Many local and state fairs have competitions to see who can grow the largest pumpkin. The Giant Pumpkins website (giantpumpkins.com) chronicles one family's love of growing giant pumpkins. Use this website and other online resources to help students research record-breaking pumpkins and how to grow them. If you live near a pumpkin patch, take students on a field trip to see if they can spot giant pumpkins on display or growing in a field.
In "The Pumpkin Giant" students read about a field full of pumpkin giant heads, or a pumpkin patch. Share with students about pumpkin patches and a pumpkin's life cycle. Bring in pumpkin seeds and have students plant their own pumpkins in the classroom and watch them sprout. Invite a farmer to talk about how he grows pumpkins and all the uses for a pumpkin. Bring in actual pumpkins for students to observe. Cut one open so students can see the seeds inside.
What did the Pumpkin Giant look like? "The Pumpkin Giant had a very large yellow head, which was also smooth and shiny. His eyes were big and round, and glowed like coals of fire; and you would almost have thought that his head was lit up inside with candles." What did the giant's castle look like? "The Giant's castle sat on a mountain, and there was a courtyard before it, and a moat, which was full of bones!" Single out these descriptions and have students create pictures based on them to illustrate the story.
Share with children how to make a real pumpkin pie using a homemade pumpkin pie recipe of your choice as a way of modeling how the pumpkin slayer's wife made pumpkin pies out of the giant's head. Allow the children to help scoop out the inside of a pumpkin, steam the pumpkin and scoop out the cooked pumpkin to place in a food mill or purée with a food processor. The children can also help with mixing the remaining ingredients and pouring them into a pie crust to bake. Once the pie is completed, let the students taste it. Consider bringing in a frozen pumpkin pie or a pie made from canned pumpkin and ask the students to vote on which one they like best.