Halloween Tricks and Treats for your Students

I love fall! Nothing is better than leaves crunching underfoot and the smell of pumpkin spice. Except for Halloween of course. Regardless of what grade I teach, I always insist on bringing a bit of Halloween into our classroom. I enjoy celebrating holidays with my students and of course, they enjoy it in return!

Let your students work on a page of their choosing each day. I like to save the ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ passage, questions and writing prompts for a fun task to do on Halloween day.

Interactive notebooks are a wonderful tool for your classroom. They provide so many benefits helping students to organize thinking and learning, plus they are super fun for your students helping them to take ownership of their learning.

My ‘Interactive Halloween Notebook’ is a favorite way to bring Halloween into our classroom. It is full of stand-alone tasks that are perfect for older children in upper elementary.

Along with various Halloween activities, it also includes information on the history of Halloween. (The passages, ‘Origin of Halloween’ and ‘History of Trick or Treating’ are perfect for close reading!).

I like to spread the activities out over the span of a few days but you can also save the entire booklet for the holiday itself!

How I use it!

A typical school day can be extremely busy, which is why I love how easily the Halloween tasks in the notebook can be integrated into my previously set curriculum.

I adore assigning students ‘Recipe Riddle’ as a math fast finisher and ‘A Letter to the Great Pumpkin’ as a ‘fun filler’ activity.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow passage and corresponding ‘Headless Horseman’ task sheets are perfect for interactive group work.

My absolute favorite Halloween Homework assignment corresponds perfectly with the ‘Epitaphs’ task found on page 3. (This assignment is seriously beautiful! We write epitaphs for the poor pumpkins that are carved into jack-o-lanterns for All Hallows Eve.)

Needless to say, I get ridiculously excited about this time of year and my ‘Interactive Halloween Notebook.’  It is wonderful way to help my students and yours experience both the ‘tricks’ and ‘treats’ of learning!