Are you on the hunt for some fun (and free) Halloween activities? If so, then you're in the right place!
I'm sharing 3 of my favorite Halloween-themed lessons that will have students writing, reading, and analyzing poetry! That's right! Who says that a holiday-themed lesson can't be rigorous AND engaging? Not me! I love lessons that pack an academic punch and these freebies do just that!
Capitalize on students' natural love for Halloween with this fun creative writing activity! The writing activity begins when students roll story element dice (setting, character, obstacle, and a story starter) to create a random set of story components. Once students have their story elements, they'll plan and write a spooky story by combining all of the spooky parts that they rolled.
Of course, this lesson taps into students' natural love of scary stories while helping them develop critical writing skills. You'll find a detailed planning page in the resource to help students outline their stories before they write their own. The cubes and guide not only make the activity more fun, they also set students up for success! You can find this lesson here...and I'll provide all the links at the bottom of the post.
Speaking of celebrating special days, if you're in the mood for even more ideas, be sure to check out this mega-freebie filled with 40 pages of ideas for celebrating special days in the classroom.
I'm always trying to give students opportunities to read and analyze poems. So, it's no wonder that I put together this FREE poem analysis lesson!
In this FREE Halloween lesson students will analyze the Halloween-themed poem “Mr. Macklin’s Jack O’Lantern” by David McCord. Then, they’ll record their understanding and analysis of the poem in an interactive flip book.
The lesson encourages multiple readings of the poem which leads to a deeper understanding and comprehension of the text. While analyzing the poem, students will identify the sequence of events, its mood, and elements of figurative language. Students will support their analysis with evidence from the poem.
McCord’s poem is a perfect celebration of Halloween and the flip books make analyzing poetry fun!
I may have saved the best idea for last! This lesson is such a fun and educational way to celebrate Halloween. That's because this lesson gives students a trick AND treat!
In this resource you’ll find a “Halloween Fun” activity. This one is the ‘TRICK’. In this activity students need to read the instructions very carefully. However, most students do not read the entire set of directions before beginning (that’s the trick). That means that students will follow the directions to create a Halloween drawing and complete a figurative language activity before they realize that they only needed to do the first 2 steps of the 16 step activity.
Wondering where the ‘TREAT’ comes in? Well, this resource is also filled with a nonfiction passage and questions about the history of Halloween. When all the questions are answered students will reveal a “No Homework” message. Of course, this is their treat.
FYI: Since, the Halloween Fun activity requires students to write figurative language, you may want to teach this Figurative Language 5-Day Unit FIRST.
This free resource is a super fun way to get into the spirit of Halloween! Plus, students will practice figurative language and reading comprehension skills!
If you're looking for even more teaching ideas for October, here's another FREEBIE for you...
And of course, if you love free lesson plans and ideas for the classroom, be sure to sign up for this 40-page Seasonal Sampler!
Here's a quick round-up of the links:
Wishing you a very happy Halloween,
Mary Beth
P.S. Veterans Day is right around the corner. Here's an engaging and meaningful lesson. First, students collect facts about Veterans Day for their Doodle Infographic. Then, they write a solider poem. LEARN MORE HERE.
