How To... Pick Apple Activities All Year

Teaching Pre K-8, Aug/Sep 2005 by Lindroth, Linda

This universal symbol for the classroom makes a wonderful management tool!

An apple a day may or may not keep the doctor away, but it's a useful theme to motivate your students as the school doors open for the new year.

A bushel basket of ideas

Plant a papier-mâche apple tree in your classroom. Surround it with with bright red and green pillows for an inviting reading or studying corner. Fill the tree with apple-shaped task cards and rotate them throughout the year. Here are some resources for your apple cards:

1 Apple book titles. Obtain a list of apple books and a list of teacher resources about apples for a literature-based unit covering science and social studies for K2. www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/apple/appletg.html

2 Apple facts. "Wow!" was my response to Apples & More, a comprehensive site with apple history, growing guidelines and nutrition facts, www.urbanext uiuc.edu/apples/fun.html

3 Apple-a-day chart. Use the apple reproducible on the next page to track completed activities for an "Apple of the Teacher's Eye" student achievement board. Just add a chart for tracking completed activities.

4 Apple teacher kits. Download PDF lessons and cross-curricular activity pages for grades K-6 from www.ny applecountry.com/teacherkits.htm

A peck of activities

The Internet is filled with apple-themed resources. Google and Answers.com generate thousands of search results from the keyword apple. Following are some sample key searches; you can find even more in our Bonus Curriculum section at www.TeachingK-8.com

1 Apple themes. Test your apple I.Q. with Apple Trivia from www.best apples.com/kids/trivia.html Want to be prepared for this quiz? Click on Apple Varieties, Health and Nutrition, Core Facts and Apple Facts for answers.

* There is also a usage chart for popular varieties that's perfect for math class. Just post the chart and students can write math word problems and graph the answers.

* Use the pome family, the plant group for the apple, to create an apple poem. Did you know the rose is in the same family? Use your imagination to create a Pome Poem.

* abcteach® www.abcteach.com/dir ectory/theme_units/month_to_ month/i_september/Lots of apple activities! Choose from the free downloads, or sign up for membership and login to access all the resources at this rich site: shapebooks, word wall lists, word scrambles and crossword puzzles. Click ABCTools in the menu to create your own free pages. An annual subscription is $25.

* Apple Webquest www.manteno.k12. il.us/llacossewebquest.htm This well-planned webquest guides primary students through Internet research to find lots of apple facts, with downloadable activity pages for many of the tasks. There is even a simple rubric for assessment. Be sure to test your thinking skills with the apple riddles - and maybe write your own.

2 Apple Geography. See if you can recreate the travels of John Chapman, aka Johnny Appleseed, from his hometown in Leominster, MA, into Pennsylvania and Ohio. Where is the closest apple orchard to your school? What states are known for their apples and what variety do they grow?

3 Apple Legends and Folk Heroes. Research the legends and folktales about apples. Johnny Appleseed is the official folk hero of Massachusetts. Does your state have a folk hero? Who would you nominate as folk hero of your community? This is a great starting point for studying biographies.

Whether you use it now or as a theme later in the year, the apple is a great organizer!