Unit Plan

Learning Commons/Reading
Title: Pumpkins to Jack-O-Lanterns Subject/Course: Enrichment

Topic: Pumpkins Grade: 2nd Designers: Mr. Mac

Stage 1 – Desired Results

Established Goals:
ELAGSE2RL1: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate
understanding of key details in a text
ELAGSE2RL7: Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to
demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
ELACC2W2: Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions
to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
ELAGSE2W6: With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of tools to produce and publish
writing, including digital tools and collaboration with peers.
ELAGSE2SL2: Recount or describe key ideas or details from written texts read aloud or information
presented orally or through other media.
AASL 1.1.3 Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding.
AASL 1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions.
AASL 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and
understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess.

Understandings: Essential Questions:

Students will understand that…
Where do pumpkins grow?
Information can be recorded using a variety of
methods instead of writing information down in What does it take for a pumpkin to grow?
paragraph form.

Students will know…. Students will be able to….

 How to gather information to fill in a KWL  Fill in a KWL chart.

chart.  Create an information wall using a Web 2.0
 To take information and create an information tool.
wall using a Web 2.0 tool.

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 Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Goal: To create KWL chart and information wall about pumpkins.
Role: The role of the performance task is to gather information from a story read aloud to create an
information wall to be shared with the school.
Audience: Other students in grades K-2
Situation: Students will create an information wall to share the information learned from the story with the
younger students.
Performance: The final product will be for the students to fill up an information wall using Padlet to be shared
within the school.
Standards: ELAGSE2RL1, ELAGSE2RL7, ELAGSE2W2, ELAGSE2W6, ELAGSE2SL2, AASL 1.1.3, AASL 1.1.4, AASL
3.1.4

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 Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Day 1:

The media specialist will begin the lesson by holding up a pumpkin. He will ask the students what it is and
what color it is. Then he will explain that they will be coming to the media center the next few days to
learn about pumpkins.

Then media specialist will introduce and pass out the KWL pumpkin chart. The media specialist will explain
that K stands for what you already know, W stands you what to know, and L stands for what you learned.
The media specialist will instruct the students to fill out the K column of the chart about what they already
know about pumpkins. Once the students have filled out the K column, the media specialist will then
instruct the students to fill out the W column or what they want to learn about pumpkins. The media
specialist will then read From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer. While reading the media specialist will
ask open ended questions and direct questions about different facts about pumpkins.

Day 2:

The media specialist will call on students to share something that they already know about pumpkins,
some new things they learned yesterday and what other things they want to learn about pumpkins. The
media specialist will then read the story Pumpkin Circle by Robin Koontz. Through the story the media
specialist will ask open ended question and direct questions about different facts about pumpkins. The
media specialist will end the lesson with calling on a few students to find out what their favorite part of
the story was.

Day 3:

The media specialist will review the story with the students. Then the media specialist will instruct the
students to fill out the L portion of the KWL chart. Once the students have filled out their KWL charts
completely the media specialist will roll out the iPad cart. The media specialist will explain that each
student will have a chance to post a sentence on an information wall about something they learned about
pumpkins. He will have the website displayed on the TV screen/Activboard. The media specialist will
explain each step on how to get to the website and how to post their sentence on the information wall. He
will explain that the website will be shared among the other teachers in the school so they can share the
information with their students. The media specialist will have the website URL up on the TV
screen/Activboard for the students to type in the iPads https://padlet.com/dm05959/ybik94jtccv8. Then the
media specialist will hand out iPads.

Day 4:

The media specialist will instruct the teachers to take their students to the computer lab for the final
lesson on pumpkins. The media specialist will surprise the students by explaining that they will have a
chance to carve a pumpkin using the computer. The students will sit down at the computers and type this
website into the URL box www.abcya.com/pumpkin_carving.htm. The students will carve different
pumpkins to see how many different faces they can create.

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 Resources
Padlet- a web-based tool to post comments on a wall.

www.abcya.com Carve it! – This website allows students to carve and color different size and shape
pumpkins.

The pumpkin KWL chart is on the next page.

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 Pumpkins to Jack-O-Lanterns!

K What I W What I L What I

Know want to know Learned

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