Spookley the Square Pumpkin Activities
There are so many great Fall and Halloween stories to read during this month and whole season! One of my favorite books to read year after year is “The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin” by Joe Troiano. Here are some great activities to help stretch your story all week (and beyond!)
Resources in this post
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Read Aloud and Story Map
After reading the story in whole group, small groups, or even 1:1, strengthen students’ skills through building a story map. Students use the most appropriate method – writing, matching, visuals, eye gaze, etc. – to build a map of the important parts of the story. Use text alone or text paired with visuals for students to identify the important details of the story:
- Title
- Setting
- Characters
- What Happened
The story map included in this book companion assists students in mapping out the key elements with multiple levels already created. These are key story elements and foundations to understanding many types of writing. I love that students can respond in a variety of ways.
TIP: If you don’t happen to have the book, you can borrow it from your library (school or public local), or watch a read aloud online. Hey, why not both? If you can engage a student in a story using their preferred method, do it!
Sequencing
Another important language arts skill is being able to sequence or retell the story in the order that things happened. Sequencing is key to reading comprehension; it shows that the students are understanding what happened in the story. In the Spookley Book Companion, there are several levels of sequencing. Students can practice by filling in or writing the text or use visuals to complete the sequence of events.
The ability to put things in order is also beneficial in other subject areas, like creating timelines of historical events, or understanding calendars and schedules. Think about all the ways that we sequence doing the routines in our lives. Students learning life skills need to sequence to be able to brush their teeth, use the restroom independently, morning and evening routines, doing their chores, and even completing recipes while cooking or baking.
If they need extra support, offer them examples, sentence starters, and visuals of different sizes. (This goes for ALL areas of sequencing, too!)
Vocabulary
Reading a variety of stories is a great way to expose students to new vocabulary, expanding their knowledge in general with words they possibly have not heard before. Pairing these new words with a visual is also helpful to increase comprehension when words are confusing or difficult.
Words found in the story provide a context for meaning. Have your students practice vocabulary by matching words to a picture to explain what they mean, or by finding the definition or even writing their own meaning of the word.
You can also use different vocabulary cards paired together to complete a task. For example, have a student use the cards with visuals paired with the cards with words. They can use visuals to identify the word they’re looking for. Vocabulary clip cards get those fine motor skills working while engaging in vocabulary practice. Win win!
Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension is the main point, the very core of reading instruction. Do the students understand what they read or what is read to them? We want our students to be able to understand print, visuals, and/or verbal direction. Making sure they have the right tools to help them succeed in comprehension is important. I like using book companions because it is a way to take various levels of support to find out what level a student is working at and how to challenge them to grow from there.
There are four different comprehension sheets available in the book bundle. Two visual, three visual, lined written response, and blank space written response.
PLUS students take comprehension skills and generalize them to all areas; all other subjects, personal care, safety, community engagement, and more.
Crafts and Fine Motor
I always love to add crafts that go along with a story we read. It helps practice and strengthen fine motor skills, and allows students to get creative and make something fun!
Create the cute craft that is included with the Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin book companion! It even has a sentence starter strip to add to your finished craft, tying it all together.
You can also complete crafts that tie into other subject areas. Because Spookley is a square pumpkin, you can use this story to explore shapes and colors in math. Use the story to explore pumpkins and pumpkin parts and create a craft that uses all the components of a pumpkin. Include the pumpkin life cycle in an entire unit, including science!
Sensory Bins and Activities
Create a pumpkin themed sensory bin, or a sensory bag with pumpkin guts!
“Spookley the Square Pumpkin” can be read with almost any grade level, and can be made appropriate for many different learners. For my students with multiple disabilities, who may have limited mobility and limited fine motor skills, giving them a sensory experience can be a meaningful way to engage them with a text. This year, we’ve been using switches to activate music, bubbles, and pre-recorded answer choices.
Pumpkin Cooking
Often, I like to theme our entire week around a book we are reading. You can always take the subject and connect life skills like reading recipes and creating something yummy to eat! You can also take an easy visual recipe and modify it to match your theme. One year, we made cheese quesadillas and used cookie cutters to turn them into jack-o-lanterns.
Hint: there is a “Pumpkin Pie Dip” Visual Recipe included in this Pumpkins Center Activity Bundle!
Pumpkin Science
As I mentioned earlier, teaching about pumpkins and adding the pumpkin life cycle is a good way to connect all your subjects together and include what you’re reading into science. For some students, exploring the inside of a pumpkin, how it feels, how it smells, and the sensory aspects of the pumpkin can also be your science instruction.
Love science and need a hands on activity for Simple Science – Magic Rainbow, but put the magic inside a pumpkin (or a few!) This FREEBIE Simple Science Experiment has Visual directions, a visual tools and supplies list, a sequencing page for your students to complete after the experiment, and a survey/worksheets as well. To make it match our Spookley week – we put the experiment in jack-o-lantern cups! You could even put it into real pumpkins.
Social Emotional Connection
Finally, underneath it all – Spookley’s story shares a great message… that everyone is different, unique, and valuable the way they are. We should celebrate our differences and embrace our individuality. Isn’t that what it’s all about, anyway?
