<

Key Takeaways:

  • Short on time? Combine disciplines into one lesson.
  • Pumpkin exploration gets explosive with pumpkin volcanoes.
  • Extend your pumpkin theme to some fun math activities.

“I have so much extra time in my schedule, I don’t know how I will fill the minutes!” are words you will never hear a teacher say. That is why I like to combine various disciplines into one lesson period.

This month’s Let’s Find Out “Pick a Pumpkin” issue thrilled my kindergarteners and helped me pull together a rich and varied lesson. Here are the pumpkin activities we did:

  • Practiced word-attack strategies
  • Read informational text for meaning
  • Completed a graph
  • Explored chemical reactions and recorded our findings
  • Practiced counting and comparing
  • Played a fun “Making 10” game

We did all of this in under an hour. WIN!

Shared-Reading Word-Attack Strategies

This is a common shared-reading lesson. You simply cover a few words with a Post-It note, then guide students as they guess the covered words. We want to remind the young readers that the pictures can give us a clue. After taking several guesses, we reveal the first letter. For example, one of the words I covered was big. Students guessed big, large, huge, ginormous. Then, when I revealed the first letter, we checked to see which word made sense.

Graphing Pumpkins

We also worked on graphing pumpkins on the back of our Let’s Find Out magazine. Graphing is a great skill to return to and review throughout the year. So additional opportunities to practice graphing is appreciated. We had a great student helper under the document camera.

The students followed along and completed their own graphs. Then they tucked the magazines into their reading bags for additional practice later on.

 

Pumpkin Volcanos

The night before this experiment, I removed the seeds of a small pumpkin. You don’t have to clean it out, but I decided to.

While in the classroom, I placed the pumpkin inside of a tray and added around 3-4 tablespoons baking soda, a few drops of dish soap and food coloring (optional).

Naturally, everyone wanted to look inside! Many wanted to smell the inside of the pumpkin, too!

Then, when I added the vinegar…woosh! Pumpkin VOLCANO!

My kindergarten friends thought it was “very cool.” Each time I added a few more splashes of vinegar, it bubbled up again.

This is the science behind the experiment: A chemical reaction occurs when you combine baking soda (a base) and vinegar (an acid). When they are combined, they react and form carbonic acid. Carbonic acid breaks down into water and carbon dioxide. This creates fizzing as the carbon dioxide escapes.

Pumpkin Math Center Fun

I divided the students into two groups, and then partnered them up quickly.

One group played Stacking Jack!

When the stacks fell over, they counted, compared and recorded their information.

 

The other group worked on Making 10! The kids used pumpkin candies and a skills sheet I provided.

 

The smell of the pumpkin candies was pretty powerful—and tempting. You can certainly do this activity with mini-erasers or even stacking cubes.

 

After 10 minutes, I had the groups switch so everyone had a chance to do the activities.

I hope this gives you a few ideas on how to hit many standards in a fun way—and within a short amount of time—using Let’s Find Out magazine.

Download the pumpkin volcano activity and math activities here to bring this lesson into your classroom.

If you like these activity ideas, why not try Let’s Find Out in your classroom? They offer a 30-Day Free Trial so you can try their student magazines, BIG issues, activities and website for yourself. My class and I love Let’s Find Out, and I’m sure you will too. So start your free trial today!

Deedee Wills has spent more than 15 years in the classroom as an early-childhood teacher, instructional coach and educational consultant. She writes the blog MrsWillsKindergarten.

 

Want more great content? Click here to subscribe to our Teacher Newsletter and get teaching ideas delivered right to your inbox.