Apples and Johnny Appleseed | Tall Tales, Writing, Reading Comprehension

The fall season is perfect for theme teaching! This unit utilizes apples and Johnny Appleseed to teach tall tales, fiction and nonfiction reading strategies (analyzing characters, comparing characters, comparing fiction and nonfiction, text features) and SO MUCH MORE! It includes a cute Johnny Appleseed craft, sentence building activities, writing organizers, an opinion writing piece, math activities, language arts activities, comprehension questions, an informational PowerPoint/book about apples and more!

Included in this unit:

Apple Book/PowerPoint Presentation

Book suggestions

Reading

Comprehension Guides and Activities

• Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellog (focus - elements of a tall tale, character traits, exaggeration) Includes lesson plans, anchor chart idea, Johnny Appleseed craft, comprehension questions, fact/opinion sort.
• Johnny Appleseed by Jane Yolen (focus – fact vs fiction, facts and opinions) You don’t HAVE to have this book for the activity! But… It is a good one!
• Apples by Gail Gibbons {focus – nonfiction/fiction comparison} Includes lesson plans, comprehension guide, vocabulary, word work.
• Text Features Lesson/Printable – Uses the book From Seed to Apple by Anita Ganeri {Any apple book with a table of contents, words in bold, subheadings, etc. would work}
• Amelia Bedelia’s First Apple Pie by Herman Parish (Includes lesson plans, comprehension questions, story map)
• Apple Life Cycle Close Read {text features, words in bold, subheadings, main idea, details} Includes an answer key.

Thematic Interactive Notebook

This resource is a thematic supplement to your reading response journals, science journals, interactive reading notebook, etc.

If you do not use journals, you could also glue on construction paper.

The following standards are addressed {RL.1, RL.2, RL.3, RL.5, RL.9, RI.1, RI.2, RI.3, RI.7}

Reading Response Sheets

These printables are perfect for ANY apple story!!!

• Johnny Appleseed Was/Did/Wore/Needed
• SQ3R Reading Response Sheet {nonfiction} – While using this strategy, students will need to survey the book and then form questions to guide their reading. After reading the book to the class, I usually let my students pair up and retell the story to a friend. We then get back together and I show each page of the book to allow time for students to determine if they left anything important out of their retelling.
• Visual Images
• Character Traits
• Character Change
• Central Message
• Making Connections
• Character Comparison
• Setting

Writing and Grammar Activities and Worksheets

• Activity 1 - Create a sentence match up activity and printables
• Activity 2 - Create a sentence match up – version 2.
• Activity 3 - Sentence/Fragment Sort
• Activity 4 - Super Sentence Match Up
• Activity 5 - Expand the Sentence Printable
• Activity 6 - Statement/Question Sort
• Activity 7 - Johnny Appleseed and Apples – Sentence writing practice.
• Activity 8 - Paragraph Writing – Includes Apples/Johnny Appleseed web, four square organizer, writing paper.
• Activity 9 - I ALWAYS make applesauce with my students. It makes the room smell wonderful ALL DAY! I wish I had an exact recipe to share but I don’t!!! I just fill a crock pot full of apples, add a splash of water and a dash of sugar. I also sprinkle in some cinnamon. It’s always delicious!!!! After making applesauce, students can use the “How to” printable to explain each step.
• Activity 10 - Opinion Writing – Students write about their favorite apple treat. I always provide apples, applesauce, Apple Jacks, apple juice, and anything else that I can think of.

Math

Apple Word Problems

Apple Pattern Sort (ALSO, I always have my students make patterns with Apple Jacks or Candy Corn! We just glue them to construction paper)

Science

Apple Life Cycle Book

Apple Observations

Table Headers