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Apple Unit

My apple unit starts around Johnny Appleseed’s Birthday, Sept 26, and goes through the first part of October. October is National Apple Month.

Books:

Apple Picking

Apples and Pumpkins

Rabbit’s Foolish Mistake

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Story of Johnny Appleseed (Weekly Reader, Sept.1996) Ten Apples Up On Top

The Giving Tree

A Apple Pie

The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree

The Very Busy Year What Happens in Autumn Apples (New Discovery Book)

 

 

>Poems:

 

Apple Poems

Ten Little Apples

(You can also sing it backwards)

Apples Big

Ten Red Apples

Ten Rosy Apples

In The Apple Tree

If I Were An Apple

Do You Know the Apple Man

(Tune of the Muffin Man)

Johnny Appleseed Song

(sung to Do you Know the Muffin Man)

Do you know the apple man, 
the apple man, the apple man?
Do you know lthe apple man?
He planted apple seeds.

He wore a pot upon his head,
upon his head, upon his head.
He wore a pot upon his head.
His name was Johnny Appleseed.

John Chapman was his real name,
his real name, his real name.
John Chapman was his real name;
But, we call him Johnny Appleseed.

Five Apples

The first apple in the basket
was bright and shiny red.
The second apple in the basket
said,"What a cozy bed!"
The third apple in the basket
said,"Please move over there."
The fourth apple in the basket
said,Now we are two pair."
The fifth apple in the basket,
said,"Oh dear, me-oh-my!"
"This basket looks like pastry,"
"I think we're apple pie!"

The kids cut out a basket run off on light brown construction and paste on
light blue.  They cut out 5 red apples to put in their basket along with the
above poem.

To go with apple tree/fingerprint apples:

These are special apples,
Hanging on this tree.
I made them with my finger prints.
They are a part of me!

To go with Johnny Appleseed paper bag puppet:

Thank you Johnny Appleseed.
We owe you quite alot.
For the apples that you planted
With a Bible and a cooking pot.

Your seeds were planted far and wide.
You gave a helping hand.
A friendly word you had for all,
Across our frontier land.

Thank you Johnny Appleseed.
We owe you quite alot.
The lovely trees and apples,
And the lessons that you taught!
:-)Jenni/K/CA

Apple Magic

By Margaret Hillart

In every single apple lies
A truly magical surprise.
Instead of slicing down, 
             slice through
And watch the star
             appear for you!

Four Red Apples on the Tree

(tune: this old man)

Four red apples on the tree,
Two for you and two for me.
So shake that tree and
        Watch them fall.
One, two, three, four - that is all.

 

 

  • I have all the students bring in apples and any empty cans, labels, or boxes of apple products.
  • Discuss different types of apples and the lifecycle of an apple.
  • Make a Johnny Appleseed Puppet.(Pattern comes from The Teacher’s Friend)
  • Make an apple core mobile.(Pattern come from The Teacher’s Friend)
  • Make an Apple Science Booklet in the shape of an apple. Predict and see if an apple sinks or floats. Predict and see how many bites it takes to get to the apple core. Predict what kind of apple like the best/predict and then have a taste test and see. You can also make a graph to go with this. Predict and then measure the circumference of an apple. Predict the weight and then weigh an apple. Predict and then see how many seeds are in an apple.
  • Bob for apples.
  • Make Johnny Appleseed Sandwiches (I also have a little book they can make with the directions in it from The Mailbox Kindergarten Aug/Sept 1995)-Use 1 apple slice for the bottom of the sandwich. Spread peanutbutter on the apple slice. Use 1 apple slice for the top of the sandwich.
  • Apple Sequence cards-students put the cards in sequence. There is a picture of a whole apple. One with one bite out of it. One with two bites out of it. And one with just the apple core.
  • The Little Red House With No Doors story
  • Apple prints
  • Make apple trees by making the apples out of thumbprints dipped in red paint or ink pad.
  • AIMS apple tree-cut strips half way down a paper bag from the opening of the bag. Then undo and wrap the bag into a tree trunk. Children can tear red paper or tissue paper to glue on as apples.
  • Make applesauce
  • Make caramel apples
  • Dissect an apple and talk about the parts of an apple.
  • Make an apple puppet. (Pattern from the Teacher’s Friend)
  • Graph fruit from the story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
  • 10 Apples Up On Top booklet- I have animals with numbers 0-10 on them. The children use an apple stamp to put the correct number on apples on top of the animals’ heads.
  • Johnny Appleseed envelopes-recycle the apple seeds from activities and have the children put them in envelopes, decorate, and give to a friend to plant. Just like Johnny Appleseed.
  • I have some apple color word sheets they do since we are working on colors and color words.
  • Talk about the states that are known for apple production- California, New York, Michigan, Washington, and Oregon. This was good to incorporate when we did our postcards at calendar time.
  • Observe apples as they are cut open and exposed to air. Let the children use magnifying glasses to get a closer look.
  •  

