Unit Lesson Plan

Subject(s): Language Arts (including writing), Math, Science, Social Studies

Dates: September 2018
Unit Name: Apples
Summary of Unit:
The purpose of this unit is to engage students in all subjects through the use of appropriate
themes from this time of year including apples and Johnny Appleseed. These themes will be
used to enrich students and emphasize other concepts being focused on.
______________________________________________________________________________
Standards:
LANGUAGE ARTS:
RI.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI.1.2 Analyze informational text development.
a. Identify main topic.
b. Retell key details of a text.
RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words or phrases
in a text.
RI.1.6 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and
information provided by the words in a text.
RF.1.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts that name a topic, supply some facts about the topic
and provide some sense of closure.
MATH:
1.OA.6 Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency with various strategies for addition
and subtraction within 10. Strategies may include counting on; making ten; decomposing a
number leading to a ten; using the relationship between addition and subtraction; and creating
equivalent but easier or known sums by creating the known equivalent.
1.OA.7 Understand the meaning of the equal sign, and determine if equations involving
addition and subtraction are true or false.
1.G.1 Distinguish between defining attributes, e.g., triangles are closed three-sided, versus non-
defining attributes, e.g., color, orientation, overall size; build and draw shapes that possess
defining attributes.
SCIENCE:
1.LS.1 Living things have basic needs, which are met by obtaining materials from the physical
environment.
1.LS.2 Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
3. The ways basic human needs are met have changed over time.
11. Wants are unlimited and resources are limited. Individuals make choices because they
cannot have everything they want.
12. People produce and consume goods and services in the community.
13. People trade to obtain goods and services they want.
___________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
I can ask and answer questions about details in a story.
I can explain the main topic of a story and give major details.
I can determine the meaning of words to through asking questions.
I can explain the difference between information from words and information from pictures.
I can write about apples and include some details.
I can add numbers through using different strategies.
I can identify the differences between different shapes.
I can describe the needs that living things require and explain how they get them.
I can describe the major differences between good and services in the past compared to now.
______________________________________________________________________________
Materials/Resources:
(23) copies of each of the following:
 “My Apple Book” packet
 A Johnny Appleseed Time Line page and booklet
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=484AJlOnOnc
 Apple Addition page
 The Seasons of an Apple Tree mini book
 Seed to Apple Stages packet
 “From Seed to Apple” Flap Book
 Johnny Appleseed Day Sequencing Worksheet
 Johnny Appleseed book
 Red construction paper
 Students will also need their pencil boxes that include crayons, glue sticks, scissors,
pencils, and erasers
 Projector
______________________________________________________________________________
Lesson 1 Title: “My Apple Book” Packet Time: 1 week (25+ minutes per day)
Lesson 2 Title: Johnny Appleseed Time: 25+ minutes
Lesson 3 Title: Johnny Appleseed Sequence Time: 25+ minutes
Lesson 4 Title: Seed to Apple Flap Book Time: 25+ minutes
Lesson 5 Title: Seed to Apple Stages Time: 25+ minutes
Lesson 6 Title: Johnny Appleseed Time Line Time: 25+ minutes
Lesson 7 Title: Seasons of an Apple Tree Time: 25+ minutes
Lesson 8 Title: Apple Addition Time: 15+ minutes
______________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation:
This unit was thematic, and we used the timely appropriate themes of apples and Johnny
Appleseed to help my students understand major concepts of life cycles, the influences that
people can have on a community/environment, sequencing, and making connections between
now and then.
Together, we would engage in lots of discussion in regards to the things that we were
discussing. The students were able to take part in these discussions easily, and there were
several moments that students were able to refer back to things that we’d learned and include
them in other parts of their lives.
This unit was used just as a reinforcement for a lot of these major ideas, so there was no formal
assessment or evaluation completed. The main form of evaluation for this unit was the informal
discussions that I engaged students in. I made it a specific purpose to call on students to answer
questions and discuss with each of them at some point, one-on-one or in group conversations,
to gauge there knowledge and takeaway from the things we were discussing. Apples/Johnny
Appleseed were just central themes used to enrich students in bigger ideas.
______________________________________________________________________________
Reflection:
This unit has been so much fun to do with the students. It amazes me how invested and
engaged they are with the world around them. All of the activities included in this unit have
been a major asset when attempting to enrich the students in more serious topics being
discussed in the classroom already. The major component of this unit that I would like to work
on further for in the future is the organization of the activities. I haven’t decided if I want to
break it into two separate parts – apples and Johnny Appleseed – or if I want to keep them
interwoven like they are currently to include repetition. For this unit, I tried to break it apart
based on subjects – math, language arts, science, and social studies – as well as activity piece –
mini book, cut and paste, read aloud, etc. Still in the works
 Lesson Plan 1 (Sept. WK 1)
“My Apple Book” Packet

