retell literacy center activity - Big Pumpkin

Some of the books we feature in our retell center go along with holidays. It makes for a triple whammy when I find a GREAT read aloud that hits my curriculum, centers and builds in a holiday like Halloween! This is how I created a 'Big Pumpkin' retell activity to go in our retell center as an option for my kindergarten students. It was a combination of printing and a free craft project! My kinders get to choose the book(s) they want to retell while they are at this literacy center. They read, they act, they use lots of great vocabulary and are developing fantastic reading habits all while continuing to build their love of reading.

I totally recommend the CD/audio version - see the video link below. It will make it easy to hear the pattern and I know it so well, I can recite it all in my sing songy voice while we are on a field trip bus ride and entertain my kinders for at least 8 minutes and they can chime in. We don't use it in the retell center, but its totally worth mentioning.

Big Pumpkin Retell (Literacy Center Activity)

It's one of my favorite literacy centers and we usually introduce Big Pumpkin just before Halloween. It's truly a delight to read and I use it mainly to discuss a "reader's voice" since they love how I read the vampire's voice. It is one of the first stories we read that has a problem/solution, pattern and is a growing story. They love that it can go on all three posters in our classroom. I also love that I can reference it during small group work as a way for students to remember to work together (and leave me to work with my group).

Here are the props I gathered for free (and you can too) to bring the book alive once we knew it by heart. I scanned and printed characters from the book and added strings. I also made a pumpkin from a scrap of fabric and toilet paper {yep} and the detached vine from paper.

Go back to read the Retell Literacy Center Directions {in case you missed it}

You can make this kindergarten activity yourself! Here are the materials you'll need...

Materials:

• Scanned Pictures
• String
• Construction Paper (green)
• Brown Paper lunch bag
• Toilet Paper (unrolled)
• Organe Fabric Scrap
• Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
• Big Pumpkin Audio/CD Version (Video)

Don't know this book? Since it's not as well known, maybe you know one of these similar growing-pattern books... They would work great too for this center if you have them!
The Enormous Turnip
The Enormous Potato
The Giant Carrot

More Retell Literacy Center Book Activities for Kindergarten

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Fresh Fall Leaves

Big Pumpkin

Cinderella

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

The Little Red Hen

The Very Quiet Cricket

Red Riding Hood

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Hansel and Gretel

The Gingerbread Man

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

The Fat Cat

Cookie's Week

The Doorbell Rang

The Three Little Pigs

Swimmy

See All

When do you like to read Big Pumpkin with your class? Have you ever heard of it?

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- Leslie

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