Pumpkin Globes!!!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

It's that season already! Our fifth grade students will transform a pumpkin into a globe as a part of a social studies project, in order to practice mapping skills. We will begin this work on Monday, October 22nd. This is a project that usually takes more than a week to complete. Please help your child select and purchase a healthy pumpkin that has the potential of becoming a fantastic Earth globe. :) A pumpkin with a circumference of 35-40 inches seems to be the best size (your child should have a string to take shopping!). Pumpkins any larger are very heavy for students to transport around the classroom. Real pumpkins work best, as craft/synthetic pumpkins leave NO room for mistakes (and we will have plenty of those!). Making our own globe will be a very challenging and rewarding educational experience.

Please help your child prepare for this activity by completing the following steps at home:
1. Wash and dry the pumpkin.
2. Draw an 1/8 inch wide EQUATOR line with a red permanent marker. Attempt to get the line an equal distance between the base and top of the pumpkin.
3. Draw a 1/8 inch wide PRIME MERIDIAN, using one of the distinctive crease lines on the pumpkin.
4. Write their name near the bottom of the globe in small letters.
5. Find a good pen that will write on the pumpkin's surface to label the countries, rivers, etc.. We will also be using a Sharpie to label latitude, longitude, continents, etc.

Please bring pumpkins to our classroom before school on Monday, October 22nd.

Thanks for your support,
Miss Michel :)