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Pumpkin Unit: Teaching Suggestions: Creative Thinking Activities: These are designed to stretch your students’ imaginations, and to help them to think in different and unique ways. Although these are fictional exercises, they are applicable to real-life problem solving situations. Many inventions have been created by looking at an ordinary object in a different light. Perspectives and points of view are used daily in interpersonal relationships.

1. Pumpkin Transformations: Draw and color an example of your own to show your students. It is most effective to draw this on the board, or using an overhead projector, where they can see you “think it up.” It is helpful to verbalize what you are thinking as you draw and create. For example, I turned the pumpkin upside down, turned the stem into a trunk, added tusks and an elephant body and wings and created a “Flying Pumpaphant.”

2. Pumpkin Perspectives: Discuss perspectives and point of view. 1. Ask students to

give examples of their points of view about a chosen subject, such as whether students should have recess. 2. Ask students what a pumpkin’s point of view about holiday activities might be if it were able to think. 3. Review parts of an effective advertisement, such as a jingle, a slogan, a logo, and contact information, as well as a “hook” explaining to the prospective clients why they need or want the product.

Math Activities: These activities are based on real data about Giant Pumpkins.

1. Statistics: Review or teach how to calculate a mean (average) and a range. For practice prior to this unit, you can use the 3-5 African Elephants chart and graph reading sheets found under mathematical themes and graphing activities on ABC Teach It.

2. Logic Problem: Review how to solve a logic problem using a matrix. Applying the

clues, and the subsequent process of elimination will help solve this one.

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Name: ______________________________________________

How many things can YOU change a pumpkin into? The rules are:

1.) You must leave the stem on. 2.) You can make the pumpkin as big

or as small as you want. 3.) You can use it in any part of your

picture, and you can rotate it in any position that you want to.

4.) You cannot make a jack-o-lantern or pumpkin out of the pumpkin!

5.) You can add as many things to the pumpkin as you want. Sketch several ideas in the space below and on the back of this sheet. Draw and color a detailed picture of your best idea on another sheet of paper. Title your picture.

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Name: ______________________________________________

Or ... Advanced Pumpkin Transformations!!

Directions:

1. Cut out the pumpkins on the page below. 2. Use the pumpkins to create transformations related to a theme. For

example, you could create a “Pumpkins Under the Sea” theme page. The pumpkins could be transformed into an octopus, submarine, fish, sunken pirate ship, and manta ray.

3. Draw a background for your pumpkin theme scene. 4. You must use at least 5 pumpkins as part of your theme picture.

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Name: ______________________________________________

A perspective is a point of view. A point of view is how someone feels about something, or what he or she thinks or believes about something. For example, from a human’s point of view, carving a face on a pumpkin is fun and interesting. From a human’s perspective, doing this is perfectly all right --because humans know that pumpkins don’t have feelings, because they are plants.

What if pumpkins did have feelings and were able to think? What would a pumpkin think about this practice from its perspective, or point of view?

Your Mission: Pretend you are a pumpkin. Your goal is to protect yourself (and the rest of the pumpkins in your patch) from humans who want to make you into pies, or jack-o-lanterns. Because you are a sensitive and caring pumpkin, you also believe in peaceful ways to solve problems.

1.) Work with a partner: Brainstorm possible ways to accomplish your mission. Think of things you could invent to protect the patch.

2.) Draw a detailed sketch of your invention, or method of protecting the patch.

3.) Create an ad to sell your services to other pumpkin patches. Your ad should include the following parts: a. a slogan or jingle to help “hook” your audience b. an interesting title (name of your product) c. a logo for your company or agency d. contact information: name, address, phone, fax, or e-mail address of

your company, so the public can contact you e. the price of your product f. a brief explanation of why the customer needs and wants your

product g. Remember to use color, space and movement effectively in your ad

to make it appealing to your “audience/clients”!

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Name: ______________________________________________

Sun, water, fertilizer, the occasional visit from the farmer… life in the Pumpkin Patch can get a little routine at times. Sometimes pumpkins get bored pretending that they’re just unintelligent pieces of fruit, lounging about on a vine! After the farmers and other humans leave the patch for the day, pumpkins quit pretending and go back to their real business. Think about what pumpkins might do for fun when humans aren’t looking! Make a list of as many ideas of what they might do as you can think of on the back on this paper. You may write your ideas, or draw and label them if you prefer. When you have finished, choose one of the following activities to complete:

1. Draw, label and color a poster showing things pumpkins do when humans aren’t looking.

2. Write a story about a day in the life of a pumpkin. Be sure to include what happens when the farmer and his helpers leave the patch for the day.