Content State Standards:

RI.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI.1.6 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and
information provided by the words in a text.
W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts that name a topic, supply some facts about the
topic and provide some sense of closure.
1.OA.6 Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency with various strategies for
addition and subtraction within 10. Strategies may include counting on; making ten;
decomposing a number leading to a ten; using the relationship between addition and
subtraction; and creating equivalent but easier or known sums by creating the known
equivalent.
1.OA.7 Understand the meaning of the equal sign, and determine if equations involving
addition and subtraction are true or false.
1.G.1 Distinguish between defining attributes, e.g., triangles are closed three-sided, versus
non-defining attributes, e.g., color, orientation, overall size; build and draw shapes that
possess defining attributes.
1.LS.1 Living things have basic needs, which are met by obtaining materials from the physical
environment.
1.LS.2 Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs.
Text/Resources/Materials:
 23 copies of “My Apple Book” packet
 Students will need pencils and crayons
Procedures:
 I will begin the lesson by handing each student a packet and having them write their
name on the front.
 This packet will be completed in one week’s time. (Monday-Thursday)
MONDAY: (30 minutes)
First page – Tree Chart:
 I will begin the lesson by asking students to describe trees that they see outside and
emphasize on the differences between what they look like throughout the year.
 Then I will have students open up their apple packets to the first page, and I will call
on student volunteers to tell me the different parts of the tree that they see in the
picture on that page.
 When we get to the part that is labeled “fruit,” I will prompt students farther and ask
what fruit is in the picture.
 From there, I will explain that apples are “ripe,” or ready to be eaten, at this time of
year. Then I will go on to explain that we are going to learn a lot about apples.
 After all parts of the diagram has been discussed, I will have students color the page
appropriately.
Second page – Tree Seasons:
  Then we will turn to the second page, and I will begin by prompting students with the
question of what are the different seasons of the year – if they’re struggling to come
up with them, then I will scaffold by giving hints by describing what each season
feels/looks like.
 After each season has been named and described, then we will tackle each box
together. I will give each student about 5ish minutes to complete the boxes
appropriately.
 I will encourage students to refer back to prior knowledge about what trees look like
during the different seasons.
TUESDAY: (25 minutes)
Third Page – Same Shapes:
 To begin this lesson, students will open to the third page in their packets, and I will
ask them to name each shape and to read the color that correlates with that shape.
 After each shape and color has been named/established, I will give the students about
3-4 minutes to finish each row.
 After each period of five minutes has been given, then I will call on a volunteer to read
the shape pattern throughout that row.
 After the shape pattern has been given, then I will call on another student to read the
color pattern that they did.
 I will be circulating throughout the room to ensure that students are getting the
correct answers.
Fourth Page – Apple Writing:
 This page is simply going to be used to give students a chance to write about
something that they know or have learned about apples.
 The prompt on the board will be “Write about apples and draw a picture that explains
your writing.” I will explain the writing prompt and give the example of that I know
apples are red in the fall, and I will ask students to tell me what my picture will be of.
 Writing activity should take about 10 minutes to perform.
WEDNESDAY: (30 minutes)
Fifth Page – An apple full of seeds:
 I will have students open up to the fifth page in their packets. I will then ask the
questions – who has ever eaten an apple? What was inside the apple when you bit
into it? Those little black things, what are they called?
 Hopefully the students will answer “seeds.” I will then explain to the students that
they are to get with a partner and get a clipboard and solve the math problems to find
out how many seeds are in each apple.
 I will ask students to look at the problems and ask them if they are putting together or
taking apart and what is that called? This is to orient the students so they are
comfortable and familiar with the assignment. I will also ask them what are some
different strategies that they can use to solve these problems – drawing pictures,
count fingers, etc.
  Students will have 20 minutes to completed all of the math problems, then we will
come back together and I will call on different students to tell me what they got for
each problem.
THURSDAY: (15 minutes)
 The last day for this lesson will end with the last page in our apple activity books.
 Because this is the end of the lesson and towards the end of the week and students
are a little burnt out by this point, this page will be a little easier going.
 I will project the last page on the board and call on students to raise their hand to tell
me what are some different things that we use apples for and see what some of the
things are that we use apples for. I will then copy them on the board for students to
follow suit.
Reflection:
This activity book has been a great resource to use as a unit introduction. I have been able to
get students to connect their previous knowledge of trees and relate that to apple trees
specifically; encouraged them to connect seasons of the year to the nature around them and
the changes that those bring; enrich knowledge of shapes and colors with apples; supported
their writing ideas and skills with the topic; apply purpose/meaning to math through the use
of adding apple seeds; and reflect on the overall purpose/need for apples.
The students really seemed to enjoy all of the activities that were included in this packet. It
also encouraged students to practice responsibility by having to keep track of these books
everyday as well as work effectively and politely with a partner.
Overall very successful! However, in the future, I would like to engage the students in more
of a conversation about apples and what they know about them prior to really getting
started.
 Lesson Plan 2 (Sept. WK 2)
Johnny Appleseed

