Making Observations about Pumpkins

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Making Observations about Pumpkins

• Miss Waters
• October 2003
• Jefferson School Kindergarten

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An Overview of the Lesson
To view my complete lesson plan click here
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ISBE Standards Addressed by the Lesson

• 12.C.8b Compare large-scale physical properties
  of matter (eg. Size, shape, color, texture,
  odor)
• 13.A.1c Explain how knowledge can be gained by
  careful observation
• 13.B.1b Explain how using measuring tools
  improves the accuracy of estimates

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Performance Objectives for the Lesson

• Kindergarten students will be able to estimate
  the weight of a pumpkin in comparison to the
  weight of an apple.
• Kindergarten students will be able to estimate
  the height of a pumpkin using unifex cubes.
• Kindergarten students will be able to count a
  small amount of the pumpkin seeds using
  one-to-one correspondence while counting.
• Kindergarten students will be able to describe
  some physical characteristics of a pumpkin.

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The children made observations
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So what is an observation?

• An observation can be made using any one, or a
  combination of any, of the five senses.
• We primarily used our eyes to make observations
  about our pumpkin.

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We read a storyThe Runaway Pumpkin
Lewis, K. (2003). The runaway pumpkin. New York,
NY Orchard Books, Scholastic, Inc.
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What is a prediction?
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How tall was our pumpkin?
We used unifex cubes as our measurement tool for
measuring our pumpkin. We estimated how many
unifex cubes tall our pumpkin was. Was our first
prediction right? Watch the video above to find
out!
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How wide was our pumpkin?
We used yarn as our measurement instrument for
measuring how wide our pumpkin was. The class
helped me to decide how long to cut the piece of
yarn. Then we wrapped the yarn around the
pumpkin to check our prediction. Was our piece
of yarn too long, too short, or about right?
Find out for yourself, watch the video above.
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Tape Measure vs. Ruler
I asked the children which measurement instrument
they thought would be easier to measure a pumpkin
with, a tape measure or a ruler. After they
offered their opinions, I told them why I thought
that a tape measure would be easier.
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How much did our pumpkin weigh?
I got an apple out and set it next to our
pumpkin. Then I asked the students which piece
of produce they thought would weigh more. The
class agreed that the pumpkin would weigh more
than the apple. Next, we put our pumpkin on the
scale to see how many pounds our pumpkin weighed.
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How many seeds were in our pumpkin?

• I excused the students to go to their seats at
  their tables.
• Then I gave each child a small amount of seeds to
  count.
• The adults in the room and I then added up each
  childs number of seeds to determine how many
  seeds were actually in our pumpkin.

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We gave ourselves a pat on the back for our job
well done!?
Finally, I congratulated the students on being
such excellent scientists and thanked them for
their hard work!
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Why I chose this Lesson Plan

• We did this lesson in October and pumpkins are a
  well-known symbol of fall and of Halloween.
• Most children are very familiar with pumpkins.
• The children recently picked out a classroom
  pumpkin at Tanners Orchard that we brought back
  to our classroom.

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My Reflection
Overall, I feel that the lesson went well and was
very age-appropriate. The only thing that didnt
work the way that I had planned was counting the
seeds. I will probably take out a majority of
the seeds ahead of time if I do this lesson again.
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My Mentors Reflection
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THE END