Fall is here, the leaves are changing colors, and soon they will fall from the trees. Most of us have wondered why the leaves change color, but have you ever wondered if someone is stealing the leaves that fall?
While a leaf thief may not be your first thought, it may be something a kid would wonder about. That’s why we love the book The Leaf Thief as a fall read aloud! It provides kids with a curious approach to fall while teaching them the science behind this season. Keep reading to learn how you can teach your students about fall using our The Leaf Thief lesson plans!
The Leaf Thief Summary
Whether you teach preschool, kindergarten, first grade, or second grade, we have a ready to teach lesson plan designed just for your students. Before we share these lesson plans for The Leaf Thief, let’s get better acquainted with this delightful picture book.
The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming and Nicola Slater is a charming picture book whose main character is a Squirrel. This isn’t an everyday squirrel that frolics from tree to tree without a worry in the world though. This Squirrel is anxious and worrisome when he notices the leaves on his favorite tree are disappearing.
Squirrel is convinced that someone is stealing his leaves so he sets out on a frantic search to find the culprit. After questioning his friends, he still has not found the culprit! Then, his friend Bird helps him understand that the leaves are not being stolen but are falling because of the season.
With the help of his wise friend Bird, Squirrel learns about the natural cycle of the seasons and realizes there is no leaf thief after all! This delightful story blends humor with facts of fall to teach young learners about the changing seasons.
The Leaf Thief Activities
Now that you know what this fun picture book is about, let’s look at how to teach The Leaf Thief in your classroom. Below is a quick peek at the activities we created for this The Leaf Thief read aloud. Take a peek at this overview and then join us below as we dive deeper into these reading activities for The Leaf Thief.
- Comprehension questions
- Whole group response to text activities
- Response to text worksheets
- Writing pages
- Vocabulary cards and worksheets
- Quiz
- Retelling puppets
- Craftivity template
Comprehension Questions for The Leaf Thief
Like any good read aloud, this read aloud for The Leaf Thief begins with comprehension questions. Moreover, we help you prepare students to read the book by providing comprehension questions to engage students even before you open the book!
With questions like, Does the title give us any clues about what the story is about? And What does the illustration on the cover show? Your students will be hooked from the first moment you introduce The Leaf Thief.
Even better? With our tried and true read aloud activities, they will stay hooked throughout the entire read aloud!
One of the ways we maintain student engagement is by providing you with a variety of reading activities. Moreover, with options on HOW to have students complete each activity.
Every activity below can be completed digitally or as a printable. In addition to choosing which learning format you want students to use, you can also choose different ways for students to respond – like if they should write or draw their answer. Explore several of these activities and formats below!
Sequencing Activity for The Leaf Thief
After students read the book, the first comprehension activity is sequencing. In this activity, students demonstrate their understanding of the events in the story by putting them in order. You can have students do this by drawing or writing out the sequence of events. There is also a cut and paste printable activity to choose from.
Story Map Lesson Plan for The Leaf Thief
Another comprehension activity students will complete is a story map. Students will complete this activity by matching a picture from The Leaf Thief with the correct part of the plot. Kids will identify four parts of the plot: characters, setting, problem, and solution
Point of View Activity for The Leaf Thief
Once students have shown their understanding of the events in The Leaf Thief, they explore the story further by looking at the point of view. Like the sequencing activity, students can draw or write their answers. Remember, they can also complete this digitally if you choose.
Character Close up Activity for The Leaf Thief
In addition to exploring the character’s point of view in the story, this read aloud invites kids to further analyze Squirrel. To do this, they complete a close up character activity.
This activity gives students a word bank to help them identify various feelings that Squirrel experiences. Some of the words kids will explore include, anxious, cool, forgetful, and confused.
Informational Text for The Leaf Thief
As we mentioned earlier, one thing we love about The Leaf Thief is how it teaches students the science of the season. Therefore, we included reading activities that go beyond the story in The Leaf Thief and engage kids with informational text about leaves. This includes an informational text about leaves and comprehension questions like, Why do leaves fall? and How do trees get ready for winter?
Once students read the informational text they will compare facts from the informational text with events in The Leaf Thief. This pairing allows students to make connections between a picture book and the real world, while further developing their literacy skills.
Check for Understanding in The Leaf Thief
The reading activities shared above cover the core reading standards. Moreover, these activities are intended to cover three days of learning! If you would like to engage students in learning beyond these core literacy standards (AND extend the read aloud to four or five days) we have you covered!
Below are several additional lesson plans for The Leaf Thief. These can be used for extra days of learning or can be added to the first three days of learning. Choose what works for you!
Vocabulary Lessons for The Leaf Thief
Continue to check for understanding in The Leaf Thief through vocabulary. We have included several vocabulary activities that assess students on their understanding of important words related to the book: canopy, disaster, rustles, autumn
This includes a picture to teach each word and a worksheet with pictures that asks students to circle the picture that matches the word.
Quiz for The Leaf Thief
If you want to assess students’ understanding of the entire book, there is a quiz provided. Like the vocabulary assessment, pictures are used to support students at this stage of learning.
Quiz Questions in The Leaf Thief
- What happens at the beginning of the story?
- What problem does Squirrel face?
- What happens at the end of the story?
Retelling Puppets for The Leaf Thief
Another way to check for understanding is by using retelling puppets. Retelling puppets is an excellent way for kids to show what they learned orally. This is an excellent form or differentiated instruction AND fun!
Writing Activities for The Leaf Thief
Depending on where your students are in their writing development, you may want to provide time for them to write about what they learned. Therefore, we have included a writing prompt for The Leaf Thief.
My favorite thing about fall is…
This prompt is a great way for students to connect what they have learned with their own experiences.
Craft for The Leaf Thief
One of the advantages of teaching elementary school is the ability to include creative projects more than other grades. Therefore, we included a craft for The Leaf Thief.
This craft is a great way to end the read aloud for the week and give kids something to take home and teach their families about what they read.
The Leaf Thief Activities for Kindergarten
All of the lesson plans we shared above were created for first and second graders. However, as we mentioned above we also have The Leaf Thief lesson plans for preschool and kindergarten!
The read aloud lesson plans for preschool and kindergarten include ALL of the amazing activities shared above! From reading comprehension questions to a culminating craft, and a quiz in between, we have you and your younger learners covered. And, if you want to go beyond reading about fall with your preschoolers, take a look below!
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$4.50
The Leaf Thief PREK Book Companion and Fall Activities
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$4.50
The Leaf Thief Book Companion and Fall Activities
Fall Activities for Preschool
Looking for more ways to explore the fall season in your classroom? Bundle The Leaf Thief read aloud with any (or all) of our favorite fall preschool activities!
