You may think your holiday pumpkins weigh a ton, but in a giant pumpkin contest, they actually do! Middle schoolers read about the winners of the 2014 giant pumpkin contests before solving three word problems involving multiplication and division.

Concepts

word problems, fraction word problems, multiplication word problems, division word problems, pumpkins, Holidays, autumn

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Additional Tags

math

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Instructional Ideas

• Project the first part of the assignment about the giant pumpkin contest on the board, and distribute the word problems as a warm-up assignment
• Encourage groups to choose one problem to solve and model for the rest of the class
• Provide additional facts about pumpkins for learners to craft their own word problems for peers to solve

Classroom Considerations

• Color pictures may not come out well in black and white
• Resource describes the prize money for the second pumpkin at $7 per pound, but it doesn't prompt learners to find the total; add the problem to the rest

Pros

• Incorporates the fall season with important math skills
• Comes with a recipe for sour cream pumpkin pie

Cons

• None

Common Core

7.RP.A.1 7.RP.A.3 MP1 MP7