1-2-3 Come Make A Haunted House Craftivity With Me

Flick off the lights to set the mood, then all you have to do is quietly & slowly say the words, “Haunted House” , and you will have everyone's attention.

No matter what grade I taught, I loved going for that “Gotcha!” moment, to get people excited about writing.

I truly believe that students will be enthusiastic about “getting down to the business of writing”, if you simply give them something interesting and fun to write about.

It’s that simple. Find their “hot button”.  If your students are like mine, then a haunted house, is that catalyst in motivating them to WANT to write. Woo Hoo!

With that in mind, I set to work to design two crafty packets involving a haunted house.

First up, 6 writing prompt craftivities for the “Haunted House” packet.

They are all different enough, so that you can easily do several; one in class, one as a fun homework assignment, one for extra credit, a sub tub, or for early finishers etc.

You could also give students a choice.

You may be surprised that they want to do them all.

One of my personal favorites is "Haunted Houses ARE..." and "Haunted Houses HAVE". 

Student can choose which they want to write about, or you can make this a two-part assignment.

Kiddos can write the ARE portion on one day, and finish up the HAVE prompt the next day. 

You could also do one in class, and do the other as homework.

Completed projects turn out "terror-rific"!

This project can be displayed flat on a bulletin board, or suspended back-to-back from the ceiling.

I've included several posters to enhance your display.

I think it's very important to not overwhelm beginning writers.

For example, asking students to write a "spooky story" can be a bit daunting for even a seasoned writer.

To experience this, put yourself in the assignment. Would you want to write an entire story, or would you be more excited to develop a list of things that a haunted house has? 

Because it's a smaller chunk of writing, and children can draw from experience, they know the "answers" and feel empowered; so they can get right down to writing; and often very excited to do so! 

With that in mind, all of the activities in both packets are "bite size". 

Because it's simple yet thought provoking, I think your students will also enjoy "If a haunted house could talk, what might it say?"

This is a super-fun way to have students really use their imaginations & "think outside the box". Becoming a haunted house, is an interesting way to practice point of view too. 

There are 5 diffferent "speech bubbles" to add variety to your display, as well as several posters you can use to introduce the lesson, then sprinkle on your bulletin board.

"If I bought a haunted house..." as well as "If I lived in a haunted house..." are also thought provoking.

As always, patterns come in black & white as well as color, so that teachers can quickly & easily make an example to share.

Besides the different posters to help you introduce the lesson, as well as several more to enhance your various displays, I've also included spiderwebbed letters that spell LOOK!

If you're a fan of The Dollar Store, you'll be happy to know that they now carry huge wiggle eyes!

They are 4 1/2 inches & come in 3 styles. (Oh the possibilities...)

I substituted them for the O letters in LOOK.

To expand the lesson, and practice yet another standard, I’ve also included a whole-group graphing extension in both packets.

Next up is the "Trick or Treating at a Haunted House" packet.

To get more bang for my “time” buck, I like to cover a variety of standards with one activity.

“Trick or Treating at a Haunted House”is not only a super-fun writing prompt craftivity, but it also reinforces the 5 senses, and the importance of using them to enhance writing.

The scenario:

Students are trick or treating and they visit a haunted house.

What do they see, hear, feel, taste & smell?

After writing their rough draft, then editing, they fill out a rubric checklist, then write their final draft on the writing prompt worksheet. (I've included RUBRICS in both packets.)

There are 4 different haunted houses for students to choose from, with a TOP & BOTTOM pattern for each. as the 5 senses writing prompt is glued to the center.

These too, make an awesome bulletin board, so I've also included posters in this packet as well.

There's also a “5 Senses” poster, plus one that defines “Adjectives”.

Use them to introduce your lesson, then add them to your display.

Toss some “cobwebs” in each corner, and you have a “WOW!” bulletin board, sure to get lots of compliments.

I’ve included pictures of my completed
samples, as well as BW copies of the text, so that you can quickly make examples to share with your students.

