Sunday, September 22, 2013

Johnny Appleseed

Fall  Finally!  Fall has arrived.  I'm ready for some cooler weather, colorful leaves, and of course some of Johnny Appleseed's apples.  I doubt the apples I'm eating are the descendants of one of the trees that John Chapman planted . . . but stranger things have happened.  

Learning about Johnny Appleseed is a great way to spark children's interests in plants, history, and economics!  In Virginia, it's not one of the famous Americans listed in the history Standards of Learning but it's an effective lead-in for learning about past and present as well as providing exposure to picture timelines which is one of the first grade standards.  Therefore, we usually spend a few days learning about this famous American folk hero.  I begin the unit by reading a few books about Johnny Appleseed.  We learn about his contributions to the young country of the United States.  Sometimes we watch a video about America's pioneers from Discovery Education or we'll go to a website that has age-appropriate content on Johnny Appleseed.  If you school has a subscription to BrainPop Jr., here is a link to a movie that might interest you:  Johnny Appleseed.

I made a few Johnny Appleseed resources and posted them at my Teachers Pay Teachers shop.  Here's a peek at them.  The first item is a printable booklet.  It has some basic facts about Johnny Appleseed.
The photo below shows what the front and back cover of the book look like.  It's important for children to continually increase their vocabulary through books they read so I created a little glossary on the back cover.
Celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday with a book and a free quiz for your students! Johnny Appleseed’s birthday is on September 26th. His birthday aligns with fall harvest time. In particular, apple picking time! Apples are what Johnny Appleseed is known for. As an American frontiersman, he took on the role as a nurseryman. He planted, grew, and sold apple trees to early American Settlers. John Chapman was his birth name although people fondly referred to him as “Johnny Appleseed”.
Click on the image shown below to see the booklet at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/johnny-appleseed-printable-book-883871
I made a quiz about Johnny Appleseed as well.  The quiz is generic so that it can work with a variety of teaching resources about John Chapman.  The quiz is one of my FREE resources! 
Celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday with a book and a free quiz for your students! Johnny Appleseed’s birthday is on September 26th. His birthday aligns with fall harvest time. In particular, apple picking time! Apples are what Johnny Appleseed is known for. As an American frontiersman, he took on the role as a nurseryman. He planted, grew, and sold apple trees to early American Settlers. John Chapman was his birth name although people fondly referred to him as “Johnny Appleseed”.
The quiz is in multiple choice format.  Students will need to fill in the bubbles beside the correct answers.  The first five questions are the easiest.  I love to differentiate instruction and I especially love it when it can be done seamlessly!  Some students will stop the quiz after the first page.  That will be questions one through five.  Advanced students can continue to answer questions by completing the second page of the quiz.  The image shown below is from page two of the quiz.  The questions on page two require critical thinking skills and require additional background knowledge.
Celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday with a book and a free quiz for your students! Johnny Appleseed’s birthday is on September 26th. His birthday aligns with fall harvest time. In particular, apple picking time! Apples are what Johnny Appleseed is known for. As an American frontiersman, he took on the role as a nurseryman. He planted, grew, and sold apple trees to early American Settlers. John Chapman was his birth name although people fondly referred to him as “Johnny Appleseed”.
An answer key is included for your convenience.  If you'd like this quiz, click on the image shown below.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/johnny-appleseed-quiz-884018
I converted the paper-copy quiz into a SMART Notebook file.  It's self-checking.  It can be used as a pre-test to the paper-copy quiz or it can be used to discuss the answers to the quiz.  It's also a FREE teaching resource!

Here's how it works.  Students can refer to their paper copy quiz as the answers are reviewed on the SMART board.
Celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday with a book and a free quiz for your students! Johnny Appleseed’s birthday is on September 26th. His birthday aligns with fall harvest time. In particular, apple picking time! Apples are what Johnny Appleseed is known for. As an American frontiersman, he took on the role as a nurseryman. He planted, grew, and sold apple trees to early American Settlers. John Chapman was his birth name although people fondly referred to him as “Johnny Appleseed”.
Call on a student to select A, B, or C from the answer choices shown.  Have the students touch the bubble for the choice he makes.
Celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday with a book and a free quiz for your students! Johnny Appleseed’s birthday is on September 26th. His birthday aligns with fall harvest time. In particular, apple picking time! Apples are what Johnny Appleseed is known for. As an American frontiersman, he took on the role as a nurseryman. He planted, grew, and sold apple trees to early American Settlers. John Chapman was his birth name although people fondly referred to him as “Johnny Appleseed”.

If the bubble-choice selected lights up as red, the answer is WRONG.  Try again.
Celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday with a book and a free quiz for your students! Johnny Appleseed’s birthday is on September 26th. His birthday aligns with fall harvest time. In particular, apple picking time! Apples are what Johnny Appleseed is known for. As an American frontiersman, he took on the role as a nurseryman. He planted, grew, and sold apple trees to early American Settlers. John Chapman was his birth name although people fondly referred to him as “Johnny Appleseed”.
If the bubble-choice selected lights up as green, the answer is CORRECT.
Celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday with a book and a free quiz for your students! Johnny Appleseed’s birthday is on September 26th. His birthday aligns with fall harvest time. In particular, apple picking time! Apples are what Johnny Appleseed is known for. As an American frontiersman, he took on the role as a nurseryman. He planted, grew, and sold apple trees to early American Settlers. John Chapman was his birth name although people fondly referred to him as “Johnny Appleseed”.

Are you ready to get the Johnny Appleseed SMART Board quiz?
Click on the image below to download the file.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Johnny-Appleseed-Multiple-Choice-Quiz-SMART-Notebook-884870


Lessons by Molly, All rights reserved.
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2 comments:

  1. RaeSeptember 22, 2013 at 8:07 PM

    Thanks for these great resources! I was going to start a mini unit on Johnny Appleseed this week - so this couldn't have come at a better time!

    Rae
    Mindful Rambles

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lessons by MollyMay 5, 2016 at 11:07 AM

      Rae,

      Thank you for stopping in and commenting. I visited your blog and noticed that you are from Massachusetts. I imagine that "Johnny Appleseed" is a popular unit of study at the elementary schools in your state!

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