A Bushel of Apple Activities

    Print out the story of Johnny Appleseed at the Washington Apples website to share with your students.  At the bottom of the webpage is a link to a crossword puzzle using facts from the story.

     Take the Washington Apple Trivia Quiz and learn some new facts about apples as well as how important apple production is in the state of Washington.

    Select an apple to measure its circumference (how far it is all the way around it).  Place a strip of paper or a string around the apple.  Carefully compare your measurement to a ruler.  Read the measurement in centimeters and in inches. 

    Find the difference of your apple's circumference compared to the largest apple recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.  In 1985 Mr. & Mrs. Harold Spitler of Arcanum, Ohio, grew an apple whose circumference measured 17 1/2 inches!

    How many pounds of apples does one American eat compared to one European each year?  Check the Apple Info site to find the data needed to solve your problem.  Scroll to the bottom of the page to find this answer.

     How many pounds of apples would the people in our classroom eat in a year? 

    We are going to be making applesauce in class, but I'm not sure what kind of apples to buy.  Click on the apples and read the information at the Apple Varieties site.  What variety of apples should I purchase?

    Select three kinds of apples on the Apple Varieties chart to purchase for a tasting party.  If you can get eight slices out of each apple, how many apples of each kind will you need to buy?  Be sure you have enough for everyone to taste all three kinds.

    Explain to your classmates that you are conducting an apple-tasting survey.  Each person will be given a slice from three different apples.  Once each student has decided which kind is their favorite, they need to record their choice on the board with a tally mark, post-it note, and other recording device you have selected.   Make a graph once all the data has been recorded.

    Here are three story problems for you to solve. 

1. Last Saturday June and Jeannine helped their father pick apples.  June picked 231 apples and Jeannine picked 347.  How many apples did they pick altogether?  How many more apples did Jeannine pick than June?
2. Kassie started picking apples at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning and stopped at 3:00 p.m.  She took an hour off to rest and eat her lunch.  How many hours did Kassie pick?
3. Nathan bought same apples at the grocery store for $2.35.  He gave the clerk $3.00.  How much change did the clerk give him back?

Once you are finished, write a problem for others to solve.  Be sure you have the answer for your problem.

    Take this apple challenge!!  Read the story very carefully.  Find out how many apples Jordan picked altogether last week.

1. Jordan picked 10 apples from her tree on Monday.
2. She picked 7 apples from her tree on Tuesday.
3. On Wednesday Jordan picked twice as many apples as she did on Tuesday.
4. On Thursday Jordan picked one less apple than she picked on Monday.
5. On Friday Jordan picked the sum of the number of apples picked on Monday and Tuesday.

How many apples did Jordan pick altogether?

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Latest Revision:  June 11, 2009

Copyright © 1999 Judy M. Christiansen
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