Fall is a Great Time to Teach About Photosynthesis

With the change of season comes less daylight. Less daylight results in the fall color change for trees. This makes a great time to teach your students about how plants use sunlight to change water and carbon dioxide into glucose through photosynthesis. Fall is an excellent time because it allows teachers to put the process into a context that the kids will likely remember.

Being able to explain why a leaf changes from green to yellow (or any other color) requires knowledge of how plants capture sunlight (they use the pigment chlorophyll). Since this is the case, why not just teach the whole process? Below is a list of links that I've gathered that explain why leaves change colors in the fall.

• Kidszone - Autumn Leaves - Simplified explanation for younger kids.
  
• Science Made Simple - Why do Leaves Change Color in the Fall? -
  
• The Miracle of Fall - A collection of links for teaching about the changing of leaves
• Leaf color change animation - Watch a leaf change from green to yellow from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31
• Foliage Network - The Foliage Network was developed to provide accurate foliage information for various locations across the United States.

I've also added a new page to misterteacher.com complete with resources if you're planning on taking your class into nature.

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