Doing apple activities with your students in the Fall is almost an unwritten law! And why not? Apples are an iconic fall fruit, not to mention they’re healthy and delicious. Kids love to learn about nature and have endless curiosity about the world around them. Take advantage of that with these ideas for crafts and activities that you can do with apples in the Fall. And if you’re thinking ahead to Halloween, check out this blog post full of Halloween activities.
engaging Apple activities
Coffee Filter Apples
This is a fun apple activity that your kids will love. Plus it will double as some awesome Fall classroom decor!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 coffee filter per apple
- red, green and yellow markers
- a spray bottle with water in it
- a construction paper apple template
- glue or tape
First, get your apple templates ready. Trace or print them on red or green paper, then fold them in half and cut out the middle section.
Have your students color their coffee filters with the markers. Make sure they color the whole thing for the best results.
Spray some water directly onto the colored filters. It doesn’t take much water to make the colors start to run together! Then let the filters dry.
Last, glue or tape the coffee filter onto the back of the apple template.
These are easy to make and so pretty! Hang them in a window … they look really nice when the sun hits them!
apple fractions
Anytime you can combine math with healthy snacks, you should take advantage! Use apples to help teach number sense to your students.
As you’re cutting up an apple for a snack, simply talk about what they’re seeing. First, cut it in half, then in fourths, then in eights. Put the pieces back together in specific ways. For example, put 4 slices back together to show half (or a whole apple depending on how many pieces you’ve cut). Take out one slice to show 1/4 or 1/8. Put 2 pieces together to show that 2/8 is the same as 1/4.
Another idea with apple fractions is to use a paper apple cut into sections. Kids can see how the fractions work together to make a whole apple. It’s amazing how much math you can teach with an apple!
Do an apple taste test – Math and science apple activities!
This is another really fun apple activity that incorporates healthy snacking, math, and science!
For this activity you’ll need as many different apple varieties as you can find. You’ll also need paper, markers, and a pencil.
Brainstorm with your class some of the different words used to describe an apple. Words like juicy, dry, sweet, color, size, texture, etc. are all words that your students should be able to distinguish.
Set up a chart for collecting data. This could be a whole class chart, or separate ones for students to work in pairs or small groups. You’ll want to include the apple type and the descriptive terms in the chart.
It may be easiest to have paper plates labeled with the names of the different apples. Let the students see the apples to judge color and size. Then simply slice up the apples, place the slices on the appropriate plate, and let your kids taste them. Their job is now to decide what characteristics the apples have and record the data in their charts.
You can take this a step further by incorporating a graphing exercise. Again, this could be done as a whole class or in the pairs or groups that you used for the tasting. A simple bar graph with the descriptions across the bottom and numbers up the sides works perfectly. Then students can color in the appropriate number of apples.
Learn about the apple life cycle
Young children are so curious and interested in everything! Fall is a great time of year to teach about the apple life cycle. I’ve put together a fun and engaging apple life cycle resource that includes everything you need to teach this fun topic.
You’ll find discussion and sequencing cards, writing activities, center activities, reference posters, and all the teacher notes and instructions to teach and review with activities that are both challenging and fun.
You may also be interested in reading Integrating Science into Fall Teaching.
Do you have some fun apple activities that you do with your students? Please share in the comments below!
