There’s just something about apple season in the classroom!
Whether you’re planning an apple-themed week, looking for a fun way to welcome fall, or you want to bring a little seasonal excitement into your lessons, apple activities for the classroom make it easy to connect learning across so many different subjects.
Over the years, I’ve shared LOTS of apple activities for elementary students, and I wanted to gather them all into one easy-to-find place.
Consider this your one-stop spot for all things apples in the elementary classroom.
Below, each image is a link to everything you can think of—apple books, reading activities, math activities, science ideas, crafts, snacks, and classroom decor—all of it made and used for kindergarten through third grade.
Some of these are free ideas and printables right here on the blog, and some are resources from our shop. Each one makes it easy to bring fall vibes to your lessons.
How to Plan an Apple Unit in Your Classroom
You don’t have to rewrite your lesson plans to pull off an apple week. The easiest way to do it is to keep teaching the skills you’re already teaching and give them an apple twist. Here’s the order I’d work in:
- Set up your display first, so the room is ready before day one.
- Pick one or two apple read-alouds to anchor the week.
- Swap your current math skill into an apple activity, whether that’s place value, fractions, addition, or comparing numbers.
- Add one hands-on science lesson, like cutting an apple open or watching it change.
- Finish with a snack or craft your students will still be talking about in May.
Everything below is sorted the same way, so you can jump to whatever part of the week you’re planning. Just click the image for access.
One more thing: everything I’ve made for apples lives together in one spot inside the GYTO Library, so if you want the whole collection at once, start there using the image below.
Otherwise, keep scrolling. It’s all broken down by subject below, with free resource options.
Set Up Your Apple Classroom: Bulletin Board, Banner, and Anchor Charts
Before the apple activities start, let’s talk about your room.
Putting up a display is one of those jobs that always sounds like a twenty-minute task and then somehow eats an entire Saturday. Having the lettering and pieces already made for you takes out the part that actually takes the longest.
Our new Apple Bulletin Board Kit gives you the letters, the borders, and the apple pieces ready to print and cut. Pair it with the Apple Classroom Banner and the new Apple Anchor Charts and your apple unit has a home before your students ever walk in.
Free Apple Printables
Simple apple-themed freebies add the perfect complement to your reading or science plans.
The free apple booklet works as a fiction and nonfiction reading response, so you can pair it with almost any apple read-aloud on your shelf. The free apple science printable goes with a hands-on experiment your students will absolutely lose their minds over. Grab either one, no strings attached.
Apple Books and Reading Activities
Every good apple week starts with a read-aloud. I’ve pulled together my favorite apple picture books to kick things off.
Plus, the apple reading activities cover comprehension, grammar, and writing, and they work whether you’ve got a full reading block or twenty minutes to fill.
Apple Math Activities for Place Value, Fractions, and More
This is where an apple theme really earns its keep. Most apple activities you’ll find online are built for preschool and kindergarten, which is great if that’s your grade, but it leaves first, second, and third grade teachers with not much to work with.
These are real math activities with an apple wrapper on them. Place value with 2, 3, and 4 digit numbers, fractions for parts of a whole and parts of a set, comparing and ordering numbers, and word problems. Your students get the seasonal fun and you still get your standards covered.
Apple Science Activities and Hands-On Learning
Apples are one of the easiest ways to get real science into an elementary classroom, because the material costs about four dollars and everybody already knows what an apple is.
The Seasons of an Apple Tree activity pulls double duty as art and science, and making applesauce in a crockpot is my all-time favorite way to teach states of matter. Your whole room smells incredible for the rest of the day, which is a nice bonus.
Apple Snacks for the Classroom
Never underestimate what a snack does for a themed week. These two are simple enough to pull off with a full class and they don’t require anything you can’t grab at the grocery store on the way in.
Apple donuts are just apple slices with toppings, so there’s no baking and no oven. The apple snack mix is even easier and travels well if you’re doing stations.
Want All of the Apple Resources in One Place?
If you find yourself grabbing more than one or two of these, the GYTO Library is a one stop shop with everything already included. Members get access to the full apple collection along with everything else in the library, so you’re not deciding one resource at a time whether it’s worth it.
That includes the new apple decor, the apple math and reading activities, and everything we add going forward.