     

     

    More Apple Ideas

    This is a collection of ideas from the early childhood mailring from Teachers.Net.

    Last year I had my class bring in a plain white Tshirt. We used apples cut in half and with fabric paint(red, green and yellow) printed the apples all over the front of the shirt. I did cover one spot on the front with construction paper helded down with masking tape. When the shirts were dry the blank spot was used to print with permanent fabric marker "I'm A Good Apple!" These turned out really cute and my kids enjoyed wearing them all year. I was lucky enough to have a very creative parent that did all the printing on the shirts (22 of them) She made the o's in 'good' look like little apples. I saw this idea in a MAILBOX publication. One of my very favorite resources along with this group!! :) Chris/preK/PA

    Here is an Apple experiment. Make an small book for observation and prediction. Day 1- Have 2 apples of approximately same size. Peel one apple and leave the other alone. (I explain control group in experimenting. Don’t tell them that nothing happens to it!!!!!! See what the children think.) After a week or two- Do the final report. Apple Experiment We peeled one apple and left the other one alone. (Children draw apples.) Peeled apple Apple left alone Prediction: How do you think the apples will look after a couple of weeks? (Children draw the pictures and dictate.) Peeled apple Apple left alone Apple Experiment Final Report These are how the apples looked on ______________. (Children draw the picture and dictate.) Peeled apple Apple left alone

    Art: Family Apple Trees: Cut a sponge to look like a tree trunk. Cut apple shapes out of sponge. On white paper, place the tree trunk sponge (dipped in brown paint) on paper. Use fingers to press on leaves with green paint. Sponge red apples onto the paper for family members. After it dries, family member names may be printed near apples with fine tip black marker. These are gorgeous especially when packed with colored paper. (I use dark blue.)

    Apple Halves with Seeds: Cut 2 apple shapes out of oaktag. Make one about 1/4’ smaller all around. Children trace and cut larger apple out of red paper. The smaller is traced and cut out of white. Paste white apple onto red apple. Precut black seeds are available for the children to paste onto the apple. Note: I do this after estimating seeds in apples and observing where the seeds are located. This was it is an assessment tool as well as art! Sheryl/k/MA

    We also make a book about an apple tree over the 4 seasons. I have a "naked" tree, and they have to put leaves, apples, background, etc. for each season. They put the blossoms on during spring, etc. We do graphing by seeds, color of apple, which one tastes best (red, yellow, green), and then we taste apple butter, apple juice, applesauce (that we've made!), and apple jelly. We graph our favorite. We make trees with apples cut in half and dipped in red paint. We visit an apple orchard the end of Sept. I know there's more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head! Steph

    Last year I read the book, Ten Apples Up on Top. We then made a class book called We Have Apples Up on Top. For each page I had the sentence strip for the child to fill in the blanks _________ had _____ apples up on top. Above this I had enlarged and xeroxed their picture ( I always take them in the beginning of the year). The children got to pick an apple with a # on it. After they told me what # it was they picked that many apples (precut apple shapes) out of a basket. They finished the sentence, glued their apples on top of their heads and we had a class book. It was a favorite in our classroom. I believe the ideas was in Mailbox at one time. Chris/preK/PA

    We always make applesauce and make a class book about the experience. Almost every year the book turns out like this:

     

    Apple Brownies

    2 sticks margarine, softened             			
    2 c. sugar
    4 medium sized apples, chopped			
    2 eggs
    2 c. flour							
    1 tsp. baking soda
    1tsp.  baking powder					
    1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
    
    Cream margarine and sugar.
    Add eggs and beat until creamy.
    Add dry ingredients sifted together.
    Stir thoroughly.
    Add apples
    
    Bake in 9X13 pan at 350 for about 40 minutes.  DO NOT OVERBAKE.  		
    note:  Brownies might look and feel like they’re not done.

