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Oct 1, 20192 min read

The Case of the Missing Pumpkin Lesson Plan

Updated: Oct 21, 2019

K - 2nd Grade

Students investigate the phenomenon of decomposing pumpkins as a part of the plant's life cycle.

“ This lesson is easily nested into a storyline as an episode exploring the phenomenon of decomposition. In this episode, students investigate the question, "What happens to a pumpkin over time?" Keep in mind that phenomena-based lessons include storylines which emerge based upon student questions.”

The Case of the Missing Pumpkin


Grade Level(s)

K - 2

Estimated Time

2 hours instruction time plus 1-2 months for observation

Purpose

Students investigate the phenomenon of decomposing pumpkins as a part of the plant's life cycle.

Materials

Activity 1: 

Activity 2: 

  • Mini pumpkins, 1 per student or larger pumpkins, 1 per group (with the tops of the pumpkin removed)

  • Potting soil

  • Garden trowels or spoons

  • Pumpkin Science Journal

Activity 3:

  • Life Cycle of a Pumpkin by Ron Fridell and Patricia Walsh or Pumpkins by Ken Robbins

  • White paper plates, 2 per student

  • Black and orange markers or crayons

  • Green yarn, 1 arm-length per student

  • Brown, green, yellow, and orange construction paper

  • Great Pumpkin Paper Patterns

  • Hole punch

  • Stapler

  • Scissors

Essential Files (maps, charts, pictures, or documents)

Essential Links

Vocabulary

  • bacteria: a group of single-celled living things that cannot be seen without a microscope that reproduce rapidly and sometimes cause diseases

  • decomposer: an organism that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter

  • decomposition: the breakdown of plant or animal matter, the process of decay

  • fungus: any one of a group of living things (such as molds, mushrooms, or yeasts) that often look like plants but have no flowers and that live on dead and decaying things

  • humus: a brown or black material in soil that is formed when plants and animals decay

  • nutrient: a substance that plants, animals, and people need to live and grow

  • phenomenon: an observable event which is not man-made; plural form is phenomena

  • pumpkin: a large, rounded fruit with a thick rind, edible flesh, and many seeds

Did you know? (Ag Facts)

  • Pumpkins are 90% water, high in fiber, and contain potassium and Vitamin A.

  • Pumpkin flowers are edible.

  • The town of Goffstown, New Hampshire holds an annual pumpkin regatta each October.

  • Giant pumpkins are hollowed out to make room for a single passenger to race down the Piscataquog River.

Background Agricultural Connections

This lesson is easily nested into a storyline as an episode exploring the phenomenon of decomposition. In this episode, students investigate the question, "What happens to a pumpkin over time?" Keep in mind that phenomena-based lessons include storylines which emerge based upon student questions.


Interest Approach – Engagement

  • Ask the students if they have ever carved a pumpkin into a Jack-o-lantern.

  • Have the students predict what they think would happen to a Jack-o-lantern if they kept it until the next summer.

  • Read the book Sophie's Squash by Pat Zietler Miller.

  • Discuss with the students what happened to Sophie's squash. Could that happen to a pumpkin?

Procedures

This lesson investigates the phenomenon of decomposition. Natural phenomena are observable events that occur in the universe that we can use our science knowledge to explain or predict.

Phenomenon-Based Episode: What happens to a pumpkin over time? Disciplinary Core Ideas: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics National Agricultural Literacy Outcome Theme: Plants and Animals for Food, Fiber & Energy

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