Fall Picture Book - The Apple Pie Tree. And a 50% Sale

Hello friends!

Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness... (J. Keats)

At this time of year, we all turn our minds to autumn - changing seasons; the wonderful paintbox colours of the leaves, nuts, berries and gorgeous fruits;the excitement of Hallowe'en and Thanksgiving; and, for us in the UK, Bonfire Night with toffee apples, candy floss, fireworks, sparklers, hot dogs... I will always remember, with amazement and delight, stumbling upon a farmers' market in the middle of New York City at this time of the year - stalls full of ripe apples, plump pumpkins and gourds in a catalogue of shapes and colours, scarecrows, wonderful autumn smells... I could wax lyrical about autumn all night.

Classroom Ideas

This season is just perfect for the classroom - so many activities, so much inspiration. Last year, we made a huge window display of a bare tree, and decorated it with red, gold and brown leaves, and giant acorns. Each child wrote a word or two on their leaf or acorn to describe autumn. I had some great responses from the kids (Yr 3, so G2) - chocolate brown, nutty caramel, misty mornings. We laminated the leaves and added them to the tree, some on the branches, some floating down to the ground, most in a pile on the ground with a squirrel asleep underneath. In time, the tree became a winter tree, when all the leaves were replaced with snowflakes, baubles and decorations. Spring brought leaves and blossom, and summer saw the tree in full leafy regalia.

Crispy, Juicy, Tangy, Delicious, Golden..... Apples!

The obvious choice for teaching about autumn is the apple, especially as the end of this month sees the birthday of Johnny Apple Seed. Last week I posted about an apple packet that I had been working on. The packet is based on the wonderful book "The Apple Pie Tree" by Zoe Hall, which I have added to my shelf as a recommended read. Check it out here.

The Best Bit - Apple Activities at a Discount!

The packet provides a huge selection of activities that you can teach as a stand-alone unit, or use separately in Literacy/Writing Centres. Everything you need is there, and can just be printed off and used with minimum  preparation and effort. It includes:

• Before reading inference using the cover as a prompt
• After reading discussion prompt cards
• Record sheets
• Editing sentences
• Alphabetical ordering
• Phoneme count
• Syllable search
• Sensory poem writing activity
• Word wall
• Story sequencing - the tree
• Story sequencing - baking a pie
• Story sequencing - the Robin family
• Storyboarding
• Four seasons of an apple tree - posters to collage
• Teacher answer keys where applicable

For a limited period you can get the whole unit for the introductory price of  50% off at my Teachers Notebook store. Why not pop along over and take a closer look? Click on any picture to take you there.

Have a wonderful weekend, Y'all