Fall Reading Activity for Elementary Students: The Pumpkin Project

I’m excited to introduce you to Caity Etie, an inspiring educator I follow on Instagram. She shares creative and engaging ideas that integrate reading with seasonal themes perfect for fall! Below, she shares one of her favorite classroom projects that’s sure to get your students excited about reading.

Hi! I’m Caity Etie, also known as @teachersnark on Instagram. This is my sixth year teaching, and my second year in 4th-grade ELA. Before that, I taught everything from Pre-K through 2nd grade, but so far, fourth grade has been my favorite! I love watching students’ personalities shine and seeing how independent they become.

Every October, we dive into what we call the Pumpkin Project. Students choose a chapter book to read and decorate a pumpkin to represent a character from the story. The creativity they bring to this project is incredible! They can use any materials they like, and it’s always fun to see how two students interpret the same character in completely different ways. Some even build full bodies for their pumpkins!

Along with the decorated pumpkin, students write a three-paragraph book report:

• Paragraph 1: Why they chose the book and a prediction about the plot

• Paragraph 2: Key details about the story

• Paragraph 3: Their opinion of the book and a rating

We display the pumpkins and reports in the classroom so students can get book recommendations from their peers. They love hearing what their classmates enjoyed reading. To support them, I provide two rubrics, one for the pumpkin and one for the report, as well as examples from past years. This is hands-down my favorite project of the year. It’s a fun, creative twist on the traditional book report and really gets students excited about reading.

This fall reading activity for elementary students is a fantastic way to bring books to life in your classroom. Give it a try, you and your students will love it!

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