The artist uses tools to sculpt.
A lot of people carve pumpkin faces. An artist carved these. He makes the faces look real.
They take hours to carve. But they do not last. They rot in a few days.
Courtesy Of Ray Villafane/Villafane Studios (Pumpkin Flesh, Vine Arms); Dpa Picture Alliance/Alamy Stock Photo (Artist)
Making Funny Faces
Take a close look at some amazing jack-o’-lanterns!
From the October/November 2022 Issue
Lexiles: 350L
Guided Reading Levels: G
DRA Level: 16-18
Featured Skill:
Key Details,
Topic:
Social Studies,
Common Core Standards
TEKS Standards
About the Article
English Language Arts Focus
Key details, Labels
Social Studies Focus
Arts and culture
Vocabulary
artist, rot, sculpt
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
GET READY FOR TEXT-TO-TEXT CONNECTIONS!
- Our Picture This! feature provides an amazing photo, labels for children to read and understand, and knowledge- building facts. Read “Making Funny Faces” as a whole class. Have a discussion about getting information from pictures and the nonfiction feature: labels.
- After reading and discussing the article, you can return to it later for your writing block. Have children label a pumpkin using our skills page or their own drawings.
1. BEFORE READING
Show a Video (5-7 minutes)
- Watch “Investigate Pumpkins” with children to activate background knowledge about pumpkins.
Show a Video (5-7 minutes)
Preview Vocabulary (3-5 minutes)
- Play the online vocabulary slideshow. This article’s featured words are artist, rot, and sculpt.
Preview Visuals/Text Features (7-10 minutes)
- Take a close look at the photo of the squirrel. Ask children to share what they notice about it. Help them understand that we get information from pictures as well as text.
- Let children know that labels point to parts of the picture and tell us more about it. Have children find the labels and follow the arrows with their fingers. Read the labels together.
2. READ THE MINI ARTICLE (15-30 MINUTES)
- Gauge the readability of this text for your class. Students can whisper read, you can read aloud, or you can invite individual students to read portions of the text.
- Have a discussion about what children learned from both the picture and the words in the article.
3. AFTER READING: FOCUS ON SKILLS (10 MINUTES)
Writing Focus: Key Details/Labeling (15 minutes)
- Have children label and color their own pumpkins with the Label a Pumpkin skills page. Use the activity to introduce new pumpkin parts such as seeds and pulp.
ELA Focus: Key Details/Labeling (15 minutes)
- This version of the Label a Pumpkin page will allow you to give the same content at a lower skill level.
Text-to-Speech