The Runaway Pumpkin
By: Kevin Lewis
In Kevin Lewis’s The Runaway Pumpkin, a giant pumpkin breaks loose and goes rolling down a hill, picking up speed as a family tries to stop it. Its wild journey sets the stage for a playful story about problem-solving, teamwork, and finding creative ways to handle an unexpected challenge.
Students will read Kevin Lewis’s The Runaway Pumpkin and use the story as the starting point for an engineering design challenge. Through the lesson, students will explore microelectronics, learn how simple circuits work, and identify examples of microelectronics in their everyday environment. After identifying a problem from the story, students will use the engineering design process to develop a solution and create and test a simple circuit using conductive tape, an LED, and a battery.
Core Content: Language Arts, Science, and Engineering
Grade Levels: Grade level 1
Time Required: 5 days
ME Career Connection: Students will explore the importance of electricians, linemen, and engineers and how their work helps solve problems in everyday life.
Author: Kris Strasser and Jennifer Klinkhamer