    Swedish Apple Pie

    Fill a 9" pie plate 2/3 full with peeled and sliced apples.
    
    Sprinkle apples with 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon.
    
    In a separate bowl, combine 3/4 c melted butter, 1 c flour, 1 c sugar, 1 egg,
     and a pinch of salt.  Mix well.
    
    Pour over apples.
    
    Bake in a 350 oven for 45-50 minutes.

    Letter Charts

    1. I do letter charts for the letters: Aa for apple, Jj for Johnny, and Rr for red.
    2. I have an grab bag with apples in it with all the letters printed on the apples.
    3. I assess lowercase letters by having the children trace a big apple. I then print the lower case letters on the apple. A sticker goes on each letter the child knows until he/she knows them all.

     

    Picture and Words

    I use pictures of apples, apple trees, Johnny Appleseed, etc

     

    The months of September and October are a wonderful time to study Johnny Appleseed and apples. September 26, 1774, was Johnny Appleseed's birthday and October is National Apple Month.

     

    The Memory of Johnny Appleseed Lives On

    by Joannie Appleseed


    Johnny Appleseed, soldier of peace, early American patriot, our country's foremost nurseryman -- was born John Chapman whre his father's cabin sent up its smoke by the Connecticut River in Massachusetts.

    Early in the 19th Century he came to the western Pennsylvania where, for a time, he lived on a little farm near Mars in the Pittsburgh area. There he came to believe that his mission in life was to plant apple trees -- Pippins, Golden Russets, Rambos, etc. -- for which he carefully gathered from the presses as cider making time. He dried them, filled as many sacks as he could carry and set out to plant them on little plots of open ground -- all the way from Big Broken Straw Creek in the wilderness of what is now Warren County, Pa. through Ohio on into northwestern Indiana -- a distance of 400 miles as the crow flies. In 40 years he walked (most of the time barefoot) 10000 miles living on herbs, wild fruit, berries, nuts, cornmeal mush, which it is reported he cooked in the tin pot he wore for a hat.

    During the nearly half century he traipsed along on his mission of love, from one isolated cabin to another, he was unharmed by the wild creatures he loved and the Indians who regarded him as a Good Spirit, for he carried neither hunting knife nor gun.

    Johnny Appleseed, who embraced Swedenborgian religious views, drank no whiskey. He believed that all evils are to be shunned because they are of the devil.

    Johnny was always a welcome visitor along the frontier. He not only planted his seeds and cared for the young trees and herbs (catnip, pennyroyal and ginseng) but he read to the settlers from his well-worn Bible and carried to them news from their relatives and friends who lived miles away.

    The story of Johnny Appleseed -- who went about doing good -- lives on.

    Most recently, a 5-cent United States postage stamp has been issued to honor the memory of the little man who had a great vision of the frontier -- from Tennessee to the Great Lakes -- from the Alleghenies to the Rockies -- as a land of apple orchards.

    Some years ago school children in Ashland County, Ohio, gave five cents each and took colored stones, many from historic spots, to the Johnny Appleseed Park where their contributions helped build a memorial.

    At the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago (1933-34) the Ohio pavilion conatined a beautiful wooden settee, the entire back carved in scenes depicting the life and deeds of kindly little Johnny Appleseed.

    Poems and songs have been sung in his memory, and an old apple tree -- reportedly one of his -- yet grows and bears fruit on a slope among hillside orchard trees planted by A. E. Ball on a farm located two miles northwest of Fredonia, Pennsylvania.

    (One may also see close by the quiet burial ground of Indians, pioneers, soldiers from the Revolution to World War II and many fanous trees from other states.

    As for Johnny Appleseed he travlled on, up and down the frontier singing, "The Lord is good to me...And so I thank the Lord for giving me...The sun and the rain and the apple tree," but at 70 years he knew he was nearing the end of his journey. At the home of his friend, William Watt of Fort Wayne, Indiana, tired and weary, he asked to have his bed under an apple tree where he lay down to sleep -- his life mission accomplished.

    By now you'll agree that Johnny Appleseed was one of our great pioneers, the one who sang, "And some day there'll be apples there, for everyone in the world to share...The Lord is good to me."

