Fall is one of my favorite times to bring fresh themes into the classroom, and apples are always a hit with young learners. They’re simple, familiar, and so versatile for cross-curricular learning. The best part? You don’t need fancy supplies to make apple activities fun and meaningful. Here are five ideas you can try right away, plus two resources that take your apple theme even further.
🍎 1. Apple Graphing
Bring in a few red, green, and yellow apples (or show pictures if that’s easier). Have students vote for their favorite color and create a simple graph together on chart paper. You can extend this by counting, comparing, and even writing sentences: “More students like red apples than green apples.”
🍏 2. Five Senses Apple Exploration
Slice apples and let students describe what they see, smell, taste, touch, and hear (the crunch!). Record their observations on an anchor chart to build science vocabulary. This activity doubles as a writing prompt: “My apple tastes…”
🍎 3. Apple Art with Paper Shapes
Cut construction paper into red, green, and yellow circles, plus brown rectangles for stems and green ovals for leaves. Students can assemble their own apples and then write a sentence underneath: “My apple is red.” Simple, no prep, and perfect for a bulletin board!
🍏 4. Counting Apple Seeds
Use black beans or small counters as pretend “apple seeds.” Students can practice counting, addition, and subtraction by “adding” seeds to an apple outline or “taking some away.” It’s a quick math center that can be done with laminated templates and dry erase markers.
🍎 5. Apple Stories and Writing
Read a favorite apple book (Ten Apples Up on Top, Apple Trouble!, or Johnny Appleseed). Then invite students to write or draw about apples: “If I had ten apples, I would…” or “Johnny Appleseed planted…” This ties literacy and creativity right into your apple theme.
🍏 Go Even Further with These Ready-to-Use Resources
If you want to extend your apple fun without extra prep, I have two resources that pair perfectly with the activities above:
- APPLE Activities, Crafts, Bulletin Board, Math and Literacy JOURNAL – Packed with crafts, writing prompts, math games, and display ideas to turn your apple theme into a whole unit.
- Johnny Appleseed Activities Bundle – Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with fun crafts, timelines, and literacy tie-ins that make history come alive.
With just a few apples (or some basic supplies), you can create hands-on, engaging activities that your students will love. And with ready-to-use apple resources, you’ll have everything you need to make September both fun and educational! 🍎
For more apple activities, check out my post here all about fun activities to do on Johnny Appleseed Day!
