A guide for using our resources

Children will learn about the life cycle of an apple.

Vocabulary: ripe, blossom, fruitlet, rotten

Science Focus: Plant life cycle

  1. Watch a Video:
    An Apple Grows

     

  2. Read the Issue:

    Red, Ripe Apples

     

  3. Play a Game:
    Apple Word Families

    Skill: word families

     

  4. Complete Skill Sheets 

    Reading Checkpoint

    Skill: key details

     

    Color by Vowel Sound

    Skill: phonics

     

    Text Feature Hunt

    Skill: nonfiction text features

     

  5. Lesson Boosters 

  • Paired Text Suggestion: The Apple Pie That Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson

     

  • Punctuation Hunt: Question Marks

     

  • Syllable Game: Bite the Apple

  • Hands-on Activity: Apples vs. Bananas

     

CCSS (and states that have similar standards): RL.1.1 key details; RI.1.5 text features; RF.1.1 ending punctuation; RF.1.2 long and short vowels; L.1.2 irregular words; SL.1.2 ask and answer questions

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

Paired Text Suggestion: The Apple Pie That Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson

  • This rhythmic tale is full of juicy adjectives, repetitive text, and a few wordless pages allowing for opportunities to fully explore the rich illustrations.

Punctuation Hunt: Question Marks

  • Ask students to find all the question marks in the issue. Circle them! As a bonus, challenge students to find the one exclamation mark in the issue. Have students draw a star next to it.

Syllable Game: Bite the Apple

  • Students can practice segmenting words into syllables with this fun movement activity! Have students reach up high and pretend to pick a juicy apple from a tree. Tell them to listen to your words. When they hear a word with one syllable, they can take one crunchy “bite” from their apple. If they hear a two syllable word, they can have two crunchy bites! When a mistake is made, students can reach up and pick another apple to keep playing. Examples of words to say: apple, ripe, rotten, blossom, fruitlet, petals, green, red, mushy, fruit.

Hands-On Activity: Apples vs. Bananas

Skill: experimenting, observing

Materials: Apples vs. Bananas skill sheet, pencil, apple, banana, knife, plates, timer

  • Observe fruits changing over time and check predictions with this experiment.
  • Introduce the two fruits. Let students know you will cut a slice of each and watch them change over time. Which do they think will change first? Give students the Apples vs. Bananas skill sheet to record their prediction.
  • Cut slices of apples and bananas. Provide each group or pair a plate with a slice of each fruit on it. Have students draw what the fruits looks like. Start a timer for 10 minutes. When the timer goes off, have students revisit their plate and skill sheet. Draw what the fruits looks like now.
  • Set the timer for an hour and repeat the process. At the end of the experiment, have students circle the fruit that changed first. Was their prediction correct?