Jonathan Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed, is credited with introducing apple seeds throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. While many of the stories about his life and travels are the stuff of American legends, his contribution to the nation’s landscape is evident when the apple harvest begins. Introduce your students to Johnny Appleseed with a craft and activity that is not only fun, but that aligns to the Common Core State Standards.
Johnny Appleseed Fall Poetry Craft
Common Core Standards: RL1.2, RL2.1, RL3.2, RL3.3,
Materials
- Permanent marker
- Construction paper: Tan, Brown, Green, Red
- Tinfoil sheet
- Johnny Appleseed book
Lesson
- Introduce your students to the legend of Johnny Appleseed through stories* and pictures. (*See literature resources below.)
- Next, explain the concept of acrostic poems and explain how students will be writing an acrostic poem about apples.
- Brainstorm possible words that correspond to the letters in the word “apple” and that could be used in the poem.
- Have students write the rough drafts of their acrostic poems.
- Using the construction paper, cut out the pieces for Johnny Appleseed. You will need to cut out a face, two hands, a strip of hair, a large apple, and a hat shaped like a pot.
- Cover the hat in tin foil before gluing it to Johnny’s head.
- On the apple, have the students either write their acrostic poems or glue the final copy of the poem that has been written on lined paper.
- Display the poems and Johnny Appleseed’s outside the classroom door for an instant fall bulletin board.
Literature Resources
- Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh and Kathy Jakobsen (1993)
- The Story of Johnny Appleseed by Aliki (1971)
- Who Was Johnny Appleseed? by Joan Holub and Anna DiVito (2005)
- Johnny Appleseed by Stephen Benet, Rosemary Benet and S.D. Schindler (2001)
- Johnny Applessed: The Legend and the Truth by Jane Yolen and Jim Burke (2011)