My Perfect Pumpkin Writing

Do you have the perfect pumpkin in mind when you head to the pumpkin patch? Do you like them big and chunky or tall and straight? Mottled or traditional orange? Can you carry yours in your arms, or do you need a wagon to get it to the car?

I think most of us have a perfect pumpkin in our heads — we just never really put it into words. That is exactly what this writing activity asks students to do!

The Perfect Mentor Text

Before we dive into any writing activity, I always love to find a book to go along with it. When I came across Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins, I knew it was the perfect fit. Poor Stumpkin is the most handsome pumpkin around, but nobody wants him because he is missing his stem. It is such a sweet story and a great conversation starter before this activity. My students absolutely loved it!

Brainstorming

We started by talking about what makes a pumpkin perfect. Students shared what they like and do not like — size, shape, color, and yes, even the stem! Thanks to Stumpkin, we had a lot of feelings about stumps versus stems that day!

Planning

Next, students completed a planning page where they described their perfect pumpkin. I was amazed at how many strong opinions they had! The bottom circle on the planning sheet gave students space to add one extra criterion — things like the perfect number of seeds or just the right number of ribs. So creative!

Then it was time to write!

Writing

Once the planning was done, it was time to turn those ideas into sentences — or a full paragraph for students who were ready for that step. Students started by drawing their perfect pumpkin at the top of the page and then wrote their description on the lines below.