An Apples Unit Study: Family-Style, Multi-Subject Learning

This Apples Unit Study is designed to be done together, as a family, with your children of all ages and covers all subjects except daily math.

This unit study should take around one week to complete.

Use this Table of Contents if you’d like to quickly skip down to a certain section.

Some links in this post may be affiliate links. This means that if you click on them, I may make a tiny commission, at no extra cost to you.

Apples Unit Study: English Language Arts

Read Aloud Living Picture Books

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall This sweet book is out-of-print, but you can still easily find used copies or you can watch the book being read in this video or you can get the eBook on Open Library.

Let’s Go Apple Picking! (Little Golden Book) by Lori H. Haskins and illustrated by Nila Aye. Not just apple picking, but farm animals and hayrides, too!

Independent Readers

In order from beginning reader to high school

Apple Picking Day! by Candice Ransom

Ten Apples Up on Top! by Theo LeSieg Classic Dr. Seuss rhyming book

Autumn Is for Apple Pie by Wendy Dunham A sweet story about friendship

William Tell Told Again by P.G. Wodehouse A funny retelling of the legend. The ebook is also on Hoopla

The Apple and the Arrow by Conrad Buff A retelling of the story of William Tell, told from his son Walter’s point of view. This story set in the Austrian Alpines in the 13th century is a classic legend. This selection would also be a great family read aloud.

Folktale

Did you know that if you cut an apple sideways, you’ll find a star inside?

There are several versions of the old folktale of How the Apple Got Its Star. Pick one that you think is best for your family from these:

• Waldorf (for older kids)
• Preschool
• Christian parable (very short)

Now, listen to this related story of The Apple Star Adventure (sometimes this story is called The Little House with No Doors and No Windows and a Star Inside). You may want to watch the video a second time and see if your kids notice that one item on each “page” is colored red. What are those items?

Poetry

Younger Students: Read Apple Orchard by George Taylor Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins lived in Kentucky during the 1800s. After reading his poem, can you feel the same joy he felt in his apple orchard on this pretty Spring day? A printable copy of this poem is in the Apples Unit Study Bundle

Middle and High School Students: Read Robert Frost’s poem, After Apple-Picking. A printable copy of this poem is in the Apples Unit Study Bundle. Discuss “Is he really talking about how he feels after the apple harvest, or is this poem really about something else?”

Grammar & Copywork

Elementary

Let your kids work on using adjectives with the Appealing Apples Adjectives activity and printable (found in the Apples Unit Study Bundle and in the Free Resource Library).

Your student will color the “apple” either red, yellow, or pale green, and then they can write adjectives describing an apple along the spiral line. Finally, they can cut the “apple” along the spiral line to create an “apple peal” that they can hang up to display.

All Levels

Copywork and narration are a real-life way to work on grammar skills. Use the Apples Narration and the Apples Copywork Printables in the Free Resource Library or from the Apples Unit Study Bundle that has four levels of narration work.

For the narration pages, select the passage that best matches your child’s writing and spelling abilities. Then, read the passage to your student all the way through first. Then read it again, 2 or 3 words at a time, giving them time to write it down. Tell them to do their best, but not to get “caught up” in making sure it’s all spelled correctly while they are writing. They can go back when they are done to fix any spelling if they want.

When they are done, give them the original page (that you read off of) and let them “check” it and fix any spelling or punctuation mistakes. Talk to them about any spelling or punctuation rules that they used, just to help cement it in their brains. It’s really important for them to check it, not you. It seems to give them ownership of it and makes them remember the correction.

Finally, learn about some of the common phrases in English about apples, such as “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. You can use the Apples Idioms and the Copywork pages for double duty as copywork and handwriting practice, as well as a chance to learn about some of the more common quotes and expressions about apples.

The Apples Idioms Copywork printables are available as a Freebie in the Resource Store and it is included in the Apples Unit Study Bundle.

Writing

Early Learners

Your pre-readers can create an early literacy book with the My Apple Is… Book Printables (found in the Apples Unit Study Bundle).

Elementary

Your kids will write about the life cycle of apples in the science section below.

Middle and High School

Write a 5 to 7 paragraph report telling what you learned about the Johnny Appleseed and the history of apples after listening to the history selection below

Apples Unit Study: STEAM

Science

Preschool up to 8th grades: Read either the book, Apples by Gail Gibbons or Apples (and How They Grow) by Laura Driscoll, to learn all about apples and their life cycle.

Preschool

Let your youngest kiddos explore an apple and record their finding on the printable Apple Investigation page.

Your kids just learning their letters may also enjoy these A is for Apple Activities at my friend’s site.

