Hi fellow teachers! Happy – almost – Halloween! “What Do You See, Jack O’Lantern?” is a short Halloween themed poem that can be used as a time filler, a post-recess moment of calm and focus or a fun twist on a poem read aloud. Some curriculum tie-ins could include point of view (POV), perspective, personification, inference, and creative writing (language arts), imagining and drawing pictures of Halloween (visual arts) as well as measuring and shapes (math).

See the teaching ideas below and grab the PPT version or print-ready PDF with some fun activity ideas for Grades K-2 as well as for ESL and ELL students. 

You have full permission to use the poem for teaching purposes within any educational setting, including online learning and homeschool.

Let me know if you use the poem – I’d love to hear how it goes.

Watch a video of the “What Do You See, Jack O’Lantern?” poem below. This “Poetry Pause with Dr. Kim” version includes a short interactive mindfulness introduction before the poem:

What Do You See, Jack-O’-Lantern?

I see little striped shins
and boots made of straw

I see scary shark fins
and socks with a jaw

I see tapping twice twins
and sweets on the floor

I see everyone wins
who knocks at my door! 

Original poem by Kim T. Harrison. Video created in Canva.

Download a PDF, black & white, printable version of the poem:

Download a PPT slide version of the poem:

Teaching Ideas

• As a bell ringer or post-recess moment of focus. Let the video play while you tidy or prep.
• As the introduction to a Halloween creative writing or visual arts activity: For example, brainstorm with students other items connected to Halloween (spiders, ghosts, cobwebs, witches, etc.) and then ask them to write a poem or draw a picture about Halloween night from the perspective of that item. Scaffold the activity by brainstorming things the Halloween item (now the speaker of the poem) might see. Depending on the grade, you could also brainstorm some rhymes and ask students to create a rhyming couplet starting with “I see + item”
• To complement language arts assignments and activities, including those focused on point of view (POV), perspective, and personification: Ask students, Who is the “I” in this poem? / Who is the speaker? Can pumpkins really speak? (personification) What other Halloween objects could we personify?
• Reading out loud or performance practice – use the poem as pairs or full class reading out loud or performing activity
• To complement math activities – ask students to guess then measure how far away the Jack O’Lantern is from the trick or treaters knocking at the door. Thinking about what Jack O’Lantern can see from his perspective, what shapes make up some of the items he sees? What other shapes might he see on Halloween?

Happy Teaching! Kim x

Hi fellow teachers! Do you need a short Halloween themed poem for your Grade 1, 2, or 3 classrooms? “The Last Pumpkin” – video and free downloads below – can be used as a bell ringer, time filler, or to complement your October lesson goals, including SEL.

See the teaching ideas below for inspiration and grab the version that best suits your classroom needs. You have full permission to use the poem for teaching purposes within any educational setting, including online learning and homeschool.

Let me know if you use the poem – I’d love to hear how it goes.

Watch a video of the “The Last Pumpkin” poem below. This “Poetry Time with Dr. Kim” version includes a visual narrative:

Halloween is almost here
The moon is bright, the sky is clear

Doorstep pumpkins are ready for fun
All of them, that is, except for one

The last pumpkin at the store
Dreams of a home, a nice front door

But all day long families walk on by
Look at the pumpkin, then frown and sigh

“No, no, not that one,” they say
“There’s a big hole, there by the hay.”

So the last pumpkin is all alone
As sad as a dog who lost its bone

But then, before all is lost
Out of the hay, on to the frost

Comes the voice of a tiny mouse
“That big hole’s perfect for my house!”

Now happy pumpkin, happy mouse
Have their own front door, their very own house

Original poem by Kim T. Harrison. Video created in Canva.

Download a PDF, black & white, printable version of the poem:

Download a PPT slide version of the poem:

Teaching Ideas

• As a bell ringer or time filler.
• As the introduction to an SEL activity – ask questions such as: Why do families walk on by? Why do you think the pumpkin is the last in the store? Would you choose this pumpkin if you saw it? You could pair this poem with a picture book such as Sour Apple by Linda Liu to discuss themes of feeling left out or forgotten.
• To complement Halloween activities. For example: ask students to imagine the final stanza of the poem – what would the front door look like? What would their house look like? If the pumpkin and mouse decorated their house for Halloween, what would it look like? Draw pictures of the last pumpkin and mouse at Halloween or make a collage of them.
• For art activities with a math tie-in, you could create a whole street decorated for Halloween using 2D and 3D shapes. This full-class project could use nets (squares and rectangles) to create 3D houses (cubes). You could also investigate how to create pumpkin-shaped spheres with students and experiment making doorstep pumpkins out of construction paper or light cardboard.

Happy Teaching! Kim x