Content State Standards:

RI.1.2 Analyze informational text development.
a. Identify main topic.
b. Retell key details of a text.
RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words or
phrases in a text.
RI.1.6 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and
information provided by the words in a text.
RF.1.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
3. The ways basic human needs are met have changed over time.
11. Wants are unlimited and resources are limited. Individuals make choices because they
cannot have everything they want.
12. People produce and consume goods and services in the community.
13. People trade to obtain goods and services they want.
Text/Resources/Materials:
 12 copies of the pages = 24 mini Johnny Appleseed books
 YouTube video
 Markers
Procedures:
MONDAY: (25 minutes)
 To begin this lesson, I will play the following YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=484AJlOnOnc
 Then I will give each student a copy of the Johnny Appleseed mini book.
 Together, we will do a echo read through the book. (I read, then they do).
 After watching the video and reading the book, I will engage the students in a
comprehension discussion by prompting them with questions like the following:
 What was Johnny Appleseed’s real name?
 Why did the people call him Johnny Appleseed instead?
 He wore something funny as a hat, what was it?
 Why do you think he did this instead of just carrying it?
 What else did he carry and what did he do?
 How did the animals feel about him?
 I will then ask the students to think about how people got apples then compared to
how people get apples now and what did they think it would be like today if Johnny
Appleseed hadn’t traveled all over and plant apple tree seeds.
 Then I would give students the chance to color these mini books with markers.
Reflection:
Some of the students had learned about Johnny Appleseed last year, so they were able to
engage themselves more in the discussions. They were able to thoroughly answer these
questions that they were prompted with. The final higher order thinking questions that I
asked them in regards to comparing apples then and now, they were able to give some of
their thoughts, but I mainly just used this as an opportunity to get them thinking, not really to
ingrain anything in them.
 Lesson Plan 3 (Sept. WK 2)
Johnny Appleseed Sequence

Content State Standards:

RI.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI.1.6 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and
information provided by the words in a text.
RF.1.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
Text/Resource/Materials:
 23 copies of Johnny Appleseed Sequencing page
 23 copies of red construction paper
 Crayons
 Glue sticks
Procedures:
TUESDAY: (25 minutes)
 I will begin this lesson with a discussion with the students about Johnny Appleseed by
asking students to raise hands to tell me something that they learned the previous
day about Johnny Appleseed. If students need extra support, then I will prompt them
with more specific questions.
 Then I will pass out the sequencing sheets. I will point out that each picture has a
circle, and I will explain that the order that these pictures go in those circles.
 Then we will go over what is going on in each picture. I will ask students to volunteer
to tell me which pictures goes first, next, then, and so on until each circle has a
number in it.
 After the pictures have been labeled in order, then I will give each student a piece of
red construction paper. I will explain to them that after they color each picture, then
they can cut out the pictures and glue them in the right order on their pages.
Reflection:
The students really seemed to enjoy this lesson and all that it entailed. This activity really
seemed to engage the students and helped solidify the sequence of events/history of Johnny
Appleseed and his story. This activity also really encouraged them to reflect on the
story/video in a first, second, third, etc. kind of way.
In the future, I’d like to start with the story first followed with the video so that students are
more engaged with the literature. They seemed to enjoy both portions of this lesson, but
they lost some steam with the story that I would like to try to facilitate a little better in the
future.
 Lesson Plan 4 (Sept. WK 2)
Seed to Apple Flap Book