    AUTHOR

    TITLE

    PUBLISHER

    Aliki

    The Story of Johnny Appleseed

    Prentice-Hall

    Barrett, Judy

    An Apple a Day

    Atheneum

    Buff, Conrad and Mary

    The Apple and the Arrow

    Houghton Mifflin

    Dodd, Lynley

    The Apple Tree

    Gareth Stevens

    Dragonwagon, Crescent

    Alligator Arrived With Apples

    Aladdin

    Gibbons, Gail

    The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree

    Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

    Gillis, Jennifer Storey

    An Apple a Day!: Over 20 Apple Projects for Kids

    Storey Books

    Glass, Andrew

    Folks Call Me Johnny Appleseed

    Doubleday

    Gleiter, Jan and Kathleen Thompson

    Johnny Appleseed

    Raintree

    Greenaway, Kate

    An Apple a Day

    Frederick Warner and Co.

    Heuck, Sigrid

    Who Stole the Apples?

    Alfred A. Knopf

    Hogrogian, Nonny

    Apples

    Macmillan

    Hunt, Irene

    Trail of Apple Blossoms

    Follett

    Jensen, Patsy

    Johnny Appleseed Goes A Planting

    Troll

    Johnson, Hannah

    From Apple Seed to Applesauce

    Lothrop, Lee & Shepard

    Johnson, Sylvia

    Apple Trees

    Lerner

    Keillor, Garrison

    Johnny Appleseed (Film)

    Baker & Taylor

    Kellogg, Steven

    Johnny Appleseed: A Tall Tale

    William Morrow

    Kunstler, James Howard

    Johnny Appleseed

    Rabbit Ears

    Kuntz, Shirley

    Applesauce

    Good Books

    Levitt, Marc

    Johnny Appleseed: Gentle Hero

    August House

    Lindbergh, Reeve

    How did Johnny Appleseed Help the Pioneers Move West?

    Little, Brown & Co.

    Lindbergh, Reeve

    Johnny Appleseed: A Poem

    Little, Brown & Co.

    Lindsay, Vachel

    Johnny Appleseed and Other Poems

    Harmony Raine & Company

    Maestro, Betsy C.

    How do Apples Grow?

    Harp

    Mari, Iela

    The Apple and the Moth

    Pantheon

    Martin, Dick

    The Apple Book

    Golden Press

    Orton, Helen Fuller

    Mystery in the Apple Orchard

    J.B. Lippincott

    Parnell, Peter

    Apple Tree

    MacMillan

    Patent, Dorothy Hinshaw

    An Apple a Day: From Orchard to You

    Dutton

    Rockwell, Anne

    Apple and Pumpkins

    S&S for Young Readers

    Scheffler, Ursel

    The Giant Apple

    Lerner

    Schnieper, Claudia

    An Apple Tree through the Year

    Carolrhoda Books

    Selsam, Millicent

    The Apple and Other Fruits

    William Morrow

    Silverstein, Shel

    The Giving Tree

    Harper & Row

    Slawson, Michele B.

    Apple Picking Time

    Crown Books

    Turner, Ann

    Apple Valley Year

    S&S for Young Readers

    Watson, Clyde

    Applebet

    Farrar, Straus & Giroux

    Watson, Clyde

    Tom Fox and the Apple Pie

    Crowell

    Watts, Barrie

    Apple Tree

    Silver Burdett

     

     

    Found an Apple
    (Sung to the tune of "My Darling Clementine")

    Found an apple, found an apple,
    Found an apple on a tree.
    I was napping, just catnapping,
    Underneath the apple tree.
    Then it hit me, then it hit me,
    As the apple fell on me.
    I discovered, yes discovered,
    Newton's law of gravity.


    I Love Apples
    (Sung to the tune of "You Are My Sunshine")

    I love red apples. I love red apples.
    And I could eat them every day.
    I love the sweet ones and I love the tart ones.
    Apples keep the doctor away.

    I love green apples. I love green apples.
    And I could eat them everyday.
    I love them crunchy, I love them munchy,
    But I hate those apple belly-aches.

    I love all apples. I love all apples.
    And I could eat them everyday.
    I love the sweet ones and I love the tart ones.
    Please don't take my apples away.


    Apple, Apple, On the Tree
    (Sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")
    Click here to listen to a recording of this song.

