Bring meaningful reading comprehension and classroom community together with this Bad Apple Reading Lessons & Activities Pack, created to pair with Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship by Edward Hemingway. This ready-to-use read-aloud resource helps students think deeply about the story while exploring friendship, predictions, cause and effect, connecting events, and lessons learned.

The flexible lesson format includes activities to use before, during, and after reading, so you can complete the activities in one day or spread them across several days depending on your classroom needs.

Reading Skills & Concepts

Students will practice:

• Activating schema and prior knowledge
• Making and supporting predictions
• Responding to comprehension questions
• Using text evidence
• Understanding cause and effect
• Connecting important story events
• Identifying the lesson of a story
• Describing qualities of a good friend
• Discussing friendship and how characters respond to challenges
• Writing and drawing in response to reading

What’s Included

• Teacher lesson plan with before, during, and after reading activities
• Reader’s Schema focus poster
• Good Friend focus poster
• Character trait picture cards
• Friendship journal writing activities
• Before, During & After Reading book discussion question cards
• Making Predictions focus poster
• Prediction student printables
• Making Predictions anchor chart pieces
• Connecting Events focus poster
• Cause & Effect focus poster
• Story events comprehension printables
• Learning a Lesson focus poster
• Draw Mac directed drawing activity
• Written response activities
• Multiple writing-line options to support different learners
• Color and black-and-white options for select materials

Build Comprehension Through Meaningful Discussion

Students begin by connecting the story to their own experiences and thinking about what makes someone a good friend. As you read, the included question cards guide conversations about the characters, important events, predictions, feelings, and text evidence.

After reading, students dig deeper into how events in the story connect and explore cause-and-effect relationships. They also consider what they can learn from Mac and Will’s friendship and apply the story’s lesson to their own lives.

Finish the read-aloud with a fun directed drawing of Mac and written response, giving students a creative way to demonstrate their understanding of the story.

This reading pack makes it easy to turn a favorite picture book into a purposeful, engaging read-aloud experience filled with comprehension, discussion, writing, and classroom connection.

Please note: The book Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship by Edward Hemingway is not included and will need to be purchased separately.