10/30/2026
Full Gallery: https://photos.timberlane.net/AA/20261029-PumpkinBookProject
It's that time of year again for our annual fifth-grade pumpkin book project! The fifth graders at Atkinson Academy participated in an enriching experience filled with reading, note-taking, creating, and presenting their very own pumpkin project. All were eager to take on this fun challenge!
Throughout this trimester, our students have been learning about the various elements of fictional narratives, as well as the many genres of fiction. More specifically, our students learned about the unique elements of the fantasy genre. The students were tasked with finding a just-right fantasy chapter book. Many students were assisted by the amazing librarian from the Kimball Library, Kathy Watson, who kindly set aside fantasy books for our students to check out, if needed. Additionally, our own wonderful school librarian, Jessica Roberts, supported our students with finding books, as well as creating fantasy book activities for the students to work on during their library unified arts time. All students chose either a book from our school’s library, classroom libraries, Kimball Library, or from home to read.
While reading, students took notes on the following literary elements: character, setting, problem, solution, and theme. Furthermore, students decided on creative symbols to represent each of the literary elements of their fantasy books. Then students decorated a real or an artificial pumpkin in an artistic way using those symbols. Finally, students shared their pumpkins with some of the younger grades and presented them to their fifth-grade classmates.
Finally, the fifth-grade teachers would like to thank everyone at Atkinson Academy who supported our students during this learning process. And a very special thanks to our students’ families at home! We are extremely grateful for your continued support. It truly takes a village! The pumpkin projects were OUTSTANDING!! We are very proud of our students.
