Pumpkin Themed Activities to Use in Speech Therapy
- Stacy Crouse
- Sep 22
- 4 min read
It's that time of year again...
Pumpkins are everywhere, including in speech therapy sessions. And with good reason! There's so much language around how and where pumpkins grow, picking pumpkins, what pumpkins look like, foods made out of pumpkins, and more.
Another great thing about using a pumpkin theme in speech therapy is that it's a seasonal theme and not a holiday theme. If you have students who don't celebrate Halloween, it still works. Plus, you can keep the pumpkin theme going strong in November, if you wish!
Don't worry– no carving (or even real pumpkin) needed 😅 If your tried and true pumpkin activities don't translate well to teletherapy (or you just want some new ideas), check out these fun ways to use pumpkin-themed activities in any virtual (or in-person) setting!
Pumpkin-Themed Virtual Field Trip
A virtual field trip to the pumpkin patch is the perfect way to kick off a pumpkin theme! Many kids are familiar with visiting pumpkin patches, but if not, you get to take them! This PDF uses big, colorful photographs to introduce the theme and target communication skills.
Students can learn about the life cycle of a pumpkin and what they can be used for, identify pumpkin vocabulary, use spatial concepts and other descriptive language, and so much more!
Pumpkin-Themed PDF Activities
Another way to hit tons of goals with one resource is this pumpkin-themed interactive PDF, which targets everything from sentence comprehension and listening for key details to sequencing and articulation... and more!
This set of resources includes fillable text boxes and clickable buttons and checkboxes. Again, no jack-o-lanterns... just pumpkin patches, the pumpkin life cycle, and tons of different types of pumpkins!
This pumpkin scene includes 6 different sets of directions to work on receptive and expressive language. In addition to fall vocabulary, students will practice following different types of directions (1-step, 2-step, and embedded concepts). The PDF can be printed and used for in-person sessions, sent home for extra practice, or used digitally using annotation tools.
Pumpkin Game for Google Slides™
Okay, this activity puts the perfect pumpkin spin on Guess Who... and it's totally free! It's a game for Google Slides™ that you can only find linked within my Fall Teletherapy Activities Lesson Planning Spreadsheet (which is also FREE)!
Once you copy this spreadsheet to your Google Drive, check under the 'Pumpkin' category for this exclusive freebie.
Books about Pumpkins
Search the following book titles/authors wherever you access digital versions of books (your local library, YouTube, websites, online stores, etc.).
Note: While some of these books contain Halloween references, it is not a primary focus of the book.
Fall Pumpkins: Orange and Plump by Martha E. H. Rustad
How Did That Get to My Table? Pumpkin Pie by Emily J. Dolbear
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll
Splat the Cat and the Pumpkin Picking Project by Rob Scotton
From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara
Videos about Pumpkins
World Record Pumpkin Grown in RI on YouTube is a 2-minute news story from 2015 showing a record-breaking pumpkin
The Pumpkin Life Cycle Song on YouTube is a catchy song played while showing photos of growing pumpkins.
All About Pumpkins! is a short video on YouTube with photos and a song about the pumpkin life cycle. Perfect for preschoolers!
Pumpkins, Gourds, and More! on YouTube is about a kindergarten trip to a pumpkin patch and a comparison of pumpkins and gourds.
8 Cool Facts About Pumpkins on YouTube is full of interesting and random facts about pumpkins as told by a child.
This video describes (and shows!) a pumpkin's life cycle, as well as various way that pumpkins are used once harvested.
Other Fun Pumpkin Activities for Speech Therapy
Curious George's Pumpkin Boo! game on PBS Kids
Pumpkin Patch online coloring activity is an easy add-on for your pumpkin theme.
Personality Pumpkins online game (students match emotions with pumpkin faces)
Pumpkin-Themed Reading Passages
A Day at the Pumpkin Farm on ReadWorks (Kindergarten-1st grade level)
Pumpkin Time! on ReadWorks (1st-2nd grade level)
Pumpkins are Popping Up Everywhere! on ReadWorks (2nd grade level)
Trading Pumpkins on ReadWorks (7th-8th grade level)
For elementary students, my fall-themed passages Boom Cards include a fictional short story related to pumpkins that is perfect for targeting reading comprehension and making text inferences. It even works for students at different levels, since you can choose from multiple-choice pictures or fill-in-the-blank answers.
Activities for Older Students
Just because you're working with older children doesn't mean the pumpkin theme is off the table! Use these fall seasonal activities to work on speech sounds and language targets.
Great Pumpkins! Grower Wins Trifecta of Giant Food Titles on the AP News website
Monster Pumpkin Heavier Than a Small Car Breaks World Record on the Guinness World Records site
The Science Behind Decorative Gourd Season on Newsela
Target a variety of goals with a pumpkin-themed fill-in-the-blank story from my Fall Speech Libs Activity. You can't go wrong adding this fun activity to your lesson plans, especially when you combine it with these sound-loaded word lists (organized by part of speech) for articulation students!
Go ahead and let pumpkin everything overtake your virtual (or physical) speech therapy room this fall! And yes, that includes getting yourself a pumpkin spice latte before work. 😉
The obsession over pumpkins in the fall presents a great opportunity to target speech and language goals alike. With activities to target any goal your students have, these activities can help you build your own pumpkin-theme lessons for a week or two (or more)!
Don't forget to download my FREE Google spreadsheet and learn more about using themes in therapy here!
Originally posted on 10/18/2020. Updated 9/22/25.
📌 Got a speech therapy board on Pinterest? SAVE the love ❤️
Comments