TITLE: Apples
AUTHOR: Linda Huff, Whittier Elementary, Winfield, KS
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: Appropriate for primary grades
OVERVIEW: This is an across the curriculum (thematic) unit
I have used with second graders. I begin the study near the
end of September or the beginning of October to coincide
with John Chapman's birthday or National Apple Month.
ACTIVITIES/RESOURCES:
Nutrition/Cooking--
Smiling Apple Snack(2 slices red apple,1T.creamy peanut
butter, and 4-5 mini-marshmallows per student)
Applesauce (Each child brings, cuts, and peels 1 apple. Add
water as needed while cooking, cinnamon and sugar to taste.)
Baked apples(Observe raw apples. Predict changes. Describe
changes in color, texture, and taste.)
Dry apples.
Apple finger cubes (2 envelopes unflavored gelatin and
2 c. boiling water. Dissolve and add one 6 oz. can frozen
apple juice. Pour into lightly greased 9 x 13 cake pan and
chill. Cut into squares to serve.)
Make a cookbook of apple recipes.
ART--
Dried Apple Faces (Peel and core apples. Use a plastic knife
to cut eyes, mouth, nose,chin, and cheeks. Soak for 20 min.
in 1/2 bowl of water and 2 T. lemon juice. Put a pipe
cleaner through core and hang in a warm place to dry. Takes
about 4 days.)
"An Apple A Day" mobile
Apple Core Pencil Holder (Papier mache around a toilet paper
roll. Pipe cleaner stem. Green raffia leaf.)
Collages(Pictures beginning with the letter A. Shades of
red.)
Fingerpaint (Cut out apple shape)
Apple Prints (Cut apples in half both ways and let dry. Put
red, green, and yellow undiluted tempera on sponges or
folded paper towels. OR Use corks or fingerprints to put
"apples" on tree shapes.)
CREATIVE WRITING/LANGUAGE ARTS--
Apple Shape Book (Write story and illustrate. Record
predictions and results of cooking experiments.)
Crossword/Word Search of "apple" words studied.
Write a class big book.
Wheel book showing the steps to get apples from orchard to
market.
Poetry (Brainstorm apple words-colors,looks,places,etc.
Couplets-2 line rhyming poem
Shape poem-write around apple shape
Write APPLE down, then write words or phrases
describing apples across
heAlthful
aPpetizing
Pretty
Luscious
to Eat
Discuss exaggeration vs. reality when reading about Johnny
Appleseed.
MATH--
Predict the number of seeds in one apple. (Use different
sizes and types of apples.)
Apple Counting Game (Place felt apples on felt trees
according to numeral written on the tree.)
Sort apples according to size and color.
Match word problems written on apples to answers on apples
on tree on bulletin board.
Introduce fractions-1/2,1/4,3/4,2/4,4/4
Graph favorite apple foods
Measure ingredients when cooking
SCIENCE-
Parts of a tree
Things we get from trees
Parts of a flower
Parts of an apple
Seasons with a tree (Make paper bag masks to show these.)
Look at apple seeds and the seeds of other fruits and
vegetables with magnifying glasses.
SOCIAL STUDIES--
Time line of John Chapman's life
Time line of tree to market apple life
Use map to find places Johnny Appleseed planted apple
seeds.
Make a map of an orchard(cardinal directions)
Play English games (Snap Apple Night-twirl an apple on the
end of a stick. Bob for Apples-If boy catches apple, it
means his girlfriend loves him. Peel an Apple-Girl throws
peeling over her shoulder, and it makes the initial of her
boyfriend.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY-
Apples:How They Grow-Bruce McMillan
Apple Tree-Peter Parnall
Apple Trees-Sylvia A. Johnson
The Giving Tree-Shel Silverstein
Halloween-Joyce R. Kessel
Johnny Appleseed-Jan Gleiter
Johnny Appleseed-Steven Kellogg
Rain Makes Applesauce-Julian Scheer
Season's of Arnold's Apple Tree-Gail Gibbons
The Story of Johnny Appleseed-Aliki
The Story of Johnny Appleseed-LaVere Anderson
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