- 3 whole apples (red, green, yellow) and slices of each type (one for each child)
- pictures or stickers of each apple
- graph drawn on chart paper with 4–5 rows, each row labeled with a sticker (picture) of one of the apples
- favorite
MA Standards:
English Language Arts/Foundational Skills/RF.PK.MA.1: With guidance and support, demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of printed and written text: books, words, letters, and the alphabet.
English Language Arts/Writing/W.PK.MA.1: Dictate words to express a preference or opinion about a topic (e.g., “ I would like to go to the fire station to see the truck and meet the firemen.”)
Head Start Outcomes:
Language Development/Expressive Language: Uses language to express ideas and needs.
Literacy Knowledge/Print Concepts and Conventions: Understands conventions, such as print moves from left to right and top to bottom of a page.
Literacy Knowledge/Early Writing: Recognizes that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes, such as giving information, sharing stories, or giving an opinion.
Literacy Knowledge/Early Writing: Uses scribbles, shapes, pictures, and letters to represent objects, stories, experiences, or ideas.
Social Emotional Development/Self-Concept and Self-Efficacy: Identifies personal characteristics, preferences, thoughts, and feelings.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Composition 16: Use their own words or illustrations to describe their experiences, tell imaginative stories, or communicate information about a topic of interest.
Draw and Write Together: Favorite Fruits
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
STEM Key Concept: Graph to record preferences and find how many
ELA Focus Skills: Concepts of Print, Listening and Speaking, Vocabulary
Educator Prep: Prepare a two-column graph on chart paper. Label the graph “Our Favorite Apple.” On the left column place a picture or stamp of the three fruits children are sampling. Slice fruits for children, one slice each of the three fruits from the Look Inside Fruits activity.
Safety Tips:
- Remind children to wash their hands before and after the activity.
- Make sure you are aware of children’s dietary needs and food allergies before starting the activity.
Tell children they are going to graph three different types of apples and see which of the three most children like the best. Write “Our Favorite Apple” at the top of the graph. Talk about words and spaces between words as you write. Say, I’m going to write the first word, Our, then leave a space (demonstrate) before I write the next word, etc. Have children read the title with you.
Focus children’s attention on the apples. Pass them around and have children describe the whole apples. Then tell children they are going to eat a slice of each apple so they can decide which one they like best. Pass out slices of one fruit at a time. Continue until all children have tried the three different kinds of apples.
- Ask children to describe each apple after they taste it.
- Then show children that the stickers match the three apples they ate. Tell them they will choose the apple they liked best and place a matching sticker on the graph.
- Ask each child, one at a time, Which of the three apples do you like best?
- Have children take turns pointing to and, if possible, naming their favorite apple. As they do so, have them place one of the stickers in the corresponding row. Determine which apple is the favorite of the group.
Take It Further: Have children count which fruit has the most and which has the least stickers. Encourage children to write beside each row the number of stickers in that row.
Social Emotional Tip: Help children acknowledge their personal likes and dislikes by having them make choices.
Adaptation: For very young children, you may prefer to have them choose from just two fruits. Help them place the stickers on the graph.