STANDARDS

CCSS: 6.SP.B.4, 6.SP.B.5, 7.SP.B.3, 8.SP.A.1, MP1, MP5, MP6

TEKS: 6.12A, 6.12B, 6.12C, 6.12D, 6.13A, 7.6G, 7.12A, 8.5C, 8.11A

Creepy Carvings

During the weeks leading up to Halloween, porches will be taken over by grinning carved pumpkins. But jack-o’-lanterns weren’t always made out of pumpkins. As a celebration of fall harvest, people in the British Isles used to hollow out turnips, beets, or potatoes and light them with coal or candles. The name for these glowing veggies likely came from the Irish fable of Stingy Jack. He was a lost soul forced to wander with lantern in hand because he cheated the devil out of money.

These days, people take their spooky pumpkin art to a whole new level. In 2011, a team of carvers led by Ray Villafane from Arizona set the Guinness World Record for largest pumpkin sculpture: a zombie apocalypse scene made of two pumpkins that together weighed over 3,500 pounds! Sue Beatrice, co-owner of Pumpkin Sculpt USA, was part of that record-breaking team. The key for carving success, she says, is to let your imagination run wild. “Since it will rot in a few days no matter what you do, you don’t have to worry about mistakes,” she says.

Interested in swapping your traditional lantern for a super-sized carving? Step one is finding a hefty gourd. “My favorite ones are those that are just too heavy to pick up!” says Beatrice. Before you start carving your Halloween masterpiece, get inspired by
these pumpkin facts and trends.

Ray Villafane/BMUSA/Getty Images (carved pumpkin); Barbaliss/Shutterstock.com (circle); Schab/Shutterstock.com (torn paper); Thomas Kienzle/AFP/Getty Images (pumpkin); Noun Project (icons); Istock/Getty (sign)

Answer the following questions using the information in the charts and graphs above. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.

Illinois produces about how many pounds of pumpkins?

A) 340 million

B) 410 million

C) 510 million

D) 550 million

About how much heavier was the record-breaking pumpkin from 2016 than the one from 1980?

A) 750 lb

B) 1,800 lb

C) 2,100 lb

D) 2,600 lb

How many typical pumpkin carvings could a professional sculptor make in 48 hours?

A) 6

B) 7

C) 8

D) 9

What was the value of pumpkin-flavored coffee sold in 2015?

A) $12.9 million

B) $25.7 million

C) $32.7 million

D) $47.9 million

About how many more pounds of pumpkins are grown in California than in Ohio?

A) 75.5 million

B) 88.5 million

C) 91.5 million

D) 250 million

In 2015, about how many times more money was spent on pumpkin-pie filling than pumpkin-flavored ice cream?

A) 10

B) 14

C) 16

D) 19

How much more was spent on pumpkin-flavored baking mixes than yogurt in 2015?

If next year 1.13 billion pounds of pumpkin were produced in the same proportion, how much would be grown in Pennsylvania?

If all pumpkins from Michigan are the carving weight pros look for, how many are grown?

In 1900, a 400-pound pumpkin set the first world record. How many years did it take to quintuple that record?

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