Apple Activities
Fall is in the air, and with the changes of seasons comes great opportunities to teach in fun, engaging ways! I loved incorporating apple activities into my lessons during the Fall season. These are so fun for the students and there are so many different ways you can use apples to teach. Whether it is math, language arts, or science, these apple activities will get students engaged and learning in fun new ways all through the Fall season.
All About Apples
Apples and fall go hand in had. That is why I loved doing an apple unit every September in my classroom. It’s a great cross-curricular unit that connects science with reading, writing and math! And with a little creativity you could easily add some apple art too!
I always began our apple unit with the “All About Apples” reader. This science based reader is filled lots of amazing facts about apples. The students always loved learning about this fruit that so many people love. I loved watching their eyes light up as they learned new things about apples, and you could see the gears of their mind just turning.
This book highlights lots of information about apples. Students will learn how apples grow and how they are harvested. They will learn about the different varieties of apples, where they are sold, and so much more! This is a great way to introduce your apple unit or activities to the classroom.
Each day we re-read our apple book. This is such a great way to reinforce sight words, reading strategies and new vocabulary words. Following our reading we complete another activity that relates to apples and the book. The students love the Apples are . . . have . . . can writing and the cut and paste apple life cycle activities!
Apple Tasting fun
The taste test
Apple tasting is just as fun as it sounds, and always a favorite part of our apple unit. Who doesn’t love a snack while also learning all about apples? Our taste test is done with each student receiving a piece of four different types of apples. I like to use an apple cutter for quick and easy cutting and give each student 1 slice of the apple.
I’ve found that including 4 different types of apples in the taste test is a good number. This provides a great variety of taste, color and texture for the students to observe. I used Red Delicious, Gala, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious, but you can use any four that can be easily found in your area.
graphing
After tasting, it is time to gather data. Use a large piece of paper to create your picture graph. Everything you need to do this activity is included in the Apple Activities pack.
I recommend laminating the graph headings and apple cards so you can use them again next year. Then give each student a black and white copy and have them vote on their favorite apple from the taste test.
As each student finished coloring their apple I let them come up to the graph and add it to the correct column. The students love seeing the final results, and will often cheer on their favorite kind of apple.
apple data analysis
Once you have finished there are so many great graphing and data analysis topics you can jump into! It’s a great apple math lesson all in and of itself. I love connecting these math topics with writing about math.
We use our favorite apple picture graph to create a bar graph and then dive into data analysis with these worksheets. By the time we are done, the students are able to talk about the taste test using all sorts of great math vocabulary.
There’s also an opinion writing prompt on the bottom of the page. This is a great way to get students explaining why they chose the apple they did.
Johnny Appleseed Day
Mark your school calendars for September 26th and celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with your class. If you can, doing your apple unit during this week is a great way to connect the learning to this fun holiday.
Teaching your students the story of Johnny Appleseed is such a fun and unique way to incorporate learning about apples because the story is just so interesting. Johnny Appleseed was the man who set out to make apple trees blossom all over the United States. Here in the U.S., Johnny Appleseed is a folklore legend and worth teaching about!
There are some great activities, resources, and even books that tell the tale of Johnny Appleseed. I recommend Johnny Appleseed by Jodie Shepherd or Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of Johnny Appleseed by Esme Raji Codell. These books are a great introduction to the man that was Johnny Chapman!
Apple Art
There are lots and lots of fun apple art activities you can do as part of your apple unit. While I didn’t include one in this unit, a quick Pinterest search revealed lots of great options. Each year I liked to choose art activities based on the fine motor needs and personalities of my class. Some years paper tearing was what was needed, while other years, water color painting or a directed drawing fit just right. Check out these and more fun apple art activities.
fall apple fun
As you can see, there is no shortage of fun and learning when it comes to apples. Including apples into your Fall curriculum allows you so much versatility with activity planning and endless resources at your fingertips. There are tons of activities, books and don’t forget about Johnny Appleseed. Students will enjoy learning about it all!
Grab these simple, yet effective apple activities for your own classroom and get to learning about apples! I can guarantee your Fall season won’t be boring and dull in the classroom with all the apple fun to be had!
Save these apple activities for later
Save these engaging apple activities to your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you can quickly find it when you need new apple activities!
