Turn pumpkin decorating and Jack O' lantern carving into an educational tradition in your classroom. For middle and high school, have students choose one title from a list of books. Students each bring in a pumpkin decorated or carved to illustrate the book's major themes and literary elements. Display the pumpkins together in your classroom, or give them to other teachers as Halloween decorations. You can also use pumpkin decorating in art class to supplement a lesson on texture, space, shape or even color. Display the pumpkin sculptures in your school's gallery.
Have students research the history of Jack-o-lanterns. Discuss the Irish myth of "Stingy Jack" associated with the pumpkin, and talk about any archetypes, themes or the purpose of the myth. The myth is dark, so this project works best for middle or high school students. You can also have younger students make a jack-o-lantern from turnips or potatoes, as was originally done in Ireland and Scotland.
Teach some important life skills, help your students practice math and teach about healthy eating by making a pumpkin recipe in class. Bake a whole pumpkin, roast pumpkin seeds or incorporate pumpkin into another dish or snack. You can also make a healthy pumpkin pie together, using healthy ingredients like whole wheat flour and natural sugar and butter substitutes.
Have your students complete writing exercises centered on Halloween pumpkins. Have them contemplate on their favorite Halloween pumpkin memory in a journal, or have each student write and create her own Halloween pumpkin book. Teach about sensory writing by having students describe a pumpkin -- its particular smell, touch, appearance and any emotions they feel or think of when Halloween pumpkins come to mind. Write a story as a class about a Halloween pumpkin. Hand out pieces of paper to each student asking for a "place" "event" "friend" or "physical description," for instance, to contribute to the story. Collect the ideas, and read them aloud, writing your story on the board as a class.