are harvested.

Use the accompanying Lesson Express questions and activities to get PreK to Grade 2 students talking about where their food comes from, or ask them which fall fruits and vegetables they would put in their own harvest baskets.

Keep the harvest theme going with JoJo and Gran Gran Visit the Community Garden, where JoJo discovers how different vegetables grow and how they are harvested.

3. Have some fall fun with Sarah and Duck.

Grab your rain boots and umbrellas! Sarah and her feathered best friend have plenty of fall adventures to share.

In Sarah and Duck and the Silly Umbrella, a rainy day becomes a funny lesson about weather when Sarah encounters an umbrella that doesn’t actually like getting wet.

Then get ready for Halloween with Sarah and Duck Trick-or-Treat. Sarah, Duck, and Bug dress up for Boo Night and head out in search of Boo Sweets. Both videos are part of our Seasonal Fun With Sarah and Duck collection for PreK to Grade 2 and come with questions, vocabulary, writing prompts, and activities.

4. Discover what happens to plants in fall.

The kaleidoscope of changing leaves is a beautiful sign of autumn and also a great starting point for some seasonal science.

Take students outside to observe the trees around your school. What colors can they spot? Which trees have already lost their leaves? Then bring the investigation back into the classroom with BBC Learning Hub resources exploring plant and tree life cycles.

Our life cycle sequencing cards, for example, let Grade 3–5 students color, cut out, and correctly order the stages in the life cycles of seven familiar organisms, including birch and apple trees.

5. See how animals adapt as fall turns to winter.

Humans aren't the only ones who notice that colder days are coming. Fall is an important time for wildlife, too.

Use BBC animal videos and articles, with resources for Grades 3 to 12, like The End of Autumn in the Arctic and "Hibernation: How Animals Sleep Through the Heat and Cold", to investigate how different species respond to seasonal change. Students can explore migration, food gathering, changing coats, and hibernation, and consider why different animals have evolved different strategies for surviving the coming winter months.

Challenge students to choose an animal and create a fall survival guide explaining exactly what it does to get ready for winter.

6. Get ready for Halloween!

Finish your fall celebrations with something spooky!

Along with Sarah and Duck's Boo Night adventure and Bluey's fall activities and crafts, search the BBC Learning Hub for Halloween resources, including the Halloween Animals Playlist, which introduces Grades 3 to 8 students to wolves, bats, spiders, owls, and other creatures, while exploring their fascinating hunting and survival strategies.

From apples and autumn leaves to migrating animals and Halloween fun, fall offers plenty of opportunities to connect classroom learning to the changing world outside. Happy fall!