Older preschoolers and kindergartners will enjoy reading about the life cycle of apple trees along with the elementary kiddos.

Elementary

Apple Trees Life Cycle

To learn more about pollination, add in the book, How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro

Complete the Apple Tree Life Cycle printables from our sister site, Homeschool Helper Online (included in the Apples Unit Study Bundle).

Use these Apple Notebooking Pages from Homeschool Helper Online to show what you’ve learned about apples, the life cycle of apples and apple harvesting (included in the Apples Unit Study Bundle).

Chemical Reactions: Apple Oxidation

In this experiment your kids will learn about the oxidation process (when oxygen hits the cut or bruised interior of an apple and causes it to turn brown) and what liquids can keep sliced apples from turning brown by reducing the pH of the apple’s flesh.

Use the Apples Oxidation Science Experiment Instructions and Worksheet printables (available in the Apples Unit Study Bundle) to complete the experiment.

Middle and High School

Have your middle or high school students select one of these three topics to research. Have them create a reel or 30-second video to show what they’ve learned.

• Drafting of Apple Trees
• Newton’s Law of Gravity and How it Relates to Apples
• Pesticides Used on Conventionally and Organically Grown Apples

Arts

Practical Arts

Select one of these recipes to make a fun treat. Listed in order of difficulty.

Start with convenience items like a cake mix and apple pie filling to make this slow cooker apple cobbler

Make these easy oven-dried apple chips with the directions from Our Best Bites.

Easy as pie: a simple Apple Pie made with fresh apples

Or use Grandma Betty’s Caramel Apple recipe to create a homemade caramel that tastes way better than melted store-bought caramels.

Make and can your own applesauce to enjoy all winter long.

Math

Preschool: Read 10 Apples Up on Top by Theo LeSieg for a fun lesson in counting up to 10. Your kiddos may also enjoy learning about and creating patterns with this free printable apple pattern worksheet.

Elementary to High School: Your kids will use the information provided to determine how many apples they can grow in a one-acre orchard. Use the appropriate level of the Apple Orchard Math worksheet for your student (found in the Apples Unit Study Bundle and in the Free Resource Library.)

(source for orchard math)

Apples Unit Study: History & More

History

All Ages: Why do you think American pioneers planted fruit orchards as soon as they arrived at their homesteads? (Hint: in some places there were laws saying they had to)

What do you know about John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed)? Why was it so important to him to spend his life traveling and helping others plant apple trees?

Use the suggested resources and printables from our sister site, Homeschool Helper Online, to learn more about Johnny Appleseed (included in the Apples Unit Study Bundle).

Elementary

Read the book, Apples to Oregon: Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries (and Children) Across the Plains by Deborah Hopkinson. Now, this book says it’s only “slightly true” but it is true that a large number of pioneers took fruit trees with them along the Oregon Trail.

Middle & High School

Listen to this interesting history of apple trees, Extinct Apples and the Golden Age of American Pomology, from The History Guy.

Learn more about Johnny Appleseed in this other episode from The History Guy, Johnny Appleseed: Man Behind the Legend

Geography

Read the book, How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman In this book, a young girl wants to make an apple pie, but the market is closed, so she goes around the world to collect the raw ingredients for her pie.

Use the Apple Pie World Map (in the Free Resource Library and included in the Apples Unit Study Bundle) to locate all of the places she travels to in her quest to gather all of the things she needs to make a pie.

As an extension activity for this book, use the capitol goods and natural resources lesson from the Federal Reserve Bank.

Your older kids can use the Johnny Appleseed printable maps to plot out Mr. Chapman’s journeys (available in the Apples Unit Study Bundle or you can also find it free on our sister site’s Johnny Appleseed Notebooking Pages.

Bible

The apple is typically the fruit depicted in the story of Adam and Eve. You and your kids can read the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis, chapter 3. If you don’t have a kid’s Bible, you can read it on Bible Gateway (the NIRV is an Easy Reader version)

Let your kids color and copy the sentence on the Adam and Eve Coloring Page in the Free Resource Library. (Also included in the Apples Unit Study Bundle)

Music

Listen to the William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini by the Santa Monica High School Symphony Orchestra

Fine Motor, Gross Motor, and Sensory Awareness

Let your preschoolers and kindergartners practice their scissor skills by cutting the spirals in the Appealing Apples grammar activity above.

Your little ones will enjoy learning the fingerplay song, Way Up High in the Apple Tree.

Even More Ideas for Your Apples Unit Study

More Family-Style Unit Study Ideas

Be sure to follow my Pinterest board Autumn Homeschooling for more great hands-on activities and ideas for your Apples Unit Study!

And most importantly, pin this post so you can refer back to it during your Apples Unit Study.