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Meaningful Halloween activities
Hello!
I am currently student teaching. I have been head teaching for the entire day, under direct supervision, for the past couple of weeks. Next week, I begin head teaching without supervision. This also happens to coincide with Halloween.
I was wondering if some people had some ideas on where to find meaningful Halloween-themed activities to incorporate with our curriculum. I tend to be very student-centered in my instruction and while I do plan out our day, I feel it is important to have students guide their day. For example, if we are trying to do math, and we just can't stop talking about what our costumes are gonna be on Sunday, I might scrap our lesson on making change (because we can go back to that moment) and spend the rest of time having the kids work on making a graph of what costumes people are planning to wear.
Or something.
Anyway, right now, I'm planning a bunch of cutesy, crafty-type activities just in case inspiration doesn't come--and also because I am planning to use these Halloween-themed activities in literacy centers (so they need to be easy enough that kids can do them in partnerships/independently but also both engaging and challenging).
Your suggestions would be most appreciated!
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Compare/Contrast
This one is for older kids but maybe you can adapt it. It's an oldie that we used to teach so it hasn't been edited in a while. What we did was have kids compare and contrast Halloween to Dias de los muertos. Very cool similarities and differences!
http://www.educatoral.com/dia_vs_hallows.html
I, too, am a new second grade teacher. Our main focus is reading and math, so I slip things in where I can. A couple of weeks ago we made pasta skeletons.http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/halloween/pastaskeleton/
Last week we read "Stellaluna" and talked about bats. Children read a bat poem (there are countless bat poems online), realistically colored a bat picture, and predicted where bats go during the day. We "researched" the answer online. There is an adorable skeleton song at the link below. (The site is actually British but they've got some great stuff...even if they do spell things funny! :)) My kids LOVE it and I use it as a reward...meaning when they need a break I tell them how responsible they've been and it's time for a little fun. Then I say, "But what's the rule??" And they say, "If we want to have fun we have to know when to quit." And I say, "I'll be looking for the first students to be in their seats in the ready position when the song is over." (I'm a new teacher but a very old mother!)
spooky fun!
They could write poetry about Halloween---teach them a simple poem with structure (like a haiku) and then have them write one about Halloween
You could have them use candy corn glued to paper to create picture graphs about a poll they complete (for math).
They could write sentences about halloween and use different symbols (underline, circle, box ) around the different parts of speech (underline the noun, box the verbs, circle the adjectives).
They could learn about usign qoutation marks by creating a picture of some sort of Halloween character, and then below, they could write a sentences about what their characters say- The spooky ghost said, "I plan to scare lots of kids on Halloween." or The pumpkin asked, "Are you going to eat some candy?" Kids could work in pairs to create dialogue their characters woudl say to each other (or alone).
Just some ideas i wish i would've used! I taught 2nd grade for 4 years and not sure i ever used any of those, but now we both have some!
Source for thematic units...
Edhelper.com is a great source for thematic units. I use edhelper a lot to spark ideas and then tailor what I find to meet the needs of my students. One idea from edhelper for Pumpkins is that you could teach a unit that focuses on reading comprehension & reading fluency (pumpkin themed reading), writing, math (when carving pumpkins), art (drawing and carving),and science (from seed to plant).
Keri: I love the haiku poem idea. In addition to that, students could write a shape poem (pumkin, witches hat, etc.)
I really like the Dias de los
I really like the Dias de los Muertos idea. I could definately use it for my high school students. The student demographic is over 90% hispanic. Perfect! Thanks.
Meaningful Halloween Activities
What a great discussion thread happening here! I also love the cultural diversity piece of learning about Dia De Los Muertos as alternative to the typical Halloween. Highly suggest these awesome resources http://www.findingdulcinea.com/home.html
Cheers!
Thank you so much for your
Thank you so much for your time and suggestions! Now I'm wishing the week was longer, so we can incorporate all of them...luckily, I'm sure next week will still be full of Halloween talk, so I'm sure we can keep the momentum (and learning) alive. The edHelper site has been particularly interesting and helpful
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This will also be invaluable as I navigate projects connected with Thanksgiving.
LOVE it, thank you!!! I think
LOVE it, thank you!!! I think I will adapt this for science for our Painted Lady Butterfly unit.
Night Creatures
Sorry this is coming in late...October is the time for fall leaves, apple cider, shorter days and cool, crisp nights. It is also a time when many children's thoughts turn to Halloween, trick or treating and "things that go bump in the night", which makes October a great time to introduce nocturnal animals. Follow the link to download the Night Creatures page (From Edco Publishing) for students to read and discover answers to questions like:
What is a marsupial? - What are the only flying mammals and why are they important? - Which nocturnal animals are excellent swimmers? - How do owls eat without teeth? - What is a predator? - and many more.
http://www.edcopublishing.com/NightCreatures.pdf
We are using it as place mats for students and creating a game to seek and find things!
Sign up to get on Edco Publishing's mailing list, they have some great free resources (foldables). They are based out of Michigan, but some resources can be adapted for your area!
Trick or Treat? Treat your
Trick or Treat? Treat your students and your favorite teachers with some 1-5 minute physical activities that will help them refresh, refocus and recharge.....
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