Content State Standards:

RI.1.2 Analyze informational text development.
a. Identify main topic.
b. Retell key details of a text.
RI.1.6 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and
information provided by the words in a text.
1.LS.1 Living things have basic needs, which are met by obtaining materials from the physical
environment.
1.LS.2 Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs.
Text/Resource/Materials:
 23 copies of both pages – pp. 16-17
 23 copies of construction paper
 Crayons
 Scissors
 Glue sticks
Procedures:
WEDNESDAY: (25 minutes)
 To begin this lesson, I will engage the students in a conversation that requires them to
think back to the seasons of an apple tree page that we did last week. I would
encourage them to tell me what each season of the tree looks like. Then, I will explain
that we are going to take a deeper look into the growth of the apple itself.
 I will start by asking the students to think what does an apple grow from – I will use
Johnny Appleseed as a reference point such as “What did Johnny Appleseed go
planting?”
 I will continue the conversation by prompting students to predict what processes they
think a seed needs to go through to become an apple.
 Then I will pass out the copies to each of the students and we will go over each label
and picture together as a class.
 When explaining the directions – I will be sure to thoroughly explain/remind students
that the gluing for this project will be different than usual because it is a flap book,
not just a regular gluing activity.
 Students will start with coloring each picture and the tree, then cut all of the flaps
out, and finish by gluing them to the tree. The whole tree will be cut out and glued to
a sheet of construction paper.
Reflection:
This activity seemed to challenge students a little in the actual fine motor skills/direction
following portions. The students really had to be specific in gluing. However, this being said,
they seemed to really enjoy it. They appeared to be engaged, and it was interesting to see
that I could actually sit and watch the students try to decipher the words by looking at the
pictures and numbers. They expressed to me that they really like the pictures because they
could tell what was exactly happening. I don’t know that I would do anything differently in
the future – it all seemed to go well, but I may like to do an example of the gluing with the
flap and emphasize that point because students were feeling a little agitated that some of
theirs weren’t coming out right.
 Lesson Plan 5 (Sept. WK 2)
Seed to Apple Stages

Content State Standards:

1.LS.1 Living things have basic needs, which are met by obtaining materials from the physical
environment.
1.LS.2 Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs.
Text/Resource/Materials:
 23 copies of each page – phases and whole apple
 Crayons
 Scissors
 Glue sticks
Procedures:
THURSDAY: (25 minutes)
 To begin this lesson, I will engage the students in a discussion about the apple seed
activity that we did yesterday. I will have them refer back to this activity and ask them
what they remember of it and then further explain that we are going to look at those
major phases again.
 I will make the comparison of the phases to a puzzle – they must fit together to cover
the big apple. Then I will go over each piece and call on students to either read the
picture or explain in their own words.
 We will discuss the order of the pieces/phases, then I will have the students color the
pictures appropriately and have them glue the pieces on the apple.
 After the students have about 15+ minutes to work on this activity, I will have them
partner with somebody else in the class and share their work to confirm that
everybody had done it right.
Reflection:
This activity was a lot of fun; however, I really wish that I would have done this prior to the
seed to apple flap book activity. I think it would be more beneficial to start with the bigger
picture and “zoom in” to the details. That being said, the students still seemed to enjoy it and
they didn’t appear to be bored with it. I will say that I like that this activity is requiring a lot of
repetition in terms of cycles/seasons of the environment around them. I liked the use of peer
accountability through the partner and check system. Students seemed to be more
motivated to perform their best because they didn’t want to be embarrassed amongst their
peers.
 Lesson Plan 6 (Sept. WK 3)
Johnny Appleseed Time Line

Content State Standards:

RI.1.2 Analyze informational text development.
a. Identify main topic.
b. Retell key details of a text.
RI.1.6 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and
information provided by the words in a text.

