My Typical Topic Format

Instruction Tab:

Students observe the growth and decomposition of a pumpkin as they learning about and how to grow a pumpkin.  Students will learn about the life cycle of pumpkins from nonfiction books as they practice early reading skills through shared reading. 

Use the Background, Policy, and Resources sections to research pumpkins and their life cycles from beginning to end.

Use the Decide tab when you are ready to record your finding regarding the life cycles of pumpkins.

Background Tab:

Students will read Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden by George Levenson to learn about how a pumpkin patch grows and changes from seeds to plants to pumpkins then back to seeds.

Policy Tab:

The students will listen to the book Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden by George Levenson read to the class.  The students will plant a sprouted pumpkin plant and watch as the pumpkin plant grows.  As the students observe the plant’s growth, they will record their finds in their personal Student Observation Journals.  The students will record using pictures and/or words to describe what they see occurring with the pumpkin from beginning to end.

Resource Tab:

Here are some additional books and resources about pumpkins and their life cycle to help research for the activity.

From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer

Picking Apples and Pumpkins by Richard Hutchings and Amy Hutchings

Pumpkins by Jacqueline Farmer

The Pumpkin Patch by Margaret McNamara

Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington

Kiddie Gardens at http://www.kiddiegardens.com/growing_pumpkins.html is a website which shows children how to grow gardens.

How to grow pumpkins at http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=40627&CategoryID=9483 is a video that shows how to grow a pumpkin.

From Seed to Pumpkin at http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Category.aspx?CategoryID=9483 is a video that shows one how to grow a pumpkin starting with a seed.

Decide Tab:

1.      What did you think would happen to the plant as it grew?

2.      What actually happened to the plant as it grew?

3.      Did you know there were different genders of pumpkin plants?

4.      What is the different between a male and female pumpkin flower?

5.      How long did you think it would take the plant to grow from a sprout to a pumpkin?

6.      How long did it take for the plant to grow from a sprout to a pumpkin?

7.      How long did you think it would take for the pumpkin section to decay?

8.      How long did it take for the pumpkin section to decay?