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.

The post Do You Want a New and Awesome Apple Resource? appeared first on Just Ask Judy.

Carrots are a perfect springtime theme. They fit as an Easter theme but not overtly so. Crunching on a carrot is a healthy alternative during another sweets-laden holiday. In addition, they fit equally well with a planting or garden theme.

Bunch of Carrots Photo by Fruits+Veggies

A Peek at My Trail of Carrots

• Subtract All or Subtract None Carrot Crunching– Blog Post Freebie, K-2
• Rows of Carrots Ordering Numbers 0-120– TpT Store, K-2
• Carrot Garden Craftivity– Math and Literacy, K-3
• Counting Carrots– A Preschool Busy Bag Activity

Subtract All or Subtract None Carrot Crunching

To begin with, I wrote a blog post about this carrot crunching concrete activity for subtracting all or none of a given number. This is a free hands-on resource that can help you build a foundation of understanding for subtraction concepts or strategies in kindergarten, first or second grades.

It includes a big-mouth rabbit mat, an optional half-page ten frame mat, optional carrot counters, and four sets of 8 task cards, in color and black/ gray/ white. There is also a half-page recording sheet, in two formats. This activity may be used with a whole class or small groups, or as an independent math station.

Rows of Carrots Ordering Numbers 0-120

Next, I forged ahead with creating Rows of Carrots, a carrot themed open-ended resource for sequencing numbers 0-120 in a variety of ways. It can be used for ordering sets of consecutive or non-consecutive numbers and for counting by 10’s, 5’s, 2’s, or any multiple. Go ahead, click a highlighted link to find out more about this kindergarten, first, and second-grade math resource, available for purchase in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

After creating these resources, I was busy pinning carrot-related ideas to my spring and Easter boards. While perusing these ideas, one, in particular, caught my eye.

Now, that’s an idea! Why not combine Stef at Non-Toy Gifts’ craft idea with my Rows of Carrots resource?

So, I kept following the trail of carrots… and started generating ideas for carrot gardens. This carrot garden idea is an engaging way to incorporate skill review with a seasonal craft.

Carrot Garden Ideas

1. Spell short vowel and silent e words (K-1).
2. Write 2, 3, and 4 letter high-frequency words (K-1).
3. Write a sequence of numbers after or before a given one, two, or three-digit number (K-2).
4. Record the equations for an addition/ subtraction or multiplication/ division fact family (1-3).

This is a less crafty version than the one you’ll find at Non-Toy Gifts.

This free resource includes the following pages to print:

• 8 pages of pictures (8 per page) for spelling phonetic words; 25 CVC words, 14 short vowel words with initial or final consonant blends/ digraphs, 20 silent e words
• 2 pages carrots with writing lines (2 sizes)
• 2 pages carrots with equation writing frames; addition/ subtraction and multiplication/ division

Additional materials needed:

• one paper plate (I used decorative 8 3/4″ blue and green plates.)
• brown cardstock (1/2 of 8 1/2 x 11″ sheet)
• brown Easter grass (a 4-ounce bag should be plenty to make 12)
• scissors, glue, crayons (optional)
• 4 glue dots or stapler
• orange and/ or white paper or cardstock

Find all the directions to create these carrot gardens by clicking the highlighted link.

Once I got started, my ideas began growing wildly out of hand! What other ideas could you incorporate?

Carrot Counting

And last but not least, here is the original idea for this blog post!

One of my preschool granddaughters loves busy bag activities! And of course, I enjoy creating these for her. She counts concrete objects to ten and is ready for experiences with number recognition.

I love ten frames and know what a valuable visual tool they are for developing subitizing and a sense of ten. However, just as there is a place for ten frames, I believe we still need to provide a place for less structured counting activities, particularly for younger children.

This free flexible Carrot Counting resource provides the opportunity to experience counting, one-to-one correspondence, cardinality, numeral recognition, and numeral formation. It includes a rabbit mat, carrot counting cards (0-10), numeral formation cards (0-10), and carrot counters. I have included these in both color and black/ gray/ white. The numeral formation cards are only in color and less color.

While I included carrot counters to print, I strongly suggest using concrete objects with preschoolers. I adore my carrot erasers but any small counter will do. Try orange buttons, pom-poms, or gems.

You will need:

• paper or cardstock for printing selected pages of Carrot Counting
• laminator
• dry erase markers, playdough (optional)
• at least 10 counters (You need 55 counters to show quantities 0-10 all at one time.)

To prepare:

• Choose to print Carrot Counting in color or black/ gray/ white.
• Print at least one rabbit mat for each child. You can use one mat and clear it after showing each quantity or use multiple mats, one for each number.
• Print the carrot counting and numeral formation cards. Laminate and cut, trimming around the background.
• If needed, print the carrot counters. Laminate and cut.

To use:

Carrot Counting can be used in several ways.

• Use a rabbit mat with a carrot counting card. Count the carrots. Count a corresponding number of counters to place on the rabbit mat.
• Simply match the carrot counting cards with the numeral formation cards. The numbers have green, yellow, and red dots along with arrows to guide correct formation. They are perfect for finger tracing, using dry erase markers, or play dough ropes. Naming the numeral while engaged in forming it helps to develop recognition.
• Match the carrot counting cards with the numeral formation cards. Count a corresponding number of counters to place on the rabbit mat.

Surely, you have discovered an appealing carrot themed activity!

Looking for more spring or Easter math and literacy resources? Click on a highlighted link to see additional ones available in my TpT store.

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The post 4 Terrific Carrot Themed Math and Literacy Activities appeared first on Just Ask Judy.