Exploring Apples

For three weeks, we spent our afternoons exploring apples and becoming "apple experts". One of our learning targets is using our five senses to observe and describe things in nature. That is just what we did with our study on apples. The three week study allowed us to explore apples in different ways while integrating different content areas. 

We began our study by exploring, observing and sketching what we see. 

We spent time sketching different types of apples. We learned that it is very important to draw the object how we see it in real life. 

Through observations and sketching, we learned that there are different types of apples. We also learned that apples are not all the same. They come in different sizes, shapes, and colors. 

Our next step in our study was to explore the different parts of apples. We learned that apples have skin, stems, flesh, and seeds. We learned that if you cut an apple in half, the seeds are formed in the shape of a star! 

We worked together to color and label the parts of an apple.

We tasted four different types of apples and voted on which we liked the best. Most of our class liked Granny Smith apples. 

We learned that apples can be used to make many different types of foods. We made homemade apple sauce, dipped apples in hot caramel, and tasted apple butter on toast. 

We learned about what happens to apple trees during each of the four seasons: spring, summer, winter, and fall. We created the seasons of an apple tree using our hands and different art materials. 

We used apples and paint to create art. 

Our learning was documented outside of our classroom. 

Apple sketches: 

Parts of an apple:

We ended our study by writing sentences with illustrations. We wrote non-fiction sentences to share what we learned throughout our apple explorations.

What we learned through this study: 

• Apples are harvested in the fall. 
• Apples grow on trees. 
• Apples are a fruit. 
• Apples are healthy. 
• Apples are good for your teeth. 
• Apples come in many different sizes, shapes, and color. 
• Apples taste different. 
• Apples can be sweet or sour. 
• Apples have different parts. 
• You can make different foods with apples: apple pie, apple sauce, apple butter, caramel apples, apple chips. 
• Apples float in water.