By Marjorie Priceman
“French chickens lay elegant eggs”
Ever wanted to eat something really delicious? Have you ever wanted to make an apple pie? Most of us would get the ingredients at the grocery store, but what if the grocery store was closed? How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World explores interdependence through what is needed to make an apple pie. Students will travel to France, Italy, Sri Lanka, England, Jamaica, and the United States to find out how we depend on other people and places to make something very common, an apple pie. Young children will enjoy the colorful and busy illustrations as the world becomes a grocery store
Things to discuss
- At the end of the book what is missing? Make a list of places you would need to go to obtain the ingredients needed to make this missing item.
- Trace the places visited in the book and locate them on a map. Start with the map in the book. Although it is a basic map, it works well utilizing the vertical and horizontal lines to create grids (A-Z vertical lines; 1-15 horizontal lines). In this way, students gain a comfort level with finding intersecting points and places (like latitude and longitude).
- If you could only get the ingredients to make an apple pie locally where would you get them?
- Have student identify and describe the different varieties of apples. Find out where they are grown and locate these places on a map.
- Collect recipes from around the world that use apples
Additional Resources
A lesson plan using this book can be found at the GENI website under Lesson Plans. The address is www.iupui.edu/~geni. The Geo-Literacy Coalition sponsors the annual Geographic Awareness Week. This past year’s theme was “Declare Your Interdependence”. More ideas and classroom materials visit the GAW website at www.geographyawarenessweek.org.
If your students liked this book they might also like:
How to Make A Cherry Pie and See the USA by Marjorie Priceman
The Tortilla Factory by Gary Paulson