Stumpkin Read Aloud Activities to Teach Reading Strategies (+ a Free Pumpkin Printable)
I can’t believe we’re rolling into the last week of October! If you’re like me, that means you’re thinking all things PUMPKIN. You might also be knee-deep in teaching those valuable reading strategies through read alouds.
So why not do both? Today I’m sharing one of my all-time favorite pumpkin read aloud books, Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins. I’m also sharing how I use it to practice reading strategies, plus a free “carve your Stumpkin” activity you can grab and use this week.
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What Is Stumpkin About?
Stumpkin is a bright orange, perfectly round pumpkin waiting on a city shop’s shelf. There’s just one problem: he doesn’t have a stem. One by one, the other pumpkins get picked, carved, and set glowing in the apartment windows across the street. Even the warty gourd goes home! Stumpkin waits, and worries, as Halloween night gets closer.
The ending is sweet and hopeful (no spoilers here!), and it gives students a great message about patience and being exactly who you are.
Grab your copy of Stumpkin on Amazon here!
Why Stumpkin Is the Perfect Read Aloud for Teaching Reading Strategies
Stumpkin is short, but it packs a lot of teaching power. The pictures do much of the storytelling, so students have to slow down and really think. Here’s why it works so well:
- Making predictions: Every time a pumpkin leaves the shelf, students can’t help wondering, “Will Stumpkin be next?”
- Inferring feelings: Stumpkin’s face says so much with just his eyes. Students can use picture clues to infer how he feels on each page.
- Noticing the illustrations: The people are drawn as faceless silhouettes, while the pumpkins are full of expression. It’s a great chance to talk about how illustrators tell a story.
- Making connections: Every child knows what it feels like to wait, or to feel a little different. Text-to-self connections come naturally.
- Evaluating characters: This is a such a fun book to evaluate the main character!
How to Use Stumpkin as an Interactive Read Aloud
Here’s a simple before, during, and after plan you can use in one 20-minute block.
Before reading
- Show the cover and ask, “What do you notice about this pumpkin?” Some students will spot the missing stem right away.
- Read the title and ask students to predict why the pumpkin might be called Stumpkin.
- Ask a quick connection question: “Have you ever had to wait a long time for something you really wanted?”
During reading
- Pause each time a pumpkin is chosen and ask, “How do you think Stumpkin feels right now? What clues tell you that?”
- Stop before the dark pages near the end and have students turn and talk to make a prediction.
- Point out the windows across the street. Ask students what they notice changing as the story goes on.
After reading
- Revisit predictions. Were they right? What clues helped?
- Talk about evaluating characters: “What do you know about Stumpkin based on what happened in the story?”
- Head straight into my free Stumpkin activity!
Free Stumpkin Activity
My favorite part of this activity (besides getting students to practice reading strategies in a fun way) is seeing how students “carve” their Stumpkin! Every single one turns out different, which fits the book’s message perfectly.
Download the FREE Stumpkin Read Aloud Activity here!
Keep the Pumpkin Fun Going: 3D Fall Writing Pumpkin
If your students love the Stumpkin activity, then they’ll go crazy for the 3D Fall Writing Pumpkin! It’s the perfect next step after your pumpkin read-alouds, and it turns writing into a hands-on fall craft.
There are multiple templates included, so you could turn this into a Fact & Opinion writing craft, a PUMPKIN acrostic poem, students’ own versions of “Stumpkin,” and more!
