“Apples”

A Multi-disciplinary Unit

For Kindergarten

 

Instructional Designer:  Chantrel LaMont, Highmore Kindergarten Teacher

 

Subject Matter Emphasis:  Language Arts for Kindergarten

 

Unit Description:  My kindergarten class will be introduced to a variety of experiences relating to apples.  They will use math to estimate and count apple seeds, science to learn the life cycle of an apple, social studies to follow the path of Johnny Appleseed, and technology to do picture hunts and concept webs.

 

Unit Length:  This unit will last approximately one week.

 

Goals:  General goals for this unit include:

1.     An understanding that apples grow from seeds/trees.

2.     An understanding that Johnny Appleseed was a real man that traveled west planting trees.

3.     Practice in using descriptive words.

4.     Estimating/counting practice.

5.     Graphing practice.

6.     An idea of what life was like in Johnny Appleseed’s day.

These goals relate to the State Content Standards in the areas of Math, Science,

Social Studies, and Language Arts.  Content standards to be covered are listed

below. 

 

Prior Knowledge Needed:  The students will just need to know what apples are.  Any other information they know will just be icing on the cake.  I don’t expect my students to know a lot since this lesson will be presented during their first full week of school.

 

South Dakota Content Standards to be Addressed:                      

          Math:

                   Compare collections of objects to determine more, less, equal.

                   Use informal methods to solve everyday problems.

                   Explore and compare units of time, i.e. seasons

                   Order a group of objects using measurable attributes.

                   Compare objects or events using direct comparisons according to given attributes (taller/shorter).

                   Sort and classify objects according to similar attributes, i.e. shape, color, size.

                    Create repeating patterns.

                   Describe and compare observable quantities of collected data (favorite apple flavor).

                  

Science:

                    Actively participate in science activities.

                   Observe and ask questions about the world around them.

                   Show an interest in and willingness to investigate unfamiliar objects and events.

                   Use their senses and simple instruments to make observations.

                   Use scientific thinking skills.

                   Use sensory descriptors to describe objects (sweet, sour, rough, smooth).

                   Describe changes that are part of common life cycles (seed*flower*fruit*seed*).

                   Explore ways in which organisms react to changing conditions.

           

 Reading:

                   Use pictures, illustrations, and personal knowledge to make and confirm predictions about stories.

Connect information found in text to personal experiences.    

Identify and describe characters, settings, and key events.

Identify role of both the author and the illustrator.

Describe how books, stories, and poems reflect things people do.

Ask appropriate questions.                

                   Restate what others say to demonstrate recall.

                   Participate in choral speaking and recite rhymes, songs, and short stories with repeating patterns.

                   Follow simple rules of conversation; taking turns.

                   Use complete sentences when speaking.

                   Use pictures when telling a story.

                  

Social Studies:

                   Describe examples of past events in legends and historical accounts such as Johnny Appleseed.

                   Use a map and map symbols to recognize directions/continents/poles.

                   Locate areas of reference in historical based legends and stories.         

Lesson #1

Objectives:  Students will be introduced to the history of apples through the story  Johnny Appleseed  by Reeve Lindbergh.  I will dress like Johnny in the story.  I will even wear a cooking pot on my head.  After reading the story, the kids will help construct a concept web describing apples.

         

Procedure:  1.  Read story about Johnny Appleseed to the class.

2.     I will have the “Inspiration” CD installed on my computer so I can use a visual webbing device with my students.  I will chose a quilt as the middle of the web, and have students tell things they know about the days when Johnny Appleseed lived.

3.     The book we read is based in the 18th and early 19th century.  I want the students to better understand what life was like back then.  I will have some ladies from the community come in with quilts that they have from the olden days.  The students will also visit the Hyde County Historical Society.  At the Historical Society the students will have a guest reader entertain them with The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston.  After returning to the classroom, the students will recheck their concept web to see if they now know anything more about the olden days.  We will then make a class quilt out of paper pieces.  Each child will decorate their quilt piece as they wish.  All of the pieces will be joined on a bulletin board to make one large quilt.

4.     If time permits we will make homemade butter from cream.  The students could have that spread on crackers for a snack pertaining to the lesson.

 

Assessment: 

                   I will use a checklist format for tracking student participation.  Each child will be expected to contribute to the concept web.  Social behavior outside of the classroom will also be assessed

Lesson #2

 

Objectives:  In this lesson the students will be introduced to the life cycle of an apple.

                   Through the story, How do Apples Grow? the students will realize that apple trees go through a lot of changes during the year.

