Are you a Virginia teacher looking to keep your students engaged and learning in the days leading up to Halloween? I’ve got just the lesson for you! These Halloween Virginia Studies activities combine social studies, math, and ELA skills all into one fun day of learning.
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About The Spookiest Pumpkin Patch in Virginia
In recent years, a series of holiday-themed picture books related to Virginia has been published. I love working these books into my Virginia Studies lessons. They provide a fun way to step outside normal routines around the holidays and offer opportunities for project-based learning.
This year, I discovered a new book that will kick off your Halloween Virginia Studies activities… The Spookiest Pumpkin Patch in Virginia by Louise Martin.
In this not-so-scary story, a group of kids receives an invitation to the “spookiest pumpkin patch” in Virginia. Each kid works to prepare for the party in their city. For example, children in Richmond visit stores to find festive hats and costumes while children in Roanoke decorate a banner for the party.
Throughout the story, 12 Virginia cities are featured. The story also references Virginia’s geographical features, such as the Chesapeake Bay, and nicknames, including the “Old Dominion” state.
Check out the video below for a quick preview of the book.
Virginia Studies Activities
The Spookiest Pumpkin Patch in Virginia provides lots of fun ways to review Virginia geography.
As you read the picture book, make a list of all the cities and geographical features mentioned or shown in the illustrations.
After reading, have students create maps of Virginia by labeling each city and geographical feature you listed. Students can create physical or digital maps. One of my favorites tools for this activity is Google My Maps, which allows students to easily plot each point and record notes about each location.
After plotting each location, discuss how each of Virginia’s five regions is represented in the book. Is one region represented more than others? You can also have students create a bar graph to compare how each region is represented.
Math and ELA Activities
One thing I like about The Spookiest Pumpkin Patch in Virginia compared to other books on my Fall Virginia Studies Reading List is that this picture book provides lots of opportunities to integrate math and ELA skills.
At the start of the book, the children receive an invitation to a Halloween party. Have each student plan their own Halloween party in Virginia.
- First, they should select a Virginia city where their party will be held. They should write at least one paragraph explaining why they selected that Virginia location for their party.
- Next, they should create an invite to their party. I like to incorporate poetry into this part of the activity, and have students write their invite as a poem.
- Last, give students a budget and have them plan their party. With their budget, they should plan for decorations and food. You can give students sales flyers from local stores, or they can pretend to shop online to plan their party.
More Halloween Virginia Studies Activities
The Spookiest Pumpkin Patch in Virginia is not the only Halloween-themed picture book about Virginia. I’ve listed more of my favorite books and activities to use as part of your October Virginia Studies lessons in the blog posts below.
I’ve also compiled all of my favorite Virginia picture books and accompanying lessons for October into one MEGA blog post.
You can also use the following blog posts to find more fun picture books about Virginia and activities to use throughout the year.
- Virginia Studies Picture Books and Lessons for Spring
- Virginia Studies Picture Books and Lessons for December
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