The Great Pumpkin Drop

Get ready for an engaging STEAM unit with “The Great Pumpkin Drop.” Not only will your students practice their engineering design and math skills, they will also create an opinion letter based on their Great Pumpkin Drop results.

An amazing resource for teachers who want to encompass math and ELA skills with an engaging hands-on STEAM activity. Students will learn about the structure of a pumpkin and then use that information to work in teams to build the ultimate Great Pumpkin Drop container. Along the way, they will measure pumpkin height and weight and create line plots to display their data. Additionally, they will be given a budget in order to purchase needed supplies for their design. After the Great Pumpkin Drop, students will analyze their results in order to write a letter explaining improvements they could make to their design for a more successful result in the next Great Pumpkin Drop.

The project packet includes:

Project Tips

Standards

Supplies List

Challenge Introduction

Rubric

Suggested Timeline

Videos

Video Questions

Measurement Worksheets

Group Member Roles

Pumpkin Drop Shop

Budget Worksheet

Design Planning Worksheets

Pumpkin Money

Improvement Letter Instructions and Templates