3. Write the tale of a pumpkin that escaped from the patch. Tell all about its adventures!

4. Design, draw and color a Pumpkin Amusement Park. All of the games, rides, and activities should appeal to the customers - pumpkins!

5. Design and create a pumpkin card or board game. Remember to write rules for your game.

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Name: ______________________________________________

Giant Pumpkins? Yes, there ARE such things! People have been growing giant pumpkins since the 1800’s. Many county fairs held contests to see who could grow the pumpkin that weighed the most. It was not until 1900, when William Warnoch, of Ontario, Canada, sent a 400-pound pumpkin to the World’s Fair that the competition began in earnest! William Warnoch held the World’s Record for the largest pumpkins ever grown until 1976, when Bob Ford of Pennsylvania grew one that weighed 451 pounds. In the late 1970’s, a man named Howard Dill began to experiment with his Atlantic Giant Pumpkin seeds. He produced two new World Records in 1980 and 1981. The 1981 World Record pumpkin weighed 493.5 pounds. After this, there was no stopping the pumpkin growers. They began to grow bigger and bigger pumpkins! Pumpkins were grown that weighed 600, 700, and 800 pounds. Finally, a man named Ray Waterman, cofounder of the World Pumpkin Confederation, offered a $50,000 prize to whoever could grow a thousand pound pumpkin!

Many growers tried to claim the prize, but no one succeeded until

1996, when Paula and Nathan Zehr of Lowville, New York, grew a pumpkin that weighed 1,061 pounds. In addition to winning $50,000, the Zehrs also set a new World’s Record! Since 1996, many 1000-pound or heavier pumpkins have been grown. The World’s Record now stands at 1,262 pounds, and was achieved by Geneva Emmons of Sammamish, Washington, in 2001. Will there be a new World’s Record in 2002? We will have to wait to find out!

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Name:____________________________________ Directions: Use the chart below to answer the questions. Remember to show all work and label answers. Chart of World’s Records for Heaviest Giant Pumpkins

1. How many years did it take for a pumpkin grower to double the 1900 World’s Record pumpkin weight?

2. How many years did it take for a pumpkin grower to triple the 1900 World’s Record pumpkin weight?

3. What was the average weight of giant pumpkins from the year 1990 to the year 2000?

4. What is the average weight of the giant pumpkins that weighed over 1000 pounds?

5. What is the range of weight for World Record-holding giant pumpkins?

Year Pounds 1893 365 1900 400 1903 403 1976 451 1980 459 1981 493.5 1984 612 1986 671 1989 755 1990 816.5 1992 827 1993 884 1994 990 1996 1,061 1998 1,092 1999 1,131 2000 1,140 2001 1,260.4 2001 1,262

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Name:_____________________________ Directions:

1. Finish filling in the chart. 2. Use the chart to answer the questions below it.

Remember to label your answers and show all work.

World Record Giant Pumpkin Data From 1984-2001

1. What is the average number of years between each new giant pumpkin

World Record?

2. What is the average gain in giant pumpkin weight from one World Record to the next?

Year of World Record

Weight in Pounds

Number of Years Between World Records.

Gain in Weight Between Current and Previous World Record.

1984 612 3 118.5 pounds 1986 671 2 59 pounds 1989 755 3 84 pounds 1990 816.5 1992 827 1993 884 1994 990 1996 1,061 1998 1,092 1999 1,131 2000 1,140 2001 1,260.4 2001 1,262

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3. Based on your answer to question two, about how much will the next World Record giant pumpkin weigh?

4. Explain why you think that your prediction about how much the next World Record giant pumpkin will weigh is correct:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Name:_____________________________

Giant Pumpkins and Their Owners! Directions: Use the clues to fill in the matrix and solve the logic problem. Put a “0” for no and an “X” for yes in each space on the matrix.

The Problem: Five pumpkin farmers grew giant pumpkins in 1994. The pumpkins’ weights were 884, 900, 925, 956, and 990 pounds. The farmers’ names were Smith, Brown, Jones, Doe, and Lang. Each farmer lived in a different colored house: white, brown, red, blue, and yellow.

Smith Jones Brown Doe Lang 884 900 925 956 990 white blue brown red yellow Clues:

1. Smith did not live in the white house, and raised the 900-pound pumpkin.

2. Brown did not live in the red house. 3. The farmer who raised the 884-pound pumpkin lived in the blue

house. 4. Doe lived in the yellow house. 5. Lang raised the 990-pound pumpkin. 6. The farmer who lived in the red house raised the 956-pound

pumpkin.

