Home > Lesson Planning Channel > Lesson Planning Archives > Lesson Plan of the Day Archive > Language Arts & Reading, Tech > Lesson Planning Article

My Pumpkin Story

Subjects

• Arts & Humanities
  --Language Arts
  --Visual Arts
• Educational Technology

Grade

• K-2
• 3-5

Brief Description

Students use an online tool to "carve" a pumpkin. Then they write a story about their pumpkin.

Objectives

Students

• will use technology to create a unique pumpkin face.
• will write a story about the special characteristics of their pumpkin.

Keywords

pumpkin, story

Materials Needed

• Internet access (site links provided in Lesson Plan below)

Lesson Plan

Begin the lesson by introducing students to one of the following Web pages:

Pick a Pumpkin to Carve
Click on one of the pumpkins, then use the cursor (knife) to carve a face on the pumpkin. Print the end result.

Carve-a-Pumpkin
On this page from PrimaryGames.com students move mouth, nose, and eye parts to create a pumpkin face. Once they create their face, they can move the unused pieces to the side and print their pumpkins.

Virtual Jack O' Lantern
Students choose from a menu of eyes, noses, and mouths, then click the "Carve It" button to create their special jack o' lantern face. Then they print out the face and draw their pumpkin around its features.

Writing Activity
After students use one of those online tools to create their personal pumpkins, have them write a story about their pumpkin.

• Younger students might begin their stories with the sentence This Halloween I carved the most unusual pumpkin. My pumpkin is very special because… Students' stories might include information about
  --- their pumpkin's special qualities/abilities;
  --- its likes and dislikes;
  --- its friends and family life;
  --- a special problem it encountered; or
  --- a day that didn't go so well.
  
• Older students might use this Halloween Story Planner to help them plan the characters and conflicts they will include in their stories.

Assessment

Set your specific goals and expectations in advance of giving this writing assignment; share those expectations with students. Then assess student writing based on those specific expectations.

Lesson Plan Source

EducationWorld.com

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

National Standards

LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills

TECHNOLOGY
GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.1 Basic Operations and Concepts

See more Lesson Plans of the Day in our Lesson Plan of the Day Archive. (There you can search for lessons by subject too.)

For additional language arts/reading lesson plans, see these Education World resources:

• Lesson Planning: Language Arts
• Language and Literature Subject Center
• Teacher-Submitted Lesson Plans: Arts & Humanities
• News for Kids
• The Reading Room
• Writing Bug
• Every-Day Edits
• Work Sheets from Teacher Created Materials: Language Arts

For additional technology lesson plans, see these Education World resources:

• Technology in the Classroom Center
• Teacher-Submitted Lesson Plans: Technology
• Technology Lesson Plan of the Week
• Interactivity/Collaborative Projects Center
• Hunt the Fact Monster
• Internet Scavenger Hunt

Education World®
Copyright© 2007 Education World

Originally published 10/19/2006
Last updated 10/02/2007