Welcome! The following is the first in a series of 24 lesson plans, Learning the ABC’s through Literature, the 1st year. It was written especially for classroom use within a homeschool co-op, and was designed to teach the alphabet, over the course of a school year, using classic children’s literature. The books are primarily taken from the Five in a Row Curriculum by Jane Lambert, with several others added as well. The plans were designed to give just a little bit more, so it could be more usable within a classroom setting. Teacher’s questions, printables, craft ideas, classroom handouts, etc are included within all the lessons. This is geared towards a K-1st grade class. If you are interested in something similar for older children, the Learning through Literature series uses more Five-in-a-Row (FIAR) books and is a more developed concept of this same idea and also uses mostly Five in a Row books. You can find it here, Learning through Literature, the 2nd year, geared for 1st-3rd and Learning the USA through Literature – the 3rd year, geared for 2nd-4th and using books from Volume 4 of Five in a Row.
Week One: A
How To Make an Apple Pie and See the World
by Marjorie Priceman
What do I need:
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World book
- World Map
- Map Worksheet (apple pie worksheet and apple pie ingredient cut-outs)
- How to Make an Apple Pie handwriting sheets (printable version here)
- Apple Pie Ingredients (optional) apples, salt, cinnamon, wheat, milk or butter, eggs, sugar)
- Pretend airplane, boat, car, bus, etc, or use this Apple Pie Templates of each
- Apple Pie (plus a pie server, and plates and forks enough for your class)
Ice Cream (optional) *If you feel brave, and have access to a kitchen, you could bring pre-rolled dough, pre-cut apples, cinnamon, sugar, and salt, and let the class make their own muffin-sized apple pies.
Begin by introducing the book to the class. This is a great book to begin the new school year. And whats more classically American than “A is for Apple” and “A is for Apple Pie”
This curriculum is written with the premise in mind that you have 45-60 minutes for your class, and working with simple, inexpensive resources. When I first created this curriculum, I was teaching a 45 minute class once a week. We met in a large church building, so we didn’t have the resources like pull-down maps and other things that you would have at a normal school. We also had time constraints, and I only saw these kiddos one day each week. So this is the situation we were working with. And the curriculum is written to work within this setting. If you have more time – AWESOME. There are so so so many fun things you can do with this book. And there are a zillion ideas on pinterest.
Introduce the book:
Ask the class:
- Does anyone bake with their mom or dad?
- What do you bake?
- Has anyone ever made an apple pie?
- If you are going to help make something, where do you get your ingredients? (the store, usually)
- …But what if the store was closed? Then what?
That is what our story is about today. The store is closed and this little girl needs to make apple pie – but what an adventure it turns out to be. Let’s read the story together.
Read the book together:
At the end of the book, introduce the world map. Show where you live on the map. Show the seven continents. Explain how most of the continents have many other countries within them (this is a concept we will repeat over and over throughout the year).
Now, read the book together again, this time using the map. As you read the book, take a break at each new location to point to the country you are talking about on the map. If you have a toy airplane or toy boat, you can hold it (or have a student hold it) and fly it across the path she traveled on, from country to country. If no toy boats or toy planes are on hand, you can use these picture cut-outs.
Click here for printable version
In-Class Assignment: Geography
Geography Game
Now, spread the map out on the floor or on a large table. Place “salt” on the ocean, “cinnamon,” in Sri Lanka, etc.
Depending on how much your class is with you, you could ask the class, “What ingredient is in France?” Or, “where do I get cinnamon?” Or, “What can I find in the Atlantic Ocean?”
*If you choose to make the mini apple pies with your class (see instructions below), you could also use this game when they make their pies. “Okay, now take a boat across the Atlantic to collect your salt.” (And they could across the room to a spot where you’ve placed the salt, or find the salt on the map, and bring it to their seat to sprinkle on their pies)
Complete the “How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World” Countries Map.
Once you have done this several times, give the class their own map. Work with them to cut out the ingredients and glue them to the countries where they came from. Help them add the continent labels if you’d like.
Handwriting Sheet
Complete the “How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World” Handwriting Sheet, giving simple instructions on how to make each letter. In our class, we punched these with a 3-hold punch and hung onto them to send them home at the end of the year in a keepsake binder. They fit nicely in one of those cheap folders with the brads that open and close, or in a 3 ring binder.
Click Here for Printable Version
Make and Bake Your Pies
If you’d like to skip this step and just bring a pie or apples, that is definitely okay. If, however, you’re feeling a little adventurous, read on.
You will need:
- Pie dough circles (2 for each kid)
- Bowl of pre-sliced apples, with the cinnamon and sugar, already added
- Salt shaker
- Cinnamon shaker
- Muffin pan
- Paper Plate
Hand each child two small dough circles. Let them each press their circle into the bottom of a muffin pan. Have them add two spoons of apples, and let them sprinkle salt, cinnamon, and sugar to the mini pie (you won’t need much, as the apples have already been flavored). Add their top. Bake for 30 min at 375.
Last but not least, enjoy apple pie together. It’s the first day of class. You did the letter “A”. It’s back to school time. Why not have a celebration? Apple Pie and Ice Cream all around.
If you are able to make an apple pie for the class, this is our family recipe, and it is AWESOME. You can also use only the filling recipe, and scoop it into store-bought dough to make it a tad faster 🙂
If you have the time and resources to make it with the class, that would be even better. (perhaps as a go-along in a separate kitchen science class, if you’re out of time.
If you want the ABSOLUTE BEST APPLE PIE recipe, (imho) – complete with detailed instructions – this one is a keeper.
For more ideas on How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, check out my Pinterest board, here.
Click here to go back to the Learning the ABC’s through Literature complete booklist.
