During a typical fall, school kids in my part of Virginia take field trips to the local orchard.

For this not so typical fall, here’s a free apple tree life cycle resource along with a new apple tree-themed product for use with Google Slides^TM to support your instructional needs.

Apple Tree Life Cycle Resource

This free printable resource, for first and second grades, makes a great addition to your apple unit of instruction.

It includes:

• picture vocabulary cards
• a cut and paste life cycle activity
• writing paper with a picture word bank

To start, I suggest sharing books about apple trees. If you don’t have any handy, here’s a selection of ones about the apple tree life cycle listed on Amazon. How to Grow an Apple Pie (Charles, 2020) is a tempting choice.

Print the picture vocabulary cards. Choose color or black and white. Print on cardstock and laminate for durability.

Use these cards as part of your instruction, as a center activity, or as visual support for reading and writing activities.

Follow-up your direct instruction with the cut and paste activity. Print one copy of the life cycle page for each student and one copy of the pictures for every three students.

Students will:

• Color the life cycle pictures.
• Cut out the circles.
• Sequence the pictures.
• Glue the pictures on the life cycle page.

As a final activity, your students can write about the life cycle. Make one copy of the first page for each student and copies of the second page as needed. The word bank includes pictures and labels to support their writing. This is open-ended so you can add your own directions and expectations.

Download this free Apple Tree Life Cycle Resource by clicking on the highlighted words!

I recently added a version of one of my favorite resources to use with Google Slides^TM. 

Apples on My Tree Fact Families for Addition and Subtraction

This flexible resource, for use with Google Slides^TM, is designed to help your first and second-grade math students develop or extend an understanding of addition and subtraction fact families. There are 61 apple tree slides, each with a set of red and yellow apples to visually represent the two parts of a whole.

There are 32 fact families with sums to 10 and an additional 29 fact families with sums 11 to 20. All of the facts for Make 5, Make 10 (no flip-flops) and the doubles are included, along with a balanced representation of other facts (a few flip-flops included) to support your instruction in mental computation strategies.

Use these slides with your whole class or a small group or assign them as an independent task.

Learn more about these Addition and Subtraction Fact Family Slides by heading on over to my TpT store. Check out the print version of Apples on My Tree Fact Families +/- while you’re there.

Looking For More Resources…

Yes, you can grow apple trees from seeds! Learn more by visiting these sites.

• How to Grow Apple Trees From Seed (Practical Self Reliance)
• Growing Fruit Tree Plants From Seed (Penn State Extension)

Peruse these blog posts for related teaching ideas and resources.

• Toss It! How to Actively Engage Your Students– Addition and Subtraction Facts and Multiples of Ten
• How to Teach Fact Families With Animal Crackers– A Hands-on Freebie

Browse for more first and second-grade apple-themed products in my TpT store.

• Make Ten Addition Fact Strategy Game With Fall Themes
• Apples in My Basket- Place Value Activity For Tens and Ones
• It’s in the Bag for Autumn- A Data Collection and Graphing Activity
• Roll, Read, and Collect CVC Word Game

If you’re looking for a mouth-watering apple side dish that’s a perfect fall accompaniment for breakfast, brunch, or even dinner, try this recipe for stewed apples. They’re one of my favorites and easy to make. I’ve never actually used a recipe. I make mine with a little bit of water, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. I’ve also used apple juice and cinnamon instead. Multiply the ingredients in this one, as needed.

• Easy Stewed Apples Recipe (Sunday Supper Movement)

I’d love to hear about your favorite apple recipe or the ways you incorporate apples into your lessons!

Photos by dmitryersler and Coffee Beans and Children’s Dreams.

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