9th Annual Fright Fair Project
“Booahgraphies”
This year, students will be exploring biographies and articles on well-known, HISTORICAL people.
They will take the information they gather and use it to create a pumpkin character and gravestone,
complete with an epitaph summarizing component, that is reflective of the person they chose to
research. Please follow the instructions below for a successful project. Remember! You must get prior
approval from your ELA teacher for the person you are going to use for this project.
Common Core Objectives:
 Provide an objective summary of text.
 Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources.
 Present claims and findings emphasizing significant points in a focused, coherent manner with
facts, details, and examples.
Due Date:
Pumpkin Character of a well-known, HISTORICAL person, name plate, and the accompanying epitaph
will be due on October 21, 2015! Please do not bring in pumpkins before this date!
There will be no extensions on this due date because of the amount of time students have to
complete this project! Pumpkins must be picked up before Thursday, October 30th or they will be
disposed of! Pumpkins must stay on display through out the night of the Fright Fair, however; you
may begin taking your pumpkins home after 5:30pm, October 27, 2015.
Parts of your Booahgraphy must include:
1. PUMPKIN CHARACTER: You must get prior approval from your ELA teacher for the person you
are going to create out of a pumpkin and research. You are to use a real or craft type pumpkin. You
can use any size or type of pumpkin you like; however, you must be able to carry your pumpkin into
school or on the bus. You must bring your pumpkin to life through decoration and it must be
representative of your famous, historical person from history. Please, DO NOT carve your pumpkin!
Students and parents too have been very creative over the last 7 years with this aspect of the
project. So, parents, go ahead and get involved with helping your child on this part! In the past,
students have used thumbtacks, nails, hot glue and staples to attach clothes and facial features to
their pumpkins. I do have to tell you that thumbtacks or craft needles sustain the best. If you paint
the pumpkin, do not use water based paints. Water based paints will not stay on the pumpkin.
2. NAME PLATE: Your historical pumpkin character must have a name plate that includes the
following information:
* Your Name
* ELA Teacher’s Name
* ELA Period (1st, 2nd, 4th, or 5th)
Please secure this to the back of your pumpkin and epitaph! This is very important. If you don’t label
your booahgraphy projects, we will not know who gets the grade.
You MUST NOT put the name plate on notebook paper! Students from the past have used index
cards or typed this information and put it in a small picture frame. This name plate must be placed
beside your pumpkin in the Media Center on the day your project it due.
3. EPITAPH WRITING/SUMMARIZING SKILL COMPONENT: You will create an original and
creative gravestone for your historical pumpkin character. You may get creative on the shape of the
gravestone or use a standard form.
(Side note: Students have purchased the Styrofoam grave
stones from the dollar tree and positioned this information on it. One year a student researched
Amelia Earhart. She made the gravestone look like a plane. Super neat!) The epitaph must also be
placed beside your pumpkin in the Media Center on the day your project is due. The epitaph must
include the following information (1-9) and BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS!
1. The name of the historical person you researched (First-Last)
“Nickname” (if any)
2. Date of Birth – Date of Death (1885-1925 or 1999 to _____)
3. Cause of death
4. Parents’ Names
5. Spouse’s Name
6. Children’s Names
7. Occupation
8. 6 Word Summary
9. Paragraph
Above the summary paragraph, create a 6 Word Summary (not 5, not 7) that describes your
character. At the bottom of the epitaph please have the following: In one paragraph (6-8 sentences)
summarize what you learned about your person. Include important events, achievements, and other
information you feel would be important for someone to know about your person. Check for grammar
and spelling!
EXAMPLE:
Christopher Columbus
“Cristóbal Colon”
October 31, 1451 – May 20, 1506
Cause of death is unknown; however, some say he died of gout and others say it was Reiter’s Syndrome.
Columbus’s dead body was moved all over the place until his remains reached their final resting place at a
cathedral in Seville.
Mother – Susanna Fontanarossa Father – Domenico Colombo
Spouse – Dona Felipa
Two children – Diego and Fernando
Occupation - Genoese explorer and navigator
Pioneer who was loved and hated
***************************************************************************************
Columbus' legacy is hot and cold depending on the researcher. He has been credited for opening up the
Americas to European colonization. Columbus has also been blamed for the destruction of the native peoples
of the islands he explored. On the one hand, he failed to find that what he set out for - a new route to Asia
and the riches it promised. However, in what is known as the Columbian Exchange, his expeditions set in
motion the wide-spread transfer of people, plants, animals, diseases, and cultures that greatly affected nearly
every society on the planet.
Booahgraphy Rubric
Pumpkin Character is original, decorative, and
reflective of a famous, historical figure. A name
plate is attached to the back of your pumpkin.
Epitaph has an original and creative shape. It
has all the required elements # 1-8 and is free
of spelling/grammatical errors. A name plate is
attached to the back of your epitaph.
Summary includes important events,
achievements or other pertinent
information relating to the historical figure
researched. It is free of spelling and
grammatical errors.
6 Word Summary completed
____/ 25 pts.
_____/ 25 pts
_____/ 40 pts.
_____/ 10 pts.
____________
Grade