Fall Is Here! Mrs. Macken Caldwell, NJ

Fall Is Here! We Love It!
Participating Classes Project Homepage

Mrs. Carol Macken’s First Grade
Lincoln School

Caldwell, New Jersey

Books: How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
by Marjorie Priceman

In this whimsical, geographical shopping journey, a young baker thinks of how to make an apple pie if the market is closed. She directs readers, via various modes of transportation, to gather wheat in Italy, a chicken (for its egg) in France, bark from the kurundu (cinnamon) tree in Sri Lanka, a cow (for butter) in England, salt water and sugar cane in Jamaica, and apples in Vermont. The ingredients are mixed, a pie is baked, and friends are invited to share.

After we read this book, we created our own version, How to Make a Pumpkin Cake and See the U.S.A.. In our unit we also learned about the life cycle of pumpkins and the role pumpkins play in fall celebrations.

Our Class Poem

Autumn is Here!

Autumn is here!
Autumn is here!
We jump, jump, jump in the leaves!
The wind blows, blows, blows in the trees.
We walk, walk, walk in the park.
The pumpkins are picked, picked, picked in the field.
Autumn is here!
We love it!

We made a fall mural featuring pumpkins and took a trip to a farm where we saw different kinds of pumpkins.

And of course, we baked a pumpkin cake.

Mrs. Macken’s Grandmother’s Pumpkin Cake

Cream together: ½ cup of butter, ½ cup of sugar, 2 eggs, ¾ cup of milk,1 tsp. of baking soda, 1 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice, ¾ cup of canned pumpkin.

In another bowl sift together:2 cups of flour,2 tsp. baking powder,¼ tsp. salt. Combine the mixtures and beat well. Pour into a tube pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

NJ Standards Addressed:

Standard 3.4 – Listening – All students will listen actively to information from a variety of sources in a variety of situations.

Standard 3.2 – Writing – All students will write in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.

Standard 5.5 – Characteristics of Life – All students will gain an understanding of the structure, characteristics, and basic needs of organisms and will investigate the diversity of life.

Standard 6.6 – Geography – All students will apply knowledge of spatial relationships and other geographic skills to understand human behavior in relation to the physical and cultural environment.