    Apple, apple on the tree
    I know you are good for me.
    You are fun to munch and crunch
    For a snack or in my lunch.
    Apple, apple on the tree,
    I know you are good for me.


    A-P-P-L-E
    (Sung to the tune "BINGO")

    I know a fruit that's good for you and
    apple is its name-o.

    A-P-P-L-E


    Five Little Apples
    (A Finger Play)
    Click here to listen to a recording of this saying.

    Five little apples lying on the floor,
    I'll roll one away, and that leaves four.
    (Make rolling movement with arms.)

    Four little apples hanging on a tree,
    I'll pick one off, and that leaves three.
    (Pick an imaginary apple.)

    Three little apples, I know what to do!
    I'll put one in my pocket, and that leaves two.
    (Pretend to put an apple in pocket.)

    Two little apples sitting in the sun.
    I'll pick one up, and that leaves one.
    (Pretend to pick apple up off the floor.)

    One little apple waiting in my lunch.
    I'll eat it up with a crunch, crunch, crunch.
    (Pretend to take a big bite.)


    The Apple
    Click here to listen to a recording of this saying.

    Up in the apple tree,
    High off the ground,
    (Look up and point.)
    I see an apple
    So big and round.
    (Shape circle with hands.)

    I climb up the tree
    And hold on tight.
    (Pretend to climb.)
    I pick that apple,
    And take a big bite!
    (Pick apple and bite.)


    Away Up High
    Click here to listen to a recording of this saying.

    Away up high in an apple tree
    (Point up)
    Two red apples smile at me.
    (Form 2 circles with fingers)
    I shook that tree as hard as I could
    (Pretend to shake tree)
    Down came those apples
    And m-m-m were they good!
    (Rub tummy)

    Create a bulletin board while studying Johnny Appleseed. Using green and brown butcher paper, make a tree to place in the center of the bulletin board. Make copies of the pattern below using red, green, and yellow paper. Copies may also be made on white paper and students can lightly color in the apple. Allow students to write a few things that they learned about apples or Johnny Appleseed. Place the apples on the tree.

    A variation on this bulletin board: "An Apple a Day..."
    Use the same apples, but place one apple on the tree each day. Select a new fact about apples orJohnny Appleseed to emphasize each day while studying Johnny Appleseed.

    Apple

    This idea was adapted from Literature Notes for Johnny Appleseed by Cynthia Nagel, Frank Schaffer Publications, Inc., California, 1994.


    "The Apples of My Eye"

    Use this bulletin board idea at the start of school. While studying Johnny Appleseed, teachers may "introduce" their students by creating a bulletin board with their photographs. Create a tree with green and brown butcher paper and place in the center of a bulletin board. Using a camera, take individual pictures of students. With apple frames similar to the example below, frame each student's photograph and place on the tree. Teachers may wish to write the student's name on the apple frame to identify each class member. Cut letters to place on the board for a title: "The Apples of My Eye."

    Apple Picture Frame


    Johnny's Journey

    As a young man, Johnny Appleseed left Massachusetts and headed west. He spent time in several different states during his journeys. Introduce students to United States geography by creating a bulletin board with a large US map on it. As students read and learn about Johnny Appleseed's travels, allow them to highlight the significant states on the board. It might be helpful to include on the bulletin board a chart with information about the events that took place in each state.

     

     

    The Johnny Appleseed Homepage

    For forty-nine years, John Chapman ("Johnny Appleseed") roamed the American wilderness, devotedly planting apple trees. He created apple orchards in the wildernesses of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana, spanning an estimated area of 100,000 square miles. Some of these trees are still bearing fruit after 150 years.

    The reason for John's mission is unknown, although it's said he dreamed of a land covered with blossoming apple trees; of a land where no one went hungry because apples were plentiful.

    John's gentleness and courage were legendary even in his own time. He walked alone in the wilderness, without gun or knife. He chopped down no trees, and killed no animals. He was respected and appreciated by the native American tribes and the new settlers alike.

    John lived very simply. He slept outdoors, walked barefoot and ate berries and the like. He made his clothes from sacks and wore a tin pot for a hat (and to cook with). Reportedly, John made his drinking water in winter by melting snow with his feet. Even the people of his time were amazed at his endurance.

