Arguably one of the most popular holidays for kids (after that wintery one of course), due to its costumes and candy fare. Halloween can be a tricky thing to celebrate in the classroom. But there's lots more to this spooky day than just costumes and candy the kids love. Explore the intricacies of this holiday with your students with these craft and lesson ideas.
Pick a Theme
You could always stick with the classics: pumpkins, ghosts, spiders. But what if this year you got more creative. Tie your crafts around a central theme or subject. Depending on what you want to focus on, you could have a very informative and fun Halloween in your classroom.
Language Arts
Think Universal Monsters, like Dracula or Frankenstein. These iconic characters originated in English literature. Carry this as your theme with related crafts and activities. Do an age-appropriate analysis of the novels these monsters originate from. Compare how these monsters are depicted in film or television. Have your students create self-portraits as these monsters. Turn your classroom into an old-school drive-in theatre and watch clips of the classic Universal movies. Write short stories using these monsters as characters. The possibilities are endless.
Social Studies
In social studies, what comes to mind is history. Spend the day researching the origins of Halloween. It's customs, superstitions, and traditions throughout time and place. Turn your classroom into a time machine and visit the first Halloween. Learn about Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration. Make classic Halloween treats to share. Play a trivia game with different Halloween facts. Throw a classic Halloween party with bobbing for apples, all the while teaching about the origins of each activity.
Science
Bring STEAM into this holiday with fun Halloween-themed experiments. Carve out a pumpkin and make it erupt using the same principals as a baking soda volcano. Turn your classroom into a mad scientist's lab and dress the part. Conduct ghoulish experiments and grow your own animal specimen in bottles. Or, turn your classroom into a witch's den and make potions in your cauldron. Use everyday household ingredients to make your potions worthy of a Harry Potter novel.
Need more ideas? Click an image for some FREE activities from our selection of Halloween-themed lesson plans and novel study guides to try:
For more great Halloween ideas, check out our pinterest board: pin.it/FRT3adM