Apples and Pumpkins – by Anne Rockwell

Story Summary

A young girl spends a beautiful fall day picking the reddest apples and looking for the perfect pumpkin with her family. The story goes on to talk about carving the pumpkin into a grinning Jack-o-Lantern and getting ready for Trick-or-Treating!

Recommended Ages –  Preschool – 1st grade

Activity 1

• Before reading Apples and Pumpkins, create a chart on Easel Paper for different ways of eating apples (apple slices, applesauce, and apple pie).
• Read the story Apples and Pumpkins to the children.
• Show the children the chart and explain that they will each get a turn to vote which way they like to eat their apples.
• As each child comes up to vote, write his/her name on a post-it note and have the child place his/her name on the chart.
• Make sure to start at the bottom and work up.
• Once everyone has voted read the names in each column, count the names and write the number at the top of each column.
• Ask the children which column has the most votes. Also point out how you can tell it has to most votes without counting because it is the tallest.

Materials

• Ruled Easel Paper 27”x34”
• Sharpie Flip Chart Markers
• Post-it Notes 3×3

Activity 2

• Reread Apples to Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell.
• The children will be practicing the color word red. Remind the children that the character in the book is looking for the reddest apple.
• Each child will get a paper with a sentence on the bottom: I see a ______ apple. The child will write the word red in the blank and then draw a picture to match the sentence.
• When the children are done they can read the sentence to a friend sitting near them or to the teacher.

Materials

• Bright White Sulphite Drawing Paper
• Crayola Large Washable Crayons
• Dixon Beginner’s Pencils

Activity 3

• Staying with the apple theme from Apples to Pumpkins, the children will learn how apples can help us understand fractions.
• In a whole class lesson using  apples show the children the difference between a whole apple, a ½, and a ¼. Model for the children how to break the pieces apart and how to put them back together to make a whole.
• Demonstrate how 2 halves make a whole, 2 fourths make a half, and 4 fourths make a whole.
• Set this activity up at a center so children can rotate to that center and work with peers to explore fractions with apples. The teacher should sit in on this center to help facilitate the activity.

Materials

• Apples

Activity 4

• In this extension activity, have a class discussion on what they noticed about the leaves in the book Apples to Pumpkins. Talk about what color they were and why they change colors in the fall.
• Let the children know they are going to make a fall leaf picture frame. This activity is great for the first graders in my school because they go on a field trip to a local orchard to pick apples and a small pumpkin. (While at the orchard, you can ask the children to see if they notice any colorful leaves like in the book Apples to Pumpkins).
• Each child will get their picture taken at the orchard while they are holding an apple or their pumpkin.
• Once the children complete their Fall Leaf Frames, the teacher can place each child’s picture in each frame. Now the children can take home a special memory from their day at the orchard!
Materials

• Falling Leaves Frame Craft Kit
Guest Blogger: Melinda Brown, Reading Recovery Teacher at East Lyme Public