Apples, Apples, Apples
By Caroline Wyman
Objective: The students will be able to use an apple to create art and also use the seeds as a manipulative for math. Grades K-3
Initiation: The teacher will ask the class "who here likes apples?" "what is your favorite kind of apple?" Continue to ask the class if they ever used an apple for anything else but food? Have a conversation about apples.
Development: Pass out apple halves with the seeds in them to each student. Make sure that they know that these apples will not be used for eating, but they will be used for creating some art. Continue to allow the students to carefully pick out the seeds in their apple. After everyone has picked out their seeds have them quietly to themselves count their seeds. Have an "apple seeds" chart ready to go. Continue by charting the number of seeds each student has. Some may have 5 others 6 maybe 4...chart the different numbers that each apple half has and see which number is the most common and which is the least. Have them come up with some sort of hypothesis about their apple. Do the larger halves carry the most seeds, do the brighter red apples have more seeds, or do the smaller apples have the least amount of seeds? After discussing the chart and coming up with seed ideas, pass out different plates of paint to each student. Use colors for fall like brown, orange, red, yellow and green. The students can share the colors. Use the apple halves as a stamp. Put a little paint on each apple half and stamp a piece of construction paper with the different fall colors using the apple. Beautiful art work will appear. After everyone has created their work of art, let the papers dry and make an apple bulletin board with their work. Post the seed chart too.
Closure: Let the students know that art and math can be found everywhere and then pass out an apple for everyone to snack on.
Materials: Apples, chart, construction paper and paint.
Time: 45 Min.
Caroline Wyman has a degree in Sociology and a Masters in Elementary Education and is the administrator for TeacherNet.com.