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Gail S Hennessey
Gail Skroback Hennessey taught for over 33 years, teaching sixth grade in all but two years. She earned a BA in early secondary education with a concentration in social studies and an MST in social...
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Pumpkin Time is Here!

Learn about Pumpkins! 
 
1. Pumpkins are thought to have originated in Central America, specifically Mexico. Some seeds found date back to 5500 B.C.
 
2. Top pumpkin growers are U.S. farmers, growing more than 1.5 billion each year.
 
3. The word pumpkin comes from the French word for “large melon”,
pompon. The English used “pumpion” and colonists used “pumpkin”.
 
4. The World’s Largest Pumpkin Pie was made in New Bremen, Ohio, in 2010. 1,212 lbs of canned pumpkin, 109 gallons of evaporated milk, 525
pounds of sugar, 14.5 pounds of cinnamon, 7 pounds of salt and 2796 eggs were used. It weighed 3699 pounds.
 
5. Did you know that pumpkins are 90 percent water?
 
6. Some people used to believe that pumpkins could cure snake bites and help remove freckles!
 
7. In addition to orange, pumpkins can be green, yellow, tan, white,red and blue.
 
8. The “Pumpkin Capital of the World” and home to Libby’s Pumpkins is Morton, Illinois.
 
9. The fibrous strands of string and seeds are called the “brains” of the pumpkin.
 
10. Carving pumpkins originated in Ireland using potatoes,rutabagas and turnips. Irish immigrants to America started using pumpkins as they were easier to carve and hollow! What is ONE fact you know about the country of Ireland?_______________________
 
11. Part of the squash and cucumber family(cucurbita), pumpkins are actually considered fruit! Did you think the pumpkin was a fruit or vegetable?__________________________
 
12. Ohio, Illinois, California and Pennsylvania are the top pumpkin-growing states. Name a fact about TWO of these states._____________________________________
 
13. In 2013, Keene, NH, kept the record for the most lit pumpkins! 30,581. It holds the record in 2016, too.
 
14. Crowned the record heaviest pumpkin grown in North America(2022), a  man from the state of Minnesota grew a pumpkin which weighed in at a whopping 2560 pounds. 
 
15. A pumpkin grown in the country of (2021) Italy tipped the scale at a whopping 2702. Previously, the record was 2623.5 pounds and was grown in the country of Belgium! This record still holds in the fall of 2022.What is ONE fact you know about the country of Belgium. If you don't know any, look one up to share._____________________
 

Pumpkin growers say that a 3000 pound pumpkin is possible in the near future!  It wasn't that many years ago that a 1000 pound pumpkin, now a light weight, would have been news worthy. The problem with growing such jumbos is that gravity often causes them to get smushed and then they can't qualify for judging.
 
A. Do YOU carve a pumpkin during this time of year?  If, so, what type of face do you create?
B. Do you prefer carving or painting a pumpkin?
C. What is your favorite type of pie?

Activities:
1. Illustrate a picture of one of the facts learned.
2. Write a poem about a pumpkin.Pretend you are a pumpkin and write about your day in the pumpkin patch, on a porch or waiting to be purchased at a farmer’s stand.
3.Discuss syllables. Find 7 words that have 4 or more syllables.
4. Can you spot 7 ACTION VERBS in the Pumpkin Facts?
5. Write an acrostic poem using each letter in the word, PUMPKINS.
 

* Try my webquest on Pumpkins: 10 web questions with several comprehension questions(lots of extension activities).