Looking for fall music activities and songs for elementary students? 🍁 This post is full of autumn-themed lesson ideas your students will love, from scarf movement and singing games to Orff-based composition activities that build creativity and musical skills.
Whether you teach kindergarten or upper elementary, these seasonal music lessons make it easy to celebrate fall in your classroom with movement, rhythm, and joyful music-making.
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Movement
Bring the beauty of fall into your music room with movement activities for elementary students. These easy-to-teach lessons use scarves, steady beat, and creative motion to help young learners express the sounds and feelings of autumn through music and movement.
Blowing In the Wind (K-2)
Delightful! Creative scarf movement with some lyrics suggestions for how to move.
Scarves: The silk scarves from Jacquard, 35 x 35, are the ultimate movement accessory. Pricey but worth every penny. A more affordable option, the 24 x 24 Lolakee scarves are a silk-like material, washable, and in beautiful colors.
Taking a Fall Walk (K-2)
Taking a Fall Walk uses walking, twirling, floating, and bending while highlighting downward melodic direction and tempo changes.
Scarecrow, Scarecrow (K-2)
Basic movements to a piggyback song (ABC song) about a scarecrow, that with each repeat uses a faster and faster tempo.
Autumn Leaves Are Falling Down (K-2)
I saw this fun activity on Facebook. It would be great to use if you have the parachute/fabric pieces out and want to add this quick song.
- To the tune London Bridge: Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down. Autumn leaves are falling down, all ‘round the town.
- The class uses a big parachute or small groups with a piece of fabric or small parachute and some leaves in the center. They step the beat as they sing and at the end they quickly raise the fabric/parachute so the leaves go flying in the air. You can also shake the parachute instead of the quick lift.
Add on verses (with accompanying parachute movement) could be:
- Autumn winds go swishy swish
- Autumn acorns go kerplop
- Autumn squirrels run back and forth
- Autumn apples go crunch crunch
Fall Orff-Based Activities
Inspire creativity and improvisation with these fall-themed Orff lessons designed for upper elementary grades. Students explore rhythm, melody, and form using engaging materials like poems, percussion, and barred instruments-perfect for hands-on fall music activities in Orff-style classrooms.
Fall Is Rizz: Composition Activity (Grades 3-5)
STEP 1:
Learn this poem for your A SECTION
Crunchy leaves are nature’s chips,
Wind gives trees some wild hair flips.
Air turns crisp like soda fizz,
Fall just shows off—‘cause it’s rizz!
Alt ending: Air turns crisp the leaves are spinnin’,
Fall just shows off, it’s six seven.
Step 2:
Use the words in the below table to create a tree B section.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| ash, fir, beech, oak, pine, birch, elm, spruce | maple, cedar, willow, poplar, aspen, dogwood, chestnut, redwood | sycamore, hickory, sugar maple, black walnut, douglas fir, river birch | yellow poplar, western hemlock, quaking aspen, |
Here’s an example.
| hickory | hickory | maple | birch |
| sycamore | aspen | cedar | spruce |
Step 3:
Create a form: ABA or ABAB or ABACA (C is a second rap)
Perform it using different backing track genres! Here are Lofi, Country Honky Tonk, Reggae, and Old School Hip Hop.
Autumn Remix (Grades 3-5)
Looking for barred Orff instrument activities for your older students?
This is a NO/low prep resource, so your lesson plans, for multiple classes, are done!
Autumn Remix, a song with Orff arrangement, takes Emily Dickinson’s whimsical poem Autumn, giving it modern language and a pop music remix that your older students will love.
The rhythms, melodies, and harmonies are what kids are used to hearing and are written in easy-to-teach formats.
Listen to Autumn Remix on TPT!
More Fall Resources
Thanksgiving Music Activities
Check out this BIG list of Thanksgiving music activities for elementary classrooms including turkey, pumpkin, and November songs and games.
Halloween Songs & Music Activities
Find Halloween songs and music activities for elementary music that engage and delight with movement, Orff arrangements, minor scales, improvisation, and more!
Spider Activities, Songs, & Crafts
Nothing says fall like SPIDERS! For swoops, glissandos, trills, and giggles, a spider does it all! Use a spider puppet for all that up and down web-building movement.
One of my favorite activities was having students make their own paper spider with a “silk thread” to show the spider moving. Vocal exploration is all a part of the movement too. Here’s the make-and-take spider craft!
Frequently Asked Questions: Fall Music Activities for Elementary Students
Q1: How can I add movement props to my fall music lessons?
A: Use scarves, parachutes, or simple props with fall-themed songs to explore beat, rhythm, and melody. Movement activities engage K–2 students, help them feel the music, and make autumn lessons hands-on and fun.
Q2: What are some fun movement activities for K–2 music students?
A: Teacher favorites include activities like Blowing in the Wind which includes easy-to-use props or music like Taking a Fall Walk that was created in a distinct form to let students show creative movement. Another favorite is Autumn Is Here by Mr. DelGaudio. (see the songs in the Movement section above)
Q3: How can I use scarves or props in fall music activities?
A: Fall is all about wind, leaves, changing temperatures, apples, harvest, and corn. Scarves and props can show downward melody (falling leaves), steady beat (Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin music), form (multi-sectioned music), and rhythm (apple poems abound!).
Q4: What are some fall-themed songs for elementary music lessons?
A: Songs like Scarecrow, Autumn Leaves Are Falling Down, and Autumn Remix work well. Choose pieces that include movement in the lyrics, rhythm patterns, or easy melodies for maximum student engagement. (see the songs in the Movement & Orff section above)
Q5: What are Orff-based activities suitable for fall?
A: Upper elementary students (grades 3–5) can explore composition, improvisation, and barred instrument performance using fall-themed poems, rhythms, or melodies. Examples include Fall Is Rizz or the Autumn Remix Orff song. Use types of apples, leaves, trees, fall colors, etc. to create lists as a basis for poems/chants. (see the songs in the Orff section above)
Q6: How can I teach rhythm, melody, and composition using fall-themed lessons?
A: Use short poems, seasonal word lists, or simple melodies to create ABA or ABAB forms. Students can perform on Orff instruments, explore improvisation, and experiment with different backing tracks like Lofi, reggae, or pop. This gives them lots of choice and connection to something that they might not ordinarily be excited about. 😉
Q7: How can I make fall music lessons creative and hands-on for students?
A: Combine movement, props, and rhythm instruments with short composition tasks. Students can create their own rhythms, melodies, or compositions inspired by autumn leaves, winds, or other fall themes.
Q8: How do I engage older students with fall music activities?
A: Have them create their own poems using word banks (trees, fall colors, or fall foods) or provide a poem and let them compose a B section. Then chant the full piece to backing tracks in genres they enjoy.
What’s Next?
I hope these fall music activities spark some fresh ideas for your classroom! 🍁
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Written by Laura Bartolomeo, a retired K–8 music educator with 40+ years of classroom experience and creator of Oodles of Music.