    Yet after his death, it was discovered that John was not poor at all. He owned (and leased) considerable areas of land -- on which he planted apple trees, of course.

    John converted to Swedenborgian religious views, and from then on, mailed regular reports of his activities to astonished church authorities in Sweden. This is strange in itself, since Swedenborgians were exceedingly rare in America (roughly 400 in the whole continent).

    John died of pneumonia at the age of 70, in the home of his friend William Worth, near Fort Wayne, Indiana. He lies buried there under the epitaph "He lived for others."

    John Chapman's Contribution to America

    The longevity of trees and their ability to spread makes John Chapman's contribution perhaps the most lasting in American history. Laws, wars and political parties have come and gone; lawyers, soldiers and statesmen have grown powerful, only to see their life's work eventually undone. But John's apple trees have endured and multiplied, changing the face and food of a continent. All from a gentle man, possessed by a strange and wonderful dream.

    Arbor Day is coming soon. Consider planting an apple tree in John's memory.

    Apple trees were grown and prized for their fruit by the people of ancient Rome. It is believed that the Romans took cultivated apples with them into England when they conquered the country. Apple-growing became common in England and many other parts of Europe

    Both the seeds of apples and the trees themselves were brought to America from England, probably in 1629. John Endicott, one of the early governors of Massachusetts Bay Colony, is said to have brough the first trees to America. The cultivated varieties of apples gradually spread westward from the Atlantic coast. Native Americans took seeds of these apples into the wilderness and planted them in their villages. A white man, John Chapman, also helped to spread apple growing in the U.S. He carried apple seeds with him wherever he went, and planted them in thinly settled parts of the country. For this reason he became known as "Johnny Appleseed."

    As time passed, American applegrowers developed many new and improved varieties of apples. Today the U.S. is the principal apple-producing country in the world.

     

    Apples and pears are ideal for counting games, as children can eat them afterwards as a reward! The two print outs in this section (Join the Dots and Count the Apples) introduce counting and involve children in completing an apple picture by joining dots in the correct sequence.

    Music

    Have ten children, each with an apple in hand, line up next to a table and sing the following song slowly to the tune of "Ten Little Indians". When a number is spoken, have each child place an apple on the table until a line of ten apples is formed. After the song, have the children join you in counting the number of apples on the table.

    Ten Tasty Apples

    One tasty, two tasty, three tasty apples;
    Four tasty, five tasty, six tasty apples;
    Seven tasty, eight tasty, nine tasty apples;
    Ten tasty apples all in a row.

     

    Apples

    Poems and Songs

    Activities

    Book List

    Poems and Songs

    "How Many Apples"

    How many apples
    Do you see?
    Can you count them?
    1, 2, 3

    How many green ones?
    How many red?
    Now eat an apple
    And get to bed!

    unknown

    "The Apple Tree"

    Way up high in an apple tree
    Two little apples smiled down at me
    I shook that tree as hard as I could
    Down came the apples
    M-m-m-m they were good.

    "Ten Rosy Apples"

    Ten rosy apples high in a tree
    Safely hiding where no one can see.
    When the wind comes rocking to and fro,
    Then rosy apples to the ground must go.

    " If I Were An Apple"

    If I were an apple
    And grew on a tree
    I think I'd drop down
    On a nice boy like me.
    I wouldn't stay there
    Giving nobody joy
    I'd fall down at once
    And say, "Eat me, my boy."

    "The Apple"

    Up in the apple tree,
    High off the ground,
    I see an apple
    So big and round.
    I climb up the tree,
    And hold on tight.
    I pick that apple
    And take a bite!

    "Ten Red Apples"

    Ten red apples grow on a tree
    Five for you and five for me.
    Let us shake the tree just so
    And ten red apples will fall below.

    1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

    " OLD MACDONALD"

    Old MacDonald had a farm,
    E-I-E-I-O
    And on this farm he had some apples,
    E-I-E-I-O

    With a _________here, and a _________there,

    Here a ______, there a ________,

    everywhere a _____,_____-.

    Old MacDonald had a farm,
    E-I-E-I-O!

    (Substitute names of apples in the blanks.)

    " Here We Go 'Round the Apple Tree"
    (Tune: Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)

    First verse: Here we go 'round the apple tree.
    Second verse: This is the way we pick the apples.
    Third verse: This is the way we peel the apples.
    Fourth verse: This is the way we slice the apples.
    Fifth verse: This is the way we bake a pie.
    Sixth verse: This is the way we eat the pie.

