What smells good, has science and math components, gives students writing opportunities, allows students to learn about tall tales, and is extra tasty? APPLES! For second-grade students at Atkins Elementary, researching John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed), eating fresh apples off the trees, and making homemade applesauce is an exciting way to learn. Learning AND food? It doesn’t get much better than that! Each year we do a mini-unit on tall tales, one of which is Johnny Appleseed. Students use technology to read and listen to stories about Johnny Appleseed (EPIC, Bookflix, Trueflix). Students love learning about how John Chapman traveled around and planted apple seeds. They love comparing/voting which apples are the tastiest: red or yellow? They practice math story problems throughout the week that use apples in the problems. They also learn about the apple life cycle. The best part (according to second graders) is eating applesauce.
