Pumpkin Properties
Learning Goals: Seasons, Properties, Non-Standard Units of Measurement, Descriptive Writing, Comparison
- During the Fall season, gather any unique looking pumpkins you can find. As a whole group, ask your students what they picture when they think of a pumpkin.
- Draw a picture matching their description and label it with descriptive words they have named.
- Reveal the unique pumpkins and encourage students to explore and play with them during the day.
- At the end of the day, discuss all the ways that students explored the unique pumpkins. What surpised them? What was different about all the pumpkins?
Extension for the next day:
- Repeat the discussion from yesterday and ask students again what they picture when they think of a pumpkin.
- Write down all their new pumpkin descriptive words.
- Bring in a traditional pumpkin and encourage comparative language to compare the traditional pumpkin with each unique pumpkin.
- Leave all the pumpkins out again for students to explore/draw/write about. Follow your students' lead to see how you can extend this fun inquiry!
- Variety of unique looking pumpkins
- Traditional looking pumpkin
- Chart paper or whiteboard and markers
- Any writing or classroom materials to extend learning
This activity can vary depending on how it is implemented and extended on by the educator.
Collaborative Play: Students and the educator co-created the learning environment.
Inquiry Play: The educator used children's interests to support an inquiry by providing different materials, extending the play by asking guiding questions, and by connecting children's play to different learning objectives.
Free Play: The children freely used materials to initiate and direct their own play.