 

Procedure:  1.  Read How Do Apples Grow? to the class, drawing special attention to the trees.

2.     Slice an apple sideways to show the star-shaped design in the middle.

In teams of two, count the number of seeds found in the apple.  Then

share the results with the rest of the class.

3.     I will have a variety of apples in a brown paper bag.  Each student will put

his/her arm in the bag to pull out one apple.  The kids will group themselves

according to what kind of apple they have.  Then we will describe the differences

and similarities between the various types of apples.  The kids will use our large floor graph to see what type of apple we have the most of.

4.     Students will make apple tree masks depicting the tree during all four seasons.

I found the pattern in the TCM Apples unit, pages 62-63.

5.     On our large classroom trees we will put a big apple with each child’s name on it.

 

Assessment:  Once again, a checklist will be used to mark participation for the class.  I will be looking for participation, ability to count apple seeds, and apple tree mask construction.

 

 Lesson #3

 

Objectives:  Based on the book The Crooked Apple Tree, this lesson will be mostly language arts centered.  The students will be encouraged to recall specifics from the story in regards to the changing of the seasons.  Using the power point format we will make a slide show about how apple trees change through the seasons.

 

Procedure:    1.  Read The Crooked Apple Tree to the class and discuss which seasons are

                           represented in each section.

2.     Using the “Inspiration” CD we will make a concept web describing the apple tree

in each of the four seasons.  From the concept webs we will make power point

slides for each of the four seasons. Then we will invite the first grade class in to see our power point.

3.     With the first graders in our room we will make “Apple Smile” treats for all of us. 

The recipe for these treats is in TCM’s Apple Unit book, page 64.

 

Assessment:  Each student will be assessed for group participation on my master checklist.

Lesson #4

Objectives:   In this, the fourth lesson, the kids will have time to work on a fun packet of apple activities.  They will be observed to see how they work independently.

 

Procedure:   1.  Students will recite a few apple poems/rhymes from my collection. 

2.     Each child will be given a packet of fun activities about apples.  Some of the pages

I will use from TCM’s Apple Unit book are 25, 43, 52, 59, and 73.

3.     After the packets are pretty much completed, we will do a class food project.

We will make baked apples.  Each child will get a cored apple to stuff with brown

sugar, raisins, walnuts, etc.  After baking them for 45 minutes, we will enjoy the

fruits of our labor.

 

Assessment:  Students will be assessed on their ability to work on a project independently.  I will also watch for “taking turns” while we make our baked apples.

Lesson #5

Objectives:  Students will listen to the story How to Make an Apple Pie and find the places traveled in the story on a globe.  At the end of the story we will actually make apple pies.  Once again we will invite the first graders over to assist us.  Each Kindergarten student will pair up with a first grader.  Together they will make a pie for the two of them to share.

 

Procedure:  1.  I will read the story How to Make an Apple Pie to the class.  We will have a globe

                         near so we can find on it where the little girl traveled.

2.     First grade students will come into our room to make apple pies with us.  The

First grade students will be the big helpers.  After the pies are baked the first

graders will come back to have pie and ice cream with us.

Assessment:  Once again, the kids will be assessed on their ability to follow along with the

 group activities.

References

Houghton, Eric.  The Crooked Apple Tree.  Barefoot Books, 1999.

Lindbergh, Reeve.  Johnny Appleseed.  Little, Brown, and Co., 1990.

Maestro, Betsy.  How do Apples Grow?  Harper Collins, 1992.

Priceman, Marjorie.  How to Make an Apple Pie.  Dragonfly Books, 1994.

 

“Apples”  Thematic Unit.  Teacher Created Materials. TCM 266, 1990.

Websites Used

 

www.msc.cornell.edu/~weeds/SchoolPages/Appleseed/welcome.html

 

www.ericir.syr.edu/virtual/lessons/crossroads/sec3/k2/unit5/u5kinl1.htm

 

          Both of these sites are pages to find Johnny Appleseed information.

Community Resources

 

Hyde County Historical Society, Highmore SD.

Quilters from Highmore.

First Graders from Highmore Elementary.

 

 

Technology Resources

 

“Inspiration” CD and hook-up for TV viewing.

Power point program and hook-up for TV viewing.

 

Additional Materials Needed

 

Apples; as many varieties as possible

Apple corer

Brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, raisins

Baking pans

Pie crust dough

Apple pie filling

Globe

Apple poems and rhymes

 Class roster with lessons cited at the top for assessment purposes

 

 

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