Fall Lesson Ideas for Apple Farmer Annie Book
Writing Prompts, Creative Projects for Kindergarten and First Grade
Jul 1, 2009
Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington [Puffin Books, 2001] is the delightful story of Annie, a young woman who owns an apple farm and sells her products at the farmer’s market in the city. The book has bright, colorful illustrations that appeal to younger children as well as simple text making it an ideal read aloud. The story teaches children what an apple farmer does and some of the ways apples can be used, all in the context of the charming illustrations.
Apple Farmer Annie Synopsis
Annie is an apple farmer with a large orchard of various kinds of apples. Each fall she picks her apples, sorts them, and then uses them for various purposes. She makes cider, applesauce, muffins, cakes and pies with her apples. She saves the most beautiful apples to sell.
Annie loads her apples and apple products into her truck and drives to the city’s farmer’s market. She sets up her stand and is busy all day long selling her apples and the other things she made. At the end of the day, she packs up and goes home. Annie is very tired at the end of day when she gets home and puts on her pajamas, but she is happy because she enjoys having her own apple farm.
After the story, there are three recipes for Applesauce, Apple Muffins, and Applesauce Cake with Butter Frosting.
Apple Farm or Orchard KWL
The best way to learn about apples is to visit an apple orchard. Before going, read aloud Apple Farmer Annie as well as Apple Cider Making Days to acquaint students with the workings of an apple farm and/or cider mill. A field trip also lends itself well to a KWL exercise.
Make a large chart with three columns and label them from left to right: Know, Want, Learn. Before reading the books, ask the students what they know and make a list of facts they already know about apples, apple farms and apple products. Then ask the students what they want to learn on the trip. After the field trip, complete the last part of the chart, making a list of what the students Learned.
Apple Taste Testing
If there isn’t an apple farm nearby for a field trip, it is still possible to give students a small taste of the farm! Bring in a variety of apples for a tasting party. Make a few different dips to go with them and enjoy trying apples of different colors, textures and tastes.
Apple Farmer Annie Writing Prompts
Students can write stories about Annie using these writing prompts.
- Annie's Applesauce Accident
- Too Many Apples for Annie
- Annie's Apple Pie Contest
- The Mystery of Annie's Disappearing Apples
Colorful Graphic Apple Art Project
Apple Farmer Annie is illustrated in a bright graphic style. Provide students with die cuts of apples, trees, pies, trucks and other items from the story. Have them make a picture about Annie using both the die cuts (glued on) as well as their own hand-drawn illustrations. Students may either dictate a sentence about the picture for the teacher to write on the picture or write it themselves (if able).
Enjoying the fall season with kindergarten and first grade apple units, apple activities and apple-themed books is a great way to give students hands-on experiences. By preparing easy lessons and crafts based on the book Apple Farmer Annie, students can be prepared for a field trip to an apple orchard and make the most of the learning experience.
 |
