Date: 1994

Grade Level(s): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Subject(s):

• Interdisciplinary
• Health/Nutrition
• Arts/Visual Arts
• Language Arts/Writing
• Mathematics
• Science/Botany
• Social Studies/US History

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)
• 1 Tblsp creamy peanut butter
• 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 (Paper 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