Pumpkin book reports

Hi amazing teacher!

I want to introduce you to Caity Etie who I follow on Instagram. She has amazing ideas to integrate reading and the fall season. She shares about one of those ideas below.

Hi! My name is Caity Etie, also known as @teachersnark on Instagram! This is my 6th year teaching but only my second year in 4th grade ELA. Before that I taught pretty much everything from PreK through 2nd grade! But, fourth grade, so far has been my favorite! I love seeing their personalities start to shine and how independent they can be.

Every October we do what we call the “pumpkin project”. Students have to read a chapter book and decorate a pumpkin to match a character from that book. I love seeing the creativity! Students can use anything they want to make their characters. It’s really fun to see 2 kids who chose the same book interpret the characters differently. I have had students go so far as to build a whole body for the pumpkins! They are also required to write a 3 paragraph book report to go along with their project (gotta have that rigor!) They need to have an introductory paragraph that explains why they chose the book and a prediction for what they think the plot will be. A second paragraph giving details about the story and a conclusion telling if they liked it or not and what they would rate the book. I also display these in class so other students can get ideas on what to read next. They love hearing suggestions from their peers!

Students are also given 2 rubrics (one for the pumpkin and one for the report) as well as examples of past pumpkins. This has to be my favorite project every year. It’s so great to see what the students come up with! It’s also such a nice spin on a traditional book report. I find it really gets them excited about reading!

This is such a creative idea to implement into your own classroom! Enjoy!

Now what? Comment and share your ideas to creatively have students present their book reports!

Remember friends, you have the EduMagic in YOU!