Apple Happy, Apple Math, Apple Freebie!

Hello, Teaching Friends!

September is here, and in the primary grades, the days are all about apples, apples, and more apples! Today I have a bit of apple literacy plus an apple math freebie to share with you!

My plan for this month was to share some ideas for using one of my very favorite fall poems for new readers, "Apple Happy".  With its repetive text, high frequency words, and rhyme, "Apple Happy" was the perfect poem to use with my literacy intervention first graders. It's a great way to build fluency and confidence in reading!

Well, sharing my ideas was my plan.

The reality is that on blogs and at TpT,  I found a few posts and resources about this poem and its variations, so I decided not to reinvent the wheel, but instead to share a few of the links with you.


From Mrs. Piltz's Kindergarten, here's a printable of the poem, ready to copy and put in Song and Poem Notebooks. {Find out more about Song and Poem Notebooks here, and on my K-1 Songs and Poems Pinterest board.}

Kindergarten with Susie at TpT has this free set that includes word cards, picture cards, and even a printable mini-book. Nice!

Lastly, here's a free printable of the version that I like best.  It's fun for acting out, too, which is a bonus at this time of year especially {keep them moving, keep them moving!!}. Whichever version you use, I think is a happy little poem that your kiddos will like and benefit from using! This version prints well in black and white or even on colored paper, and again, is ready for your Song and Poem Notebooks.

Now, let's get to the second part of this post - the apple math freebie!  Are you ready for some subtraction with Johnny Appleseed? Click here or on the picture to get your free game!

Johnny's Subtract From Ten Sweep is a sample from my most recent resource at my TpT store, Fall Into First Grade Partner Math Games.  I've realized quite recently that games and riddles have become my favorite kind of resource to create.  {Let me be honest, it's kind of obsessive. I'll start out to make a set of ten games. Then it becomes 15, and suddenly I've made 30 games! Well, definitely not suddenly, but I think you know what I mean.}

These one page games have features you'll love, like low-prep (one page each, no cards to cut), low-ink  (less than 30% color on each page, plus each game also comes in a blackline option), and minimal materials - just dice and wipe-off markers!   For me, the fun comes keeping the games challenging, varied, and of course fun for your students, while getting all of that on to just one page!

Happy Teaching!