Move Over Apples…Here come the Pumpkins!

Well, I think it is time to put apples to rest! Megan’s kids had so much fun learning about Apples! We are just getting started with pumpkins, so here are some of the things that we did LAST year! Like I said before, we “do” the activities, take the pictures, and make the post, but by that time everyone else is done with pumpkins, too!

So here are last year’s plans!  In the pictures above you can see the finished apple bubble map, but on the right you can see we made a pumpkin bubble map! That’s right….for pumpkins I did nearly all the same activities that I had done with apples, but now let’s do them with a pumpkin theme.
We made a venn diagram to compare the things we know about apples and pumpkins. Our kiddos have an elbow partner on the carpet. This is what we call a “lean and tell”. After I ask the questions, they just lean and tell their partner the answer. No more having kiddos raise their hands, only holding a few of them responsible for the learning…everyone is actively engaged! We also do a “turn and talk” if we want them to discuss something. For a turn and talk, they would turn knee to knee to have a discussion. Lean and tells are for quick, short answers!

After reading the story, “The Biggest Pumpkin Ever” we made a Venn diagram to compare the two characters in the story—Desmond and Clayton. I divided my class into two groups. While one group was working in centers, I worked with the other group using interactive writing to write everything we knew about “Desmond”. Then, they swapped places. With the second group we wrote everything we knew about “Clayton”. Later in the day, we all came together on the carpet. We read each of the sentences that we had written and decided where it need to go on the Venn Diagram.
We made a brace map for the parts of the pumpkin. As I was making the large brace map, they had their own copy and were filling it in at the same time. Then, we painted their palm to make the pumpkin.
After reading lots of non fiction texts about pumpkins,  they recorded the information that have learned about pumpkins. Then they made the pumpkin craft and glued them together for publishing!

We made pumpkin pizzas and they made a step book shaped like a pumpkin to do their “how to” writing!

I made this spin graph. The kiddos spin and record if it lands on apples or pumpkins. Then they use the information to make a graph and do the analysis. All of these activities are in the Apples and Pumpkins Math and Literacy Activities Unit.

For this game, they had to sort the clip art pictures if they started with a “j” like jack o lantern or a “p” like pumpkin. Then, they recorded their sort on the tree map. I did also have a blank tree map, with no lines, for kids who weren’t able to stretch out the words. This game is in the Apples and Pumpkins Literacy Game Pack.

My kids love this game! Two kids play together with each getting 10 unifix cubes. They break their unifix cubes apart, putting half on the game board and half behind their backs. The one that had the shortest “scarecrow” on the board spins the spinner. If it lands on shorter, than they get to take all the unifix cubes to add to their train. If it lands on longer, than the other player gets to take all the unifix cubes. This game is in the Apples and Pumpkins Math Game Pack. If your kiddos like this spin graph, I made a whole packet with just spins graphs. This packet, Spin a Graph, contains 10 different spin graph game boards, the graphs, and the data analysis page.