Examples not only help easily explain what you want them to do, but are a catalyst to creating excitement, so students will be eager to make a haunted house of their own. 

As you can see by my samples, "answers" can be a simple sentence for younger students, as well as a more in-depth use of descriptive word choice for older students.

I've also included a "side-by-side" photo of a sample that's very simple, then another that was worked on.

Use this as a whole group discussion of how to "expand" your description and details to make your writing "come alive" for the reader.

I always try to make time for students to share their work with their classmates, so we popcorn around the room and everyone shares one of their "5 senses sentences" before displaying them in the hallway. 

Since October is Fire Safety Month, and a lot of people burn leaves & have bonfires in the fall, today's featured FREEBIE is a "Hands Off!" fire safety craft, which is also a fun writing prompt. 

A child's handprints become the "fire" at the top.

I've included a "We promise" pledge poster for children to sign, which helps make students accountable for not playing with fire.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for dropping in. 

Autumn is in it's full splendor here in Michigan, so even though it's rather chilly today, I want to grab some fresh air.

Wishing you a fun-filled day.

“I don't know that there are real ghosts and goblins, but there are always more trick-or-treaters than neighborhood kids!" -Robert Brault

1-2-3 Come Do Some Halloween Shape Activities With Me.

October is filled with all sorts of fun shapes, so with that in mind, I designed this cute, haunted house, 2D-shape review.

I don't know about your students, but my kiddos get super-excited over doing any sort of activity that I can tie in with Halloween. 

So when I ask, "Does anyone want to make a haunted house shape booklet?" they are all over it.

“Open the door if you dare” and you will find 6 pages of “spooky-shaped” (real life) things to greet you.

The basic 2D shapes covered are: circle, oval, square, rectangle, triangle & hexagon.

I find that while most of my students can identify these shapes, many of them have a bit of difficulty identifying them, when looking at "real" items.

This booklet helps reinforce that in a super-fun way.

There are 5, different page set-ups, for you to choose from, so that you can easily diversify to fit the various skill levels of your students, while still having everyone work on the same thing.

OPTION #1: Students simply color the shapes on each page.

OPTION #2: Students write down the name of the shapes on that page & color them.

OPTION #3: Students get an additional strip of paper with one extra shape on it.

They color the single object on their page, as well as all of the objects on this strip.
Afterwards, they cut the objects out & glue them to the matching shape page.

OPTION #4: Students color all of the objects on their extra worksheet. (This is a half sheet.)
They cut each of the 6 sections out (following the dashed lines), then glue them to the matching labeled page.

OPTION #5: These pages are all blank.
Students write the name of the shape on the bottom line, then draw one “spooky shape”.

As always, I’ve included black & white patterns for your students, as well as full-color templates, so that teachers can quickly and easily make a sample to share.

After students color their haunted house, & the pages you have chosen for them, they trim and collate their booklet.

You decide if you want students to glue the "door" pages together, or simply staple them.

If you're looking for something educational and that “something different” for your Halloween party day, this works well.

I’ve also included several other related activities, so that you can extend the lesson and cover more standards. (Woo Hoo!)

There’s a quick, easy & super-fun “Spooky Shapes on a Roll” dice game, which practices life skills, as well as subitizing.

This is an easy-peasy and fun activity for your Halloween party day too.

The "Tell me an answer" question page is a simple, whole-group assessment, you can use after students complete their haunted house. 

To extend the lesson, and practice graphing, I've also included several additional worksheets.

Completed projects make an adorable Halloween bulletin board as well.

I’ve included several posters to add some extra pizzazz to your display.

Today's featured FREEBIE is a set of fall graphing worksheets. 

They are great for early finishers, a fun homework assignment, or something for your sub tub.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

We're having our third day of rain, and while that certainly fits the mood for designing Halloween activities, a little ray of sunshine would certainly boost my energy level. 

Wishing you a wonderful week.