Fall Doorknob Decorations

1. This autumn decoration is great to give as a gift. Celebrate the season! Use these ideas, or your own imagination, to make a beautiful door hanger. Students research why leaves on deciduous trees turn such beautiful colors before beginning.
2. Mix new colors or marbleize colors by blending two or three pieces of Crayola Model Magic® compound together. Knead until the desired fall hues are achieved. Model Magic sticks well to itself and most surfaces.
3. To make leaves, choose at least three wooden leaf shapes or create one with thin cardboard. Be sure you can identify the trees from which the leaves came! Roll Model Magic® compound until it is very smooth. Lay the slab over one side of the wooden leaf. Use a modeling tool to trim the edges. Roll a thin rope of compound and lay it on the leaf in the pattern of leaf veins. Gently roll over the veins to flatten them a bit.
4. Model Magic dries to the touch overnight and dries completely in 2 to 3 days. When the covered wooden leaves are dry, cover the other side of the leaf using the same process. Smooth out the edges to completely cover the wood. Then air-dry the other side.
5. To make Indian corn, roll recycled newspaper about 5 inches (13 cm) long into a corncob-shaped tube. Tape it closed. Roll out a smooth Model Magic slab. Cover the recycled newspaper with the slab and smooth the edges. Roll several fall colors of Model Magic into many small balls for corn kernels. Place the kernels on the corncob in a random pattern until it is completely covered. Roll out another piece of Model Magic, shape a corn husk, and place it on top of the corncob. Make at least two corncobs.
6. To make bittersweet, roll small balls of red Model Magic and attach them to chenille sticks. Wrap the bittersweet around the stems of the leaves.
7. When all of the pieces are dry, tie everything together with ribbon. Hang indoors from a doorknob or window for a festive fall welcome!

LA: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

LA: Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting or plot.

LA: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding word s.

LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

LA: Participate in shared research and writing projects.

LA: With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade level topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

SCI: Ask questions about the natural and human-built worlds.

SCI: Construct drawings or diagrams as representations of events or systems.

VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.

VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

VA: Select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning.

Possible classroom resources include: Seasons by Blexbolex; Tree For All Seasons by Robin Bernard; Watching the Seasons by Edana Eckart; Sunshine Makes the Seasons by Franklyn M. Branley; The Reason for Seasons by Gail Gibbons

Using provided reading resources, students investigate why the leaves turn colors in the fall in temperate climates. Students write a summary of their research and illustrate the look of leaves in each of the four seasons.

Encourage students to create doorknob decorations that represent each of the seasons. Students write a summary explaining their season hanging. Display children's work in the classroom, including the written summary.