    For the ending line, you could use "so early in the morning"....or I suppose it could be something else. Any ideas?

    Substitute apple verses of your own in the old favorite "She'll be Coming 'Round the Mountain." Working with this song can be especially helpful in getting students to think through a series of steps involving apples. For example, a song could be built on the steps in making apple jelly:

    She'll be Coming 'Round the Mountain

    First verse: She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes.

    Second verse: She'll be bringing big red apples when she comes.

    Third verse: She'll be peeling big red apples when she comes.

    Fourth verse: She'll be cooking big red apples when she comes.

    Fifth verse: She'll be making apple jelly when she comes.

    Apples in the attic,
    Apples in the hall,
    Apples in the summer,
    Apples in the fall.
    Apples make you healthy.
    Apples make you tall.
    I will eat some apples,
    I will eat them all.

    "Ten Red Apples"

    Ten red apples, growing on a tree
    Five for you and five for me.
    Help me shake the tree just so-
    And ten red apples fall down below.

    1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10!

    Our Tree

    When spring comes round, our apple tree is very full of flowers,
    And when a bird sits on a branch the petals fall in showers.
    When summer comes round, our apple tree is very full of green,
    And everywhere you look in it there is a leafy screen.
    When autumn comes round, our apple tree is full of things to eat
    And apples hang from every branch to tumble at our feet.
    When winter comes round, our apple tree is full of snow and ice,
    And rabbits come to visit it...
    We think our tree is nice.

    by: Marchette Chute

    Shake, shake the apple tree
    Apples red and rosy
    Shake, shake the apple tree
    Apples red and rosy.
    One for you
    One for me
    Shake shake the apple tree

     
       
       

    Activities

    Last year there was a project for apple tasting by Alice Simpson. She had selected 4 apple varieties, had the participating classes taste them and vote on their favorites, then send her the results. She then posted the class/school and told its favorite. The receiving classes could make graphs, or whatever.

    Sit in a circle. Cut off slices and have the children taste them. Then voted by putting names in a graph set up for the varieties.

    Have several apple products available such as apple cider, apple juice, apple sauce, etc.. Have students sample a little of each and draw their favorites on apple cut outs. Take the apples and create a graph of the favorites.

    Show students in "star" in an apple by cutting through the horizontal middle of an apple.

    "The Apple Of My Eye" This makes a nice bulletin board display. Have each child draw his or her self-portrait on a piece of white paper. Make a large apple on red construction paper and cut out the inside. I have patterns made up for this where the students fold the piece of paper in half and trace with a pattern and cut. This makes it very easy to cut out the inside the apple. Add a stem and leaf. Glue the white self-portrait paper onto the back of the apple so that the apple serves as a "farm" for the picture. Put an a bulletin board titled The Apples of Mrs. ________'s Eye."

    Make mini booklets with a page for each season. Draw what an apple tree looks like in each season. Q-tips work great for making apples on the tree. Pink tissue paper makes nice blossoms.

    Read one of the biographies of Johnny Appleseed. Have a group of students draw a large picture of Johnny Appleseed on white bulletin board paper. Color. Ask for students to recall facts about Johnny Appleseed from the story. Write each fact on an apple cut out and glue around the outline drawn on the paper.

    Make applesauce with your students! Have each student bring in an apple. Peel with an apple peeler or have moms help out and peel the apples for you. Cook in crockpot and then put through a strainer. Yum-applesauce!

    Make mini apple pies with canned biscuits and apple pie filling. Add a little filling to each biscuit and fold in half. Press the edges closed and bake according to the biscuit instructions. There you have it! Little apple turnovers!

    Red Hot Baked Apples:
    1. Wash whole apple and ream out core with apple corer or knife.
    2. Slice off bottom so apple will sit flat in electric frying pan.
    3. Fill core with cinnamon red hots.
    4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.
    5. Bake in covered electric fry pan at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
    6. Cool 10 minutes
    7. Eat and enjoy!

    The following activities are from the AIMS Educational Foundation
    September 1990 Newsletter

    Have each student bring in an apple from home. On a graphing mat graph the apples by size, color, etc..Pick one of the sorting categories and have the students copy it onto a piece of graph paper for a representational graph.

