Johnny Appleseed for the Bigger Kids

Sunday, September 25, 2016
Can the big kids celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day??? Well, yes they can!!! I teamed up with my teaching neighbor Teaching in Room 6 to end the week off with some apple fun.  I searched the internet and found some awesome passages that I was able to print out for the students. Recently, we have been discussing the importance of having multiple sources while doing research, so this was the perfect opportunity for students to break out into groups, research different articles, and then compare information that was found.  Here are the links to the different passages that I found!


Johnny Appleseed Article #1
Johnny Appleseed Article #2

Since we have also been focusing on Close Reading, the students used the following paper to target the different Close Reading Annotations with their groups. Click on the template below the picture to use this in your classroom.
My class is also focusing on Idiom/Adage/Proverbs of the Week this year, so this was the perfect opportunity to get thematic and post an "apple" related Adage. What better than, "An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away?" At the beginning of the year, my students had a pretty firm grasp on Idioms, but Adages/Proverbs? I had to look up that one too! Since it is a major standard in 4th and 5th grade, I have an entire bulletin board dedicated to it.  Click on the picture below to get a more in depth look at how I post this in the classroom AND the week's worth of posters to display in your classroom! Also, there is a"Wonderopolis" article on this adage/proverb which is a great introduction for the students to read AND great if you have Chrome Books or a technology center in your classroom. 

I am finding that focusing on ONE Idiom/Adage/Proverb of the Week is a great way to incorporate this standard into my weekly routine.  The students usually work on this as part of their morning work!

Since we are a STEM school, we found this amazing idea from Kerry Tracy, called Apples Ahead, and it just fit in perfect with what we were doing. Students had to build structures that would be strong and sturdy enough to carry an apple while they participated in a relay race. This was a great opportunity for students to build hands on models using creativity and teamwork! They were given 35 minutes with specific materials (cardboard, yarn, planters tape, brown bags, pipe cleaners, aluminum foil, pencils, brads, string) to SHARE in order for each team member to build a sturdy model.  
Here is a picture of the kids in action! Each group had 4 team members working on their own individual structure. The 35 minutes went by quickly as they made their models. Some teams realized that they needed EVERY structure in their group to perform well in order for their team to be successful, whereas others acted more competitively within their team, realizing later that they needed to all do well in order for their team to succeed!    
Here are a few pictures of the teams in action!
This was one of the structures that the students voted the STRONGEST! She zoomed through the relay race since she made such a strong base for her hat (and her self-confidence was just beaming which was awesome!)
This girl won the most CREATIVE since she used every single type of material that was given to her. It was great to see the kids proud of their structures and comparing and analyzing why some structures did better than others.  
All in all, I was so excited about giving the students a "break" from their regular routine! Take a look how my friend Stephanie celebrated Johnny Appleseed day! I am LOVING all of her tips with how to incorporate Google Classroom with her legend vs. truth activity…..Take a peek into her room here!
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