Text/Resource/Materials:
 23 copies of Johnny Appleseed book
 23 copies of Johnny Appleseed Time Line page
 Scissors
 Glue Stick
 Crayons
 Pencil
Procedures:
MONDAY: (25 minutes)
 To begin this lesson, I will engage students in a discussion asking them to think back
to when we learned about something – and I will prompt them with specific questions
that will lead them to refer to Jonny Appleseed.
 We will discuss what we remember from him and his story, then I will explain to the
students that we are going to make our own stories about Johnny Appleseed. We will
review author versus illustrator, and I will explain that they are going to do the
illustrator’s job in their Johnny Appleseed stories.
 Then I will hand out both the copies of the books as well as the copies of the timeline
sentences. I will ask students to use reasoning and give me the reason as to why they
think there are numbers at the beginning of each sentences – that’s the order they go
in. Then, I will remind them to ensure that the number at the beginning of the
sentence matches up with the number at the bottom of their page.
 Students will then partner up and go somewhere in the room to cut out the sentences
and glue them on the appropriate pages and make the illustrations that are
appropriate according to the sentence. Students need to work with their partner to
decode the sentences.
 If they get done early, then students will partner up with another set of partners and
share their illustrations with one another.
Reflection:
I loved this activity! It really made students work and think. This activity left a little more
room for struggle but growth. They had to work with their partners to decipher the words
according to their known phonics. I started an “ask three then me” system during this activity
so they did have to work for it before I just read it to them. They liked the ownership feeling
of them being the illustrators which was cool to watch.
However, I really wish I would have continued this activity closer to the other Johnny
Appleseed activities so that it would be found a little more relevant for them. At the same
time, I like the space between activities so that they keep getting repetition from the
activities, and it doesn’t grow stagnant.
 Lesson Plan 7 (Sept. WK 3)
Seasons of an Apple Tree

Content State Standards:

RI.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI.1.2 Analyze informational text development.
a. Identify main topic.
b. Retell key details of a text.
RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words or
phrases in a text.
RI.1.6 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and
information provided by the words in a text.
RF.1.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
1.LS.1 Living things have basic needs, which are met by obtaining materials from the physical
environment.
1.LS.2 Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs.
Text/Resource/Materials:
 23 copies of the Seasons of an Apple Tree mini books
 Scissors
 Crayons
 Stapler
Procedures:
TUESDAY: (25 minutes)
 We will start this lesson with a discussion in regards to the different seasons of the
year. This discussion will continue with me prompting the students as to what
happens to the trees during each of these seasons and WHY. I will also ask them
specifics about what that looks like for apple trees.
 Then I will give each student copies of the papers that they need to cut to make their
own seasons of an apple tree book. Together, we will read each page and discuss
what is going on with the picture page that correlates to each page of words.
 After all of the pages have been gone over and discussed, then students will have
about 15 minutes to cut out these pages, put them in the proper order, have them
stapled and colored. Once students are done with all of these tasks then they will go
to the blue carpet and wait for a partner to read the book to/with.
Reflection:
This activity seemed like fun for the students. They really seem to be getting the idea of the
differences between each season in regards to the nature around them. This class likes to
make books and color them a lot, so I knew this activity would be a success with them as far
as their level of engagement/interest with the activity. I am still struggling with the order to
do these different activities, so I don’t know if I’d like to keep this activity more with the
overall central theme of apples or not.
 Lesson Plan 8 (Sept. WK 3)
Apple Addition

Content State Standards:

1.OA.6 Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency with various strategies for
addition and subtraction within 10. Strategies may include counting on; making ten;
decomposing a number leading to a ten; using the relationship between addition and
subtraction; and creating equivalent but easier or known sums by creating the known
equivalent.
1.OA.7 Understand the meaning of the equal sign, and determine if equations involving
addition and subtraction are true or false.
Text/Resource/Materials:
 23 copies of apple addition page
 Pencils
 Clipboards
Procedures:
WEDNESDAY: (15 minutes)
 To begin this lesson, I would write a big plus sign on the board and ask students to
identify the sign as well as what it meant that they had to do. Then I would ask
students to think about some things that they or somebody they might know would
have to count or add together. I would further narrow the question by involving
apples.
 After our small discussion about adding meaning putting together, then I will connect
the purpose of putting together/counting the apples that a person may have.
Students will then get an apple addition page, clipboard, and partner and work
somewhere in the room for about 12 minutes to solve all of the addition problems.
 After students have had the chance to finish the problems, then we will come back
together as a class and I will call on students to volunteer to give the correct answer
to each problem.
Reflection:
This page was incredibly easily for students to complete. The addition problems themselves
are below what we’re doing together in math and it also came with the drawings already
done, so students really didn’t need to struggle with this at all. The ability of this activity to
bring relevance to a topic was nice, but all in all, it appeared to be way below grade level, so I
don’t think I will be including this activity in the future.