    All Around the Apple: This is a picture of my apple. The color of my apple is ____________. (Draw a picture of apple.)

    The mass of my apple is the same as _______________ teddy bears. (teddy bear counters)

    Measure around the apple with a string.
    The string measures the same as a train of _______unifix cubes or ______teddy bears.

    Apple Parts

    Cut your apple in half. Make a sketch of each piece.

    How many parts all together? Each part if called one-__________ or 1/2.

    Cut each half in two parts. Make a sketch of each piece now.

    How many pieces all together?______

    Each piece is called one __________ or 1/4.

    Taste a piece of the apple. Write about your apple.

    -The September 1993 AIMS Newsletter also focuses on apples and the amount of water in them. I didn't post the information here because it is quite lengthy and is more appropriate for higher grades.

    Books

    An Apple a Day- Patent, Dorothy

    Apple Pie Tree- Hall, Zoe

    An Apple Tree through the Year- Schnieper, Claudia

    Apple Trees- Saunders Smith, Gail

    Apples- Nottridge, Rhoda

    From Seed to Applesauce Johnson, Hannah

    My Apple- Davies, Kay

    Better Known as Johnny Appleseed- Hunt, Mabel

    Johnny Appleseed- Demuth, Patricia

    Johnny Appleseed-Norman, Gertrude

    Johnny Appleseed: A Tall Tale- Kellogg, Steven

    The Story of Johnny Appleseed- Aliki

    The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed- Hodges, Margaret

    Apple Tree Christmas- Noble, Trinka Hakes

    Apples and Pumpkins- Rockwell, Anne

    The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree- Gibbons, Gail

     

     

    Apple Sensory Poems

    I see red
    It tastes sweet.
    I hear crunchy.
    I smell cider.
    It feels smooth.
    by C.D.

    I hear something crunchy.
    I see a red apple.
    I taste a juicy apple.
    I feel a squishy apple.
    It smells like cider.
    by T.M.

     

    I taste a juicy fantastic apple.
    I smell a cider apple.
    I see oval apples.
    Apples are soft.
    Apples are cool.
    Apple cider is good.
    I love apples.
    by D.W.

    I see an oval apple.
    I taste a sweet apple.
    It feels smooth.
    It smells like cider.
    I hear a crunchy apple.
    by R.H.

    I see yellow.
    I taste juicy.
    I touch bumpy.
    I smell grapes.
    I hear crunchy.
    I love apples.
    by G.C.

     

    I see yellow.
    I taste juicy.
    I touch bumpy.
    I smell grapes.
    I hear crunchy.
    I love apples.
    by G.C.

    Juicy and hard,
    sweet and crunchy and...
    I like red too!
    by S.S.

    Apples are cool. I can feel they're cool.
    Apples are red.
    Apples are juicy when I bite into them.
    Apples sound crunchy when I eat them.
    by L.P.

    Red, syrup, soft
    Cinnamon, crunchy.
    I love apples.
    by K.B.

    They are red, hard, juicy, sweet, crunchy.
    And they are great.
    by J.K.

    I can see that apples are round.
    I like to feel the cool kind of apples.
    I taste the juice in the apples.
    I smell cider in the apples.
    I hear the crunch in the apple.
    Apples are so good I could eat them all day!!
    by M.Q.

    Yellow,
    juicy,
    crunchy,
    sweet,
    cool.
    I love apples. by J.K.

    I see dark apples.
    I touch a soft apple.
    I smell a sweet apple.
    It tastes juicy.
    I hear a crunchy apple.
    I love apples. by J.M.

    Smooth,
    cider,
    crunchy,
    dark red,
    juicy
    Cause that's the way they are.
    by T.C.

    I see a shiny red apple.
    It tastes juicy.
    Apples are soft.
    Apples are sweet.
    I hear a crunchy apple.
    I love apples.
    by J.I.

    When I touch an apple it looks so good.
    When I taste an apple it tasted so good.
    When I smell an apple it smells so good.
    When I hear an apple it sounds so good.
    When I look at an apple it looks so good.
    by Drew R.

    Every fall I like to pick apples.
    I like the sweet taste of apples.
    I like the sweet smell of apples.
    I like the sound of the apple pie cooking.
    I can't wait to see the apple pie when it's done!
    by Lindsay S.