Try a FREE hands-on holiday activity here!
One of my favorite unit studies for kindergarten is apple week! There are so many apple activities for kindergarten that it can be hard to fit everything into one week. In this post, I wanted to share the activities that I like to include in an apple unit for kindergarten. Your students will love these hands-on and fun apple activities!
Since the fall season is my favorite time of the year to learn about apples, it’s helpful to focus on early kindergarten academic skills during this unit study.
First, it’s important for students to learn about the life cycle and parts of an apple. I like to introduce this topic by reading a non-fiction book about apples. After reading, we fill out an apple anchor chart with all of the new facts that we learned from the text.
After reading and discussing a non-fiction text about apples, it’s fun to talk about the life cycle of an apple! First, an anchor chart can review the sequence of growing apples, from planting apple seeds to harvesting fruit! This 3D apple craft reviews the different parts of the apple life cycle. Students are always so excited to share these unique crafts with their families!
Once students understand the sequence of the apple life cycle, it’s time to talk about the parts of an apple! This is a great time to create an anchor chart that labels the different parts of an apple. Then students can do the same as they create their own labeled apple crafts to take home. As students label the parts of an apple, they are practicing vocabulary that will come in handy as they continue to read and write about apples.
Since teachers typically choose to study apples during apple season in the fall, students are still getting started with kindergarten math skills, including counting and ordering. There are several activities that can encourage students to practice counting during an apple unit for kindergarten.
First, students can create their own apple orchard as they practice number sense! Students will glue the trees, apples, and ten frames in the correct places on the worksheet. It’s important for students to be exposed to ten frames early on since they will be an important learning tool all year!
Another fun apple math activity includes practicing number formation. After rainbow writing each number, students can color, cut, and glue the correct amount of apples next to each number.
You can also bring novelty to the repetition of counting practice with apple fingerprints! Students can dip their fingers in paint or an ink pad to create the correct number of fingerprint apples on each line. This activity also has a variation that includes addition sentences for students who could use a challenge.
Finally, an apple mini-reader combines counting and literacy skills in a fun book that students can take home. It includes sight words and predictable text that students will love to read with their families!
Understanding positional words will help students follow written and verbal directions throughout the school year. It’s fun to include positional word activities during an apple unit study! First, students love to practice following directions using positional words with an apple on a string. This is a great way to introduce this concept to young children.
Once students have had plenty of time to practice positional words, they can transfer that knowledge to a cut-and-glue activity using positional words. After coloring apples in a variety of colors as instructed, students can then follow directions to glue the apples in the correct place on the page. Students can even glue an apple to the back of the page to practice “behind.”
Another fun way to practice positional words while reading predictable text is with another mini-reader. This time, students will read the text and then glue the apples in the correct place. Students will love to read this take-home book over and over!
What kindergarten unit study is complete without learning about Johnny Appleseed? After reading a text about Johnny Appleseed, students will love to talk about what they learned about him! This information can be added to a class anchor chart about Johnny Appleseed!
Then students can practice writing skills by creating their own Johnny Appleseed flip books! After choosing their three favorite facts about Johnny Appleseed, students will write and illustrate sentences.
Another fun Johnny Appleseed activity is a counting craft that looks great on a bulletin board! Students can practice their counting and fine motor skills as they create this Johnny Appleseed art project.
A student-favorite activity is always an apple taste test of different varieties of apples! Bring three different colors of apples and give students a sample of each. After deciding which color apple they liked best, students can vote on a class graph! Then they can practice their graphing skills by recording and analyzing the results of the class vote on their own graphing pages.
Students can also write about and illustrate their favorite apple with an apple writing activity. This allows each student to practice writing a complete sentence and spelling color words.
Now that you’ve seen all of the activities that I like to use for an apple unit study, you might still be wondering how it all fits into one week of school. If that’s the case, I’ve got you covered!
I have outlined all of the activities above (and more!) in a five-day sequence that you can easily replicate in your own classroom. You can find this lesson overview in my printable apple unit for kindergarten. In this resource, you’ll also find all of the printable activities, suggestions for apple books, and other activity ideas you need to create a fun and hands-on learning experience for your kindergarten students! You can take a closer look at everything included in this unit by browsing this resource in the A Spoonful of Learning shop or on Teachers Pay Teachers.
I hope this post has helped you find some fun activity ideas for your next apple thematic unit! Be sure to add this pin to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest so that you can quickly find these ideas any time you need them.
These alphabet books will have students dive deep into learning about each letter of the alphabet while eager to see what activity they get to complete next!
