Economics and Geography Lessons

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

MCPS Status of Book as of 4/4/96:
Approved as Library Book for Grades 2-5

Title: Title: How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marion Priceman (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, NY, 1994)

Lesson Developed by Barbara S. Yingling

Literature Annotation: This beautifully illustrated story is about a girl who gathers the ingredients for an apple pie from locations all over the world. (Can be used in conjunction with Apple Picking Time.)

Grade Level: 2-3

Duration: 60 minutes

Economic Concepts: Resources, Production, Interdependence

Geography Themes: Movement

MSPAP Outcomes and Indicators:

Economic Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers in American society.

Indicators:

• Make decisions about available goods and services and understand the consequences of those decisions.
• Identify economic resources located within a community.

Geography Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of geographic concepts and processes as needed to examine the role of culture, technology, and the environment in the location and distribution of human activities.

Indicators:

• Locate features of the school and community by interpreting and constructing maps using simple grid systems, cardinal directions, relative distances and sizes, and symbols explained in a legend (key).
• Describe how transportation and communication networks link communities.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

• Trace the route of the baker in the story as she travels around the world looking for ingredients for her pie.
• Identify the natural, human, and capital resources used to produce the apple pie.
• Identify the types of transportation used by the baker in gathering the resources for her pie.

Vocabulary: natural, human and capital resources

Materials:

• Book: How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
• an apple
• apple peeler
• apron and bowl
• laminated desk maps of the world and non-permanent marking pens, 1 for each student
• 4" x 6" index cards and markers for drawing the types of transportation
• 5" x 8" cards with the names of the places the baker visited: Italy, France, Sri Lanka, England, Atlantic Ocean, Jamaica, Vermont (USA), (Name of the students' town or city)
• masking tape or transparent tape
• "Resources Used by the Baker" Chart, 1 transparency or 1 copy for each child
• (Optional: Ingredients for making the apple pie according to the recipe at the back of the book.)

Teacher Background:
To satisfy economic wants, people use productive resources -- human, natural, and capital. Human resources are people, with their special knowledge, skills, abilities and characteristics. Natural resources are the gifts of nature -- land, water, animals, minerals, trees, soil fertility, climate, and so on. Capital resources or capital goods are human-made goods such as buildings, equipment, machinery, and roads used to produce other goods and services. Producers combine natural, human and capital resources to make goods and services. Producers must choose what goods or services to produce, what resources to use and in what combination to use them.

In geography, movement is defined as people interacting with other people both locally and globally by traveling, communicating, and exchanging goods and services.

Lesson Development:

Motivation:
Prepare for this little skit ahead of time by selecting a student to act out the part of Robin. You will play the part of the baker. Simple props, such as an apron and bowl will help set the stage.

Setting: A Bakeshop. The Baker is in his shop peeling an apple. Robin enters, holding his homework paper in his hand.

Baker: Hi, Robin. Boy, I can really use your help in the bakeshop today.

Robin (Throws hands up in the air and acts very discouraged): Hi, Mr. Baker. I can't stay and help you today. It's going to take me hours to figure out my economics homework.

Baker: That's too bad! What's it about? I'm pretty good with economics. After all, I use economics every day in my baking business.

Robin: We have to learn about resources and production. I wish I had an easy way to understand it.

Baker: I'll tell you what Robin. You watch me make this apple pie and you'll know all about the resources I use to produce the pie.

The End

Say: "I'm not really a baker, but it is true that we can learn all about resources and production by watching someone make a pie. We're going to watch the girl in this book prepare her apple pie."

Activities:

1. Read the book, How to Make an Apple Pie, as the students read along in their books.

2. Reread the story. Have the students use non-permanent marking pens on desk maps to trace the route of the baker in the story as she travels from country to country for the resources (ingredients) to use in her pie. As you read about each country, have a student tape the 5" x 8" card with the place name on the front chalkboard to create a sequence chain. Leave 6 inches of space between each place card for the students to add a transportation picture later.

3. Display the transparency "Resources Used by the Baker" on the overhead projector, or distribute individual copies for the students to complete. Help the students to use the text and pictures to list the natural resources and the country where each natural resource was found. Use the page that begins, "Now all you have to do is mill the wheat into flour" to help the children list some of the capital resources used in making the pie. Some of the human resources are inferred, but not directly mentioned in the story. For example, a farmer was needed to raise and care for the cow.

4. To identify the types of transportation used by the baker, have the students work in groups of 2-3. Assign a different type of transportation from the story to each group. Distribute a 4" x 6" index card to each group. Have them draw and color a picture of their transportation, label it, and place it in correct sequence in the sequence chain of places. If a type of transportation was used within a country, have the students place their transportation picture below that country in the sequence chain. [Examples of transportation mentioned include: steamship to Italy (Europe), horse and cart in Italy, train to France, bicycle in France, elephant ride in Sri Lanka, car in England, banana boat to Jamaica, airplane to Vermont, parachute in Vermont, bus to (Name of home city).] In the gaps between France and Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka and England, have the students decide what type of transportation might be used, and add a picture card to the sequence chain.

Conclusion/Closure:
Reread the page that begins, "Remember that apple pie is delicious topped with vanilla ice cream" Ask the students to brainstorm with their work groups from activity 3 to list some questions they would need answered before they could write a book titled How to Make Vanilla Ice Cream and See the World. Share some of the questions they write. If time permits, organize students into small groups to write a book based on research about the ingredients of ice cream and where those ingredients are found.

Thoughtful Application:
Use a monthly menu from the local school cafeteria. Cut out the different menu squares for the days of the month. Give each child one day's menu. Explain that they are to do research using books, encyclopedias, or interviews to identify at least 3 natural resources, 3 human resources, and 3 capital resources that would be used in the preparation of the meal. Allow some time for sharing their findings and use their reports to create a "School Lunch Resources" bulletin board.

Extension: Make an apple pie from the recipe in the book or share a store bought pie.

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Last updated on April 1, 1997
Maintained by John L. Day

<jday@umd5.umd.edu>