We Had Lots of Apple Fun!

This week was all about apples!  I love this theme, and so do my second graders!  Despite our jam packed schedule these days, I still managed to bring out my favorite apple activities.  Here's a look at what we did this week (well, with apples, anyway).

We made a class graph which shows who does/does not like apples.  I'm pretty sure that the student who picked "no," did so just for the sake of doing so. You know what I mean!  I wish the chart paper would have been taller so I wouldn't have needed to make multiple rows of apples, but oh well.  They got the idea!


We read a book about how an apple grows, then put together a mini-mini book (no, that wasn't a typo, it was just a really small book) about the apple life cycle.  Since the pages contained the text, I mixed the pages up so the students had to put them in the correct order.  I forgot to take pictures of this.

We made an apple diagram craftivity.  What a fun way to teach them about what a diagram is!



We also read The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree and made our own Seasons of an Apple Tree mini book (a regular sized mini book this time).  They used the provided word bank to complete the sentences on each page and then illustrated each season.  Jeez, no pictures again!! 

We also investigated an apple using our senses and magnifying glasses.  The students were apple scientists as they busily examined and recorded their observations.  They wrote adjectives to describe the inside and outside of the apple and made sketches.  They also made predictions about what they might find on the inside before we actually cut it open.  Finally, they got to eat their apple!  This was probably the highlight of the year so far.



I had planned on having the students gather some information about apples from various nonfiction books, but due to an assembly I had to bump that lesson.  I'm sure I can use that activity out for another topic one of these days, though.

Finally, we made some crockpot applesauce today.  I gave each student a copy of the recipe and tasked them with telling me how to make their treat.  I also brought out my apple peeler from Pampered Chef and they thought it was the coolest thing ever.  Well, it kind of is!


We enjoyed smelling the applesauce cook throughout the day and I let the table groups come over to see how the apples were cooking down; they loved this!  At the end of the day, I dished up the sauce into little plastic cups and they ate away.


Then, they compared apples to applesauce and did really well with this task!  They also loved their treat and asked if we could make the applesauce again next week.


It was a great week and I would have liked to fit in more, but I'm telling you, my science time is very limited this year and I was lucky to get to all of this!  I'm grateful that I was able to do what I did and that the kids enjoyed it so much.  You can purchase these activities, and more, on TpT.

Toodles!
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4 comments:

  1. I'm bookmarking lots of your ideas for next year. Cooking applesauce fpr the kids is one of my favorite things to do during the year. Smells so good!

    By the way - I am hosting a GIANT giveaway on my blog. There is a LOFT gift card and products from over 20 fabulous teachers up for grabs.

    Come by and visit me! Easy to enter... so you can stock up on some cute stuff for your classroom...and for you!

    Amy

    http://whathappensinfirstgrade.blogspot.com/2012/09/huge-100-followers-giveaway.html

    What Happens in First Grade

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    1. The kids loved the smell and a few were planning on going home to tell their parents that they had to make more over the weekend! I hope you can use some of the ideas next year!

      Aimee

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  2. Wow, you sure were busy!! What a fun teacher! We didn't get around to making applesauce this year, which made me pretty sad, it seems like every year we have more and more responsibilities from the "big guys" that make it harder and harder to get to the fun {and educational} stuff. Next year!!!

    Halle
    Across the Hall in 2nd Grade

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    Replies
    1. I hear you on the avalanche of responsibilities bestowed upon us each year. Five weeks in and I'm struggling to keep my head above water. It's getting harder and harder to do these things, but there are a few areas I won't bend on and apples is one of them. Ha!

      Aimee

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