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The following web site contains fun pumpkin activities to do online, and/or print-out:

http://www.thepumpkinfarm.com/fun.html 1. Carve a virtual jack-o-lantern. These can be

printed out! 2. The Great Pumpkin Trivia Quiz 3. Word Scramble 4. Pumpkin Farm FAQs 5. Fun Facts! 6. Word Search

The following web sites contain lesson plans and activity ideas:

1. Math/Science Activity: http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass/v01n02/pumpkin.html

2. Pumpkin Themes and Units:

http://atozteacherstuff.com/themes/pumpkins.shtml

3. Pumpkin Science: http://www.monroe2boces.org/shared/esp/pumpk.htm

4. Museums in the Classroom: Pumpkin Project:

http://www.chias.org/www/edu/mitc/wkshp/pumpkin/pumpkin.html

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Answer Keys: P. 7: Chart of World’s Records for Heaviest Giant Pumpkins

1. How many years did it take for a pumpkin grower to double the 1900 World’s Record pumpkin weight? 1990 – 1900 = 90 years

2. How many years did it take for a pumpkin grower to triple the 1900 World’s Record

pumpkin weight? 2001 – 1900 = 101 years

3. What was the average weight of giant pumpkins from the year 1990 to the year 2000?

Add all pumpkins weights from 1990 - 2000 = 7941.5 7941.5 divided by ten = 794.15 pounds

4. What is the average weight of the giant pumpkins that weighed over 1000 pounds?

Add pumpkins’ weights from 1996 - 2001 = 6946.4 6946.4 divided by 6 =1157.73 pounds

5. What is the range of weight for World Record-holding giant pumpkins?

1262 – 365 = 897 pounds

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Page 8-9: World Record Giant Pumpkin Data From 1984-2001

1. What is the average number of years between each new giant pumpkin World Record?

20 divided by 13 = 1.5, or 1 and ½ years.

2. What is the average gain in giant pumpkin weight from one World Record to the next? 668.5 divided by 13 = 51.42 pounds average weight gain.

3. Based on your answer to question two, about how much will the next World Record giant pumpkin weigh?

The next World Record Pumpkin might weigh about 1313 pounds.

4. Explain why you think that your prediction about how much the next World Record giant pumpkin will weigh is correct:

Answers will vary: The average gain in weight from one World’s Record pumpkin to the next is about 51.42 pounds. Based on this figure, I think it is likely that the next World Record pumpkin might weigh about 1313 pounds, because the last World Record pumpkin weighed 1262 pounds. If I add 51 pounds to this, I will get a figure of 1313 pounds.

Year of World Record

Weight in Pounds

Number of Years Between World Records.

Gain in Weight Between Current and Previous World Record.

1984 612 3 118.5 pounds 1986 671 2 59 pounds 1989 755 3 84 pounds 1990 816.5 1 61.5 pounds 1992 827 2 10.5 pounds 1993 884 1 57 pounds 1994 990 1 6 pounds 1996 1,061 2 71 pounds 1998 1,092 2 31 pounds 1999 1,131 1 39 pounds 2000 1,140 1 9 pounds 2001 1,260.4 1 120.4 pounds 2001 1,262 0 1.6 pounds

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Page 10: Answer Key:

Giant Pumpkins and Their Owners! Directions: Use the clues to fill in the matrix and solve the logic problem. Put a “0” for no and an “X” for yes in each space on the matrix. The Problem: Five pumpkin farmers grew giant pumpkins in 1994. The pumpkins’ weights were 884, 900, 925, 956, and 990 pounds. The farmers’ names were Smith, Brown, Jones, Doe, and Lang. Each farmer lived in a different colored house: white, brown, red, blue, and yellow.

Smith Jones Brown Doe Lang 884 0 0 X 0 0 900 X 0 0 0 0 925 0 0 0 X 0 956 0 X 0 0 0 990 0 0 0 0 X white 0 0 0 0 X Blue 0 0 X 0 0 brown X 0 0 0 0 Red 0 X 0 0 0 yellow 0 0 0 X 0 Clues:

1. Smith did not live in the white house, and raised the 900-pound pumpkin. 2. Brown did not live in the red house. 3. The farmer who raised the 884-pound pumpkin lived in the blue house. 4. Doe lived in the yellow house. 5. Lang raised the 990-pound pumpkin. 6. The farmer who lived in the red house raised the 956-pound pumpkin.