I know a lot of teachers… a few love Halloween but many others would prefer to skip right over this holiday. I get it. I remember the anticipation, the buzz, and the sugar highs that come along with the costumes and candy.
It might be tempting to blissfully ignore the season as Halloween day approaches. On the other hand, we could embrace this holiday and use it to motivate our students to read and write!
Pull those Halloween books from the shelves and capitalize on them as mentor texts for your writing lessons. Focus on the craft of the writer. Often, these books are fantastic examples of effective word choice, onomatopoeia, dialogue, setting, sensory language, and description…
A few favourites: Creepy Crayon! by Aaron Reynolds, The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason, A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton, Snowmen at Halloween by Caralyn M. Buehner, The Skull by Jon Klassen, and especially for the older students She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lynn Fulton.
For added engagement, consider a related art lesson!
Go big or gourd home…
Love Halloween!! Great ideas Karen!