Johnny Appleseed Day usually occurs on September 26th, the day of Appleseed’s birthday. However, any day in September is the perfect opportunity to have fun with Johnny Appleseed activities. Students of all ages love to learn about Johnny Appleseed. Big kids love to learn and complete activities for Johnny Appleseed day, just as much as younger students. Keep reading to see ideas of how you can have fun teaching and learning about Johnny Appleseed with big kids.
Johnny Appleseed Day Books
I always like to start the day off with a book about Johnny Appleseed’s life. If you read two books about his life (I like to use a fiction and nonfiction) a great lesson to complete with your students is comparing texts. Also, I like to try and find a book that has more of a tall tale quality to it. Tall tales alway allow for a refresh on this particular type of genre. Then, on a piece of anchor chart paper make a T-column. Discuss with your students Johnny Appleseed facts and myths. Students love comparing and discussing, especially the myths! Two of my favorite Johnny Appleseed books to compare text are “Johnny Appleseed” by Steven Kellogg and excerpts from “Who was Johnny Appleseed” by Joan Holub.
Johnny Appleseed Day Activities
Next my students work on a timeline and sequencing activity of Johnny Appleseed’s life. I love completing the timeline activity, because this is a social studies standard that is required.
Johnny Appleseed Crafts
Who doesn’t love a good writing activity!?! Students will write 2 paragraphs summarizing what they have learned about Johnny Appleseed. Then they will glue their writing to the Johnny Appleseed craft. The student’s writings make amazing displays.
Last, we celebrate by having a yummy snack of applesauce and watching a short video. The video is about 17 minutes long. It is the old Disney version on Tall Tales-Johnny Appleseed. However, if you want something really funny be sure to check out the Johnny Appleseed movie with Martin Short! Students love this movie because it is so funny!
Most of the activities I used for my Johnny Appleseed day activities can be found in my TPT store or on my website! A great place to find great Johnny Appleseed big kid activities is at Teaching in Room 6 blog! She had a fun day of Johnny Appleseed activities for her 5th graders using a STEAM challenge and incorporating math!
Also, I wanted to give you a link to all the books I recommended. I have included a link to a Johnny Appleseed movie with Martin Short and Disney’s 1948 Classic (You can watch below. Be sure to check it out!)too!
Links to recommended books and movies:
- Who Was Johnny Appleseed?
- The Story of Johnny Appleseed
- Johnny Appleseed
- Tall Tales and Legends – Johnny Appleseed
- Disney 1948 Classic – Johnny Appleseed
I hope you have found some great ideas and activities to use on Johnny Appleseed Day. Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek! Note: Affiliate links are used in this post.
