TEACHERS,
BRING THE ORCHARD INTO THE CLASSROOM!

Use our ideas and worksheets, for numeracy, literacy, science, geography, D&T, ICT and art.

See our list of Apple Resource sheets.

Introduction

Healthy eating is very much in the forefront of parents, schools and Government thinking.
Our Apple Activities are an ideal way to raise the awareness among pupils of healthy eating and our English Apple heritage.

The apple is the ultimate convenience snack which so often languishes on supermarket shelves, or in fruit bowls, overlooked in favour of a more expensive packaged ‘treat’. The following activities have produced a very enthusiastic response from children and teachers in successful trials in Gloucestershire Primary Schools.

Children have been overheard discussing the merits of a Blenheim Orange over a Newton Wonder, unimaginable before the Apple Project. They enthuse over the taste of the fresh pressed juice, or the colour and size and names of the fruit. Some children even taste apples for the first time, encouraged by their friends’ eager reception of the tastes available.

All activities have direct links to National Curriculum Guidelines.

A whole school involvement, including parents, governors will give the maximum benefit from this project and make a memorable and satisfying event in the Autumn Term.

How to Get Started

• Pick a suitable week in the first half of the Autumn Term (when most apple varieties are available).
• Contact local suppliers or grocers for contributions of apples. Most are only too glad to help in some way and may even come in to talk to the children.
• Purchase or even borrow an ‘All in One’ apple peeler, corer and slicer. Available from good cook shops or Lakeland Plastics.
• Borrow if possible an apple presser contact us to see if we are available to help.
• Ensure all staff Governors and parents know what is going to happen and when (see resources).
• Enlist as many helpers as possible for allocated ‘Apple Day’ to help with cutting, peeling, printing, pressing, measuring and recording.

Apple Resources:

Apple Peel Competition: Children peel their apple brought from home, using the all in one, peeler, corer machine*, then compare and record their results. (* Available from good cook shops or Lakeland Plastics.)

Apple Food Miles Sheet: Children record the name of the apple and where it has come from. Results can be put into graph form. Labels can be pinned to a world map to show country of origin and route taken to the UK.

Apple Taste Sheet: Children taste a slice of all the available apples, which have been collected for the week. Ideally, these will have been donated by a local grocer or grower. Results are then recorded, discussed anddisplayed.

Slogans and Logos: Having tasted the apples, children will be in a good frame of mind for making up jaunty and hopefully witty slogans and logos!

Life Cycle of an Apple Tree: This is mainly a reference sheet for older children. It could be used to support science activities or in conjunction with the craft activity, making a poster of the Apple Tree Life Cycle.

Apple Poetry: A template to inspire poetry for Key Stage 2 children.

Apple Word search: A fun activity for Key Stage 2.

Apple and Leaf Prints: Instructions for craft activity.

Blossom Prints: Instructions for craft activity.

Apple Tree Pictures: Instructions for craft activity.

Apple Tree Life Cycle Pictures: Instructions for craft activity.

Sample Letter to Parents

Apple Project, National Curriculum Links

Numeracy

Measure, Shape and Space (Y1 to Y6)

• Understand vocabulary related to length and mass
• Compare lengths of peels
• Read scales
• Suggest, use, read and write using correct units depending on year group
• Estimate, measure and record results in appropriate units
• Y6 convert mm to cm and vice versa

Handling Data (Y3 to Y6)

• Solve a given problem by organising and interpreting numerical data in lists, tables, graphs, charts and diagrams.

Literacy Links

Y1

• Signs, labels, captions, lists, instructions
• Information texts including recounts of observations, visits and events

Y2

• Instructions
• Information texts including non-chronological reports
• Explanations

Y3

• Poems based on observation and the senses
• Shape poems
• Poems that play with language, word puzzles, puns and riddles
• Information texts on topics of interest

Y4

• Poems based on common themes e.g. apples
• Poems based on a range of forms, e.g. lists, thin poems, conversations and free verse
• Persuasive writing: adverts, circulars, flyers
• Discussion texts: debates, editorials

Y5

• Concrete poetry
• Recounts of events, activities, visits, observational records
• Persuasive writing to put or argue a point of view: letters, commentaries, leaflets to persuade, criticise, protest, support, object, complain

Y6

• Range of poetic forms, e.g., kennings, limericks, riddles, cinquain, tanka, poems written in other forms (as adverts, letter, diary entries, conversations), free verse, nonsense verse
• Journalistic writing
• Formal writing: notices, public information documents etc.

ICT

Children can explore the possibilities of displaying their Apple Peel Data using a range of programmes such as:-

Junior Pinpoint, Longman Logotron Picture Point,
Starting Graph, RM Bar Chart, My World, Semerc
Information Workshop, Black Cat Software Data Sweet, Kudlian Decision Trees, Steps Mathematics, Harper Collins

Science

Unit 1B Growing Plants
Unit 2A Health and Growth
Unit 2B Plants and Animals in the Environment
Unit 3A Teeth and Eating
Unit 3B Helping Plants Grow Well
Unit 4A Moving and growing
Unit 5A Keeping Healthy
Unit 6B Micro organisms

Geography

Unit 1A Around our school-the local area
Unit 5 Where in the world is Barnaby Bear
Unit 6 Investigating our local area
Unit 8 Improving the environment
Unit 18 Connecting ourselves to the world
Unit 21 How can we improve the area we see from our window?
Unit 24 Passport to the world

Design & Technology

Unit 1C Eat more fruit and vegetables

A teacher in a small school in the north-west of England adapted this unit to support the whole-school focus on healthy eating, linking in with work in PSHE. As well as reinforcing messages about bringing healthy snacks like fruit to school, she wanted to involve parents and families. The unit also offered the opportunity to extend the children's experiences of a range of fruits from different parts of the world, and to extend their awareness of different cultures. She wanted to make the unit more accessible to her year 1 class by giving them extra support with basic cutting and food processing techniques.
Unit 3A Packaging
Unit 3B Sandwich snacks

Unit 01 Taking part-developing skills of communication and participation
Unit 02 Choices
Unit 06 Developing our school grounds

Follow up activities for Apple Day