Pumpkin Unit
Books for Self Selected
Reading Read-Alouds:
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever (Steven Knoll)
Apples and Pumpkins
Berenstain Bears (Early Chapter Book) The Enormous Pumpkin
It's Pumpkin Time
The Pumpkin Book (Gail Gibbons)
The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything
Books for Guided
Reading:
Pumpkin, Pumpkin (Jean Titherington)
Our Pumpkin ( Renee Keeler) Published by Creative Teaching Press
Easier Reading Day — Guided Reading with Songs and Poems
On one day, we use poems and songs to teach guided reading each week.
We chant and memorize the words. The children then are given the words
so they can relate reading to print. We know that poems and songs help
our students to read with better fluency and expression.
5 Little Pumpkins
(Teaches ordinal numbers)
Untitled Pumpkin
Poem
Jolly, olly pumpkin face
You're happy tell me why
"I'd rather be a pumpkin face
than a pumpkin pie!"
On Grade Level Reading
Day — Sequencing during Guided Reading
Day One
Before Reading — Set the purpose: Today when you are reading I want
you to notice how a pumpkin grows.
During Reading —
First the teacher should read Pumpkin, Pumpkin text without discussion.
Then re-read the book stopping at each step of growing a pumpkin. Record
the steps on a chart. After school, write the steps on sentence strips.
After Reading —
Read the chart to review
Day Two
Before Reading —
Before the children begin reading today, the teacher should change the
order of the sentence strips. Read the sentence strips to the children
(or if they can read the strips, let the class read with the teacher).
Lead the children to notice that the sentences are in a mixed up order.
Set the purpose
— As you are reading today, notice the order given in the book for the
steps of growing a pumpkin.
During Reading —
First reading: Shared reading with the teacher.
Second reading: Read book and notice the order of steps for growing
a pumpkin. I also provide each partner set with a paper listing the
steps in a mixed up order.
After Reading —
The children cut apart their sentences and glue them in the correct
order. As a class, move sentence strips in the pocket chart around to
reflect new order. Give one sentence strip to each small group. Have
the children draw and illustrate a picture together. Make the sentence
strips into a big book for SSR time.
Day Three
Before Reading — Before the children begin reading today, the teacher
should write each sentence on a sentence strip, cut the strip into words
and put each sentence in its own baggy.
Set the purpose
— word order affects understanding.
During reading — First, the whole class will read the big book they
made yesterday together. Then with a partner, the children will read
their little books.
After reading with
a partner — The children put together their cut-up sentence. The children
find the page in the book that matches their sentence to check it.
ANOTHER pumpkin
book Guided Reading Lesson
Our Pumpkin published by Creative Teaching Press
Before Reading —
notice what could we do with a pumpkin? What have you ever done with
a pumpkin? Make a list on the board (chart paper, overhead) of the class
ideas.
Set Purpose for
reading — Notice all the ways that this author thinks of to use a pumpkin.
During Reading —
First reading — Teacher reads book to the class, children echo read.
Second reading — Children read with a partner.
After Reading —
Look at the book and circle the ideas we thought of and listed on the
board. Add any ideas from the book we didn't think of.
