Get a free trial until June 30, 2026!
New members get full access to our science units, hands-on activities, mini-lessons, & more!

New members get a full, free trial through June 2026!
Back > Share
Why do leaves change color in the fall?
Back > Share

Why do leaves change color in the fall?

Lesson narration:
English Spanish
Scroll for prep
🎉 That’s it for this lesson! How did it go?

Extend this lesson

Discussions

Activity

View all extensions
Sign up now for more great lessons!
Sign up
🎉 That’s it for this lesson! How did it go?

Extend this lesson

Discussions

Activity

View all extensions
Sign up now for more great lessons!
Sign up

Featured Reviews

“The best part was rubbing the leaves and finding out what kind of leaf we had, and discovering why leaves change color!”
· Lesia · Teacher
“Woah! This is my first time exploring the website and the step-by-step instructions were amazing and the recorded explanation of why trees change colours was clear and concise for kids. Super impressed. ”
· Anna-Gail · Teacher
“The video explaining the concept using scientific vocabulary terms was simple and effective. Having students gather leaves from their community and adding it to the classroom tree gave this a touch of community building.”
· Cristina · Teacher
“Leaf rubbings - fantastic learning. Loved that first graders could remember and understand chlorophyll!!”
· Colleen · Teacher
“The hands on building of our own tree was awesome. The class really got into it and we "grew" it in our hallway outside our classroom to share with the rest of the school.”
· Kristian · Teacher
“Great project!!!! Searching for leaves in nature was the best part. My kids loved it. ”
· Aurora · Teacher
“The students were engaged and had a great time while learning”
· Lori · Teacher
“The students loved making the leaf rubbings and tracing them. We can't wait to put our tree together!!Thank you Mystery Science for a GREAT activity!!!”
· · Teacher
“The best part of this activity is the Community tree! This activity is one of the best as we can tie it to different subjects (language, science, social studies, art, math) ”
· Kalyani · Teacher
“My class loved looking at the leaves and determining what kind of tree they came from.”
· Tobin · Teacher
“The children enjoyed the leaf rubbing. It was also fun to see all the different kinds of leaves they brought in to do the project. ”
· Sarah · Teacher
“Getting to go outside and take a walk and use science eyes to make observations! We saw other elements of nature that peaked our curiosity.”
· Nicole · Teacher
“The students enjoyed it and made insightful observations. They are all looking at trees more thoughtfully. Thanks!!”
· Curtis · Teacher
“Students loved leaf hunting (they found their own leaves to use for project) and the leaf rubbing part too. Once we discussed the sizes of the different leaves they also really enjoyed looking at similarities and differences in their leaves and their classmates leaves (we connected this to the similarity and differences work we were doing with characters in ELA!). As usual- Mystery Science was a hit!!!”
· Shanti · Teacher
“Our students enjoyed the video and were excited and engaged in the leaf rubbing activity. They connected with the science of leaves changing colors and learned an important "why" answer to science around them!”
· Deeann · Teacher
“The best part about this lesson was creating cards for students to take home to their families. ”
· Jessica · Teacher
“A lot of fun for the kids and got them notice how many different kinds of leaves are out there!”
· Nancy · Teacher
“They loved it all! Most of them looked closely at their leaf to identify it and did so correctly! Awesome lesson!”
· Terry · Teacher
“We loved combining art and science! so fun!”
· Katie · Homeschooler
“Thank you for this wonderful lesson! It is a question that is asked every Fall and it was a great visual to help the kids understand this concept.”
· Kristina · Teacher
“I really appreciate how easy it is to gather the materials and have this ready for kindergartners. My students know to wait until they see the "thumbs up" before beginning the next task. Thank you for such an age-appropriate program!”
· Michelle · Teacher
“The activity was excellent! Not only did our Grade 2 students become familiar with various types or trees/leaves in our community, but we also made a fabulous display of our leaf rubbings.”
· Diane · Teacher
“I loved the experience of going outdoors with the children and collecting the different types of leaves. It helped them to really pay attention to the differences in leaves and it was great for the students that needed the movement too. It was fun learning! ”
· Ignacia · Teacher
“These 5 minute videos are excellent ways to get our students exposure to science during very tight schedules! Students were engaged and excited about the topic of why leaves change colors in the fall. ”
· Martin · Teacher
“We really enjoyed the art that went with the lesson and making the tree!”
· Dhira · Homeschooler
“The children loved doing the leaf rubs and identifying them for our tree. You can laminate the real leaves and this makes it easier for the students to make the crayon(colored pencils) rubs.”
· Kelly · Teacher
“The best part was going out on our school playground and hunting for leaves. They felt like scientists.”
· Veronica · Teacher
“The videos are short and very informative! Great visuals for my ELL students. ”
· Maria · Teacher
“the kids loved going outside to find leaves. I even had some bring leaves from home the next day”
· Amanda · Teacher
“This was a perfect blend of video, discussion, and hands on for my special ed class. Thank You!”
· Darryl · Teacher
“We all really enjoyed the leaf rubbings, and finding out what caused leaves to change color. The kids really liked all the videos! I enjoyed reading what the kids were thankful for.”
· Kelin · Homeschooler
“The activity was a great way to incorporate art into science!”
· Dawn · Teacher
“great fun!! we turned our tree into a "Gratitude Tree" and are writing something we are grateful for on each leaf through this season.”
· Heather · Homeschooler
“Loved the leaf rubbing activity and the video was very nicely done. Kept my Kindergarten class engaged.”
· Alesha · Teacher
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Lesson details

Grades K-5

Current Events And Trending Topics

Biodiversity, Plant Life Cycle

Activity Prep

Print Prep
In this mini-lesson, students discover how and why some tree leaves change color when the weather starts to get colder. In the activity, Falling for Leaves, students make crayon rubbings of tree leaves, then take a closer look to observe the characteristics of leaves in their own neighborhood.
No activity prep.

Jump to

Exploration

5 mins

Hands-On Activity

30 mins

Lesson details

Grades K-5

Current Events And Trending Topics

Biodiversity, Plant Life Cycle

Share this lesson

Student link

Google Classroom

Email parents

Slow internet or video problems?
Credits
 
Why do leaves change color in the fall?

How did the lesson go?
Terrible OK Good Great Terrific!

How can we improve it?

If you'd like our team to reply to you, please Contact Support instead.

Thanks for your feedback! If you have a question or need help, please contact us. Please consider sharing your review:

Sorry the lesson didn't go well. We read every single review in an effort to improve our Mysteries.

Thanks for letting us know. We’ll wait to ask you for feedback until after you've actually taught it.

Thanks for the feedback! We read every single review in an effort to improve our Mysteries.

Is the video not playing properly?

Please follow these steps:

  1. Very rarely a video will fail to completely load in your browser. Try to reload this page to see if that fixes the problem.
  2. If reloading does not help, try our other video player .
  3. If the video still fails to play, open this video in a new tab and please let us know you’re having trouble. We want to fix this issue for you.

How can we help you?

💡For purchasing info, see our Pricing Page

This episode is locked

This lesson is not included in your limited access.

View pricing

This episode is locked

Your membership is expired. The archive of past Mini Lessons is not included in your limited access.

View pricing