You know it is fall when the leaves start to change color, and you get those beautiful fall leaves—ever wondered why that is? Find out what causes leaves to change color in the fall with this fun Why Do Leaves Change Color lapbook project. Our printable fall leaves project makes learning easy!

WHY DO LEAVES CHANGE COLOR IN THE FALL

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WHY DO LEAVES CHANGE COLOR?

Do you know the leaves of plants are green because they contain a green pigment called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll helps plants absorb light from the sun so that they can make food through a process called photosynthesis. Learn more about how photosynthesis works!

As summer fades into fall, the days become shorter and there is less sunlight. This is a signal for the plant to prepare for winter, and the leaves to stop making chlorophyll.

Once this happens, the green color starts to fade and the orange, red and yellow colors become visible. These pigments were there all along, we just couldn’t see them!

Learn more about autumn leaves with our printable lapbook project below!

Check out more fun printable lapbook projects here!

HOW TO USE A LAPBOOK

Tip #1 Put together a bin of materials including scissors, glue, double sided tape, craft tape, markers, file folders, etc. Everything is ready to go when you are and getting started is that much easier.

Tip #2 Although the printable templates are a complete resource, you can absolutely add them to your lapbook if desired or use the downloads as a starting point for your own creations.

Tip #3 Lapbooks don’t have to look pretty and organized! They just need to be fun and interesting for the kids. Let your kids be creative even if a section is glued off-center. They are still learning even if it doesn’t look exactly as pictured.

Check out these lapbook project ideas…

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR PRINTABLE FALL LEAVES PROJECT

WHY DO LEAVES CHANGE COLOR PROJECT

Watch the video:

SUPPLIES:

  • File folder
  • Why Do Leaves Change Color Printable
  • Colored crayons, markers, or pencils
  • Scissors
  • Glue

HOW TO PUT TOGETHER YOUR FALL LEAVES LAPBOOK

STEP 1. Fold each side of the open file folder toward the middle to create a ‘book’.

To create the cover of the lapbook, color each item on the page. When finished, glue the pieces to each side of the front of the lapbook.

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STEP 2. Cut out the Why Do Leaves Change Color banner and glue it to the top portion of the lapbook. Then cut out the Why Do Leaves Change Color explanation and glue it underneath.

STEP 3. There are 6 mini booklets in this lapbook. Cut and glue them together using the area above the dotted line as your guide to put the glue. Attach them to the inside of the lapbook.

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STEP 4. Glue the What I learned about leaves page to the back of the lapbook.

Read through your finished Why Do Leaves Change Color lapbook and discuss it together. Then write a few sentences about what you learnt.

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MORE LEAF ACTIVITIES TO TRY

Extend the learning with these easy and fun fall science experiments and fall leaf crafts!

More Fun Fall Activities For Kids

We have also put together a bunch of great Fall STEM ideas and Fall Art and Crafts!

Printable Fall STEM Projects Pack

This 200+ page fall theme pack complements both the apple and pumpkin packs. There are no overlaps!

What’s Included:

  • 20+ Fall theme science and STEM activities with printable sheets, instructions, journal pages, and useful information all using easy-to-source materials perfect for limited time needs. Includes a fall theme engineering pack with fun, problem-based challenges for kids to solve
  • Leaf theme science activities include parts of a leaf, leaf coloring pages, leaf rubbing sheets, leaf graphing, and why leaves change colors information and lapbook! Go on a leaf scavenger hunt too.
  • Pinecone Pullout Pack: includes pinecone life cycle information, science investigations, and more.
  • Fall Screen Free Code Pack includes an introduction to binary code, algorithms, puzzles, and more
  • Fall Art/STEAM Projects 
  • Bonus Fall fun pack includes games and activities to round out your fall theme activities, such as brain breaks, Would You Rather cards, mystery math pictures, and more