Pumpkin Lesson

Pumpkin Lesson

1^st Grade

(45 min.)

Book: Pumpkin Jack by: Will Hubbell

Learning Objectives:

-     Make seasonal connection to plant life cycles

-     Introduce vocabulary related to plant life cycles

-     Connect themes of seasons, life cycles, and gardening to the children’s lives

-     Obtain viable pumpkin seeds to plant next spring

Science vocabulary:

Life-cycle

Frost

Rot

Book vocabulary:

Fierce (intense, angry)

Jack-o’-lantern (pumpkin with a face)

Spell (magic)

Wrinkled (wrinkled clothes have many lines & folds in them)

Beneath (the snow)

Faded (lost color)

Withered (leaves)

Generous (Tim was generous. He gave away all of the pumpkins but the one he kept for himself.)

Supplies:

1 big pumpkin

sharp serrated knife

Newspaper

Plastic bowels or other containers

Paper towels

Dry-erase board, chalkboard, or smartboard

Set-Up:

Spread thick newspaper over tables. Set a plastic bowl or container on each table.

Keep pumpkin at the front of the room so that children entering can see and touch it.

Lesson:

1)    Gather as a group on the floor or in chairs with the teacher at the front with a dry-erase board (or chalkboard, or Smartboard).

1. Introduce themes of seasons, life cycles, and kids gardening.
2. Go over key science vocabulary.

2)    Go over key vocabulary found in the book Pumpkin Jack

Read Pumpkin Jack

3)     Make connections between the story and the children’s lives at home/school.

1. Ask who has carved a pumpkin with their family?  Seen jack-o-lanterns in their neighborhoods?
2. Who has seen pumpkins growing in the garden at school?  At another farm or garden?
3. Who has ever planted a seed?  During what season?  Who has eaten pumpkin seeds?  What season?
4. How many seeds are in a pumpkin?  How many seeds does it take to grow a pumpkin plant?  How many pumpkins can one plant grow?

4)    Teacher carves the top off the pumpkin and lifts it to show all the seeds.  Then everyone separates into smaller groups at their tables.

1. At each table, the children have a turn to reach into the pumpkin and grab a handful of seeds and “guts.”
2. Using their hands, they separate the seeds from the “guts” and put the clean seeds into a container to save them.

5)    Clean up!

1. When the whole table is finished, they can go wash their hands in the bathroom.
2. b. The teacher collects all the clean pumpkin seeds and, outside of class time, washes them with water in a colander and spreads them out on clean paper towels to dry overnight.  Then, they must be stored over the winter in a cool, dry place. To be planted by the same students in the Spring!