Counting with Apples Primary Math Lesson Plans
Literature-Based Apple-Themed Unit for Counting from Zero to Ten
Sep 30, 2008
October is National Apple Month, so why not celebrate by using literature-based apple-themed math lesson plans to help students practice their ability to count forward and backward from zero to ten and from ten to zero? Share the books Ten Red Apples by Virginia Miller [Candlewick Press, 2002], Ten Apples Up On Top! by Theo LeSieg [Random House, Inc., 1961], and Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins [Greenwillow Books, 2000], and have students use apple manipulatives to count.
Lesson Plan for Ten Red Apples by Virginia Miller
- Point to and count the ten red apples on the front cover. Encourage children to join in as they are able.
- Display the endpapers and count from 1 to 10 again, this time pointing to each numeral in turn.
- Read the book aloud, following the same procedure for each spread: point out the numeral, the written word for the number, the apple (or apples) pictured in the side column, and the red apples on the tree. When you reach the last spread, make sure children understand that the 10 apples are all gone because they were baked into the pie.
- Place a felt tree with ten green felt apples on a felt board.
- Reread Miller's Ten Red Apples. Have volunteers replace each green felt apple with a red felt one as you read each spread. Count how many red apples are on the tree each time.
- When you reach the last spread, place a two-piece felt pie on the felt board. Have a volunteer remove the top part of the pie, fill the pie with the red apples, and close it again. Note that now there are zero apples.
Lesson Plan for Ten Apples Up On Top! by Theo LeSieg
- Display the front cover and count the apples on each character's head. Then count the apples on the title page tree.
- Read the book aloud, pointing to and counting the growing number of apples on the characters' heads.
- Place a felt lion, tiger, and dog on the felt board. Read the book again, adding apples on top of each character's head as they are added in the book.
Lesson Plan for Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins
- Display the front and back covers. Discuss the pictures and have children predict what the story will be about. Count the apples on the tree, pointing to each in turn.
- Display the endpapers and have children count the apples in each picture with you while you point to each numeral and to each apple in each group.
- Read the book aloud, following the same procedure for each spread: point out the numeral, the apples lined up by the numeral, and the apples on the tree.
- Make sure that children understand that the ten red apples at the end of the book are growing on a second tree. Then check predictions.
- Place a felt tree with ten red felt apples on a felt board. Place a felt farmer and nine animals next to it.
- Reread Hutchins' Ten Red Apples. As each apple is taken, have volunteers move apples from the tree to the animals and the farmer. Count how many apples are left on the tree each time.
Practice Activity
- Provide children with sheets of paper with tree outlines drawn on them and a pile of "apples" made from red construction paper or balls of red clay.
- Count aloud with children from zero to ten and then back down to zero while children add the appropriate amount of apples to their trees with each number.
Assessment
- Divide a sheet of paper into ten sections and draw a tree outline in each section, labeling the trunks 1-10. Provide each child with a copy.
- Have children use red crayons or red construction paper apples and glue to add the appropriate number of apples to each tree.
- Help children cut the sections apart and practice putting their apple trees in order from 1 to 10 and from 10 to 1.
Leave the books and felt pieces out where children can reread the books and work with the manipulatives on their own to gain further practice with using objects to count from zero to ten and from ten to zero. For more advanced math lessons, try activities such as counting apple seeds or using apple fractions.
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