TeachersFirst's Halloween Resources
Other TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections
Fall is a wonderful time for harvest events and spooky celebrations at any grade level. This collection of reviewed resources offers ideas to incorporate seasonal activities in the regular curriculum. Whether you focus on a specific activity or simply share these for enrichment outside of class, your students will find "seasonal" learning opportunities.
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Goosebumps: The Science of Fear - California Science Center
Grades
3 to 10
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Explore the science of fear with this fun and interesting site. Click on "Explore Fear Online." View "Fear and the Brain" to understand how the brain responds to fear. Learn ...more
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Explore the science of fear with this fun and interesting site. Click on "Explore Fear Online." View "Fear and the Brain" to understand how the brain responds to fear. Learn animal responses in "Fear in the Wild." Other links include "Fear and the Media," "The Fun Side of Fear," and "Dealing with Fear." Each link includes several more specific topics. There is also a Parent's Guide with some of the topics.
tag(s): brain (56), emotions (48), halloween (32), psychology (67), stress (7)
In the Classroom
Brainstorm situations that cause fear and identify how the brain processes this information. Explore the similarities of fear responses with the feelings when riding thrill rides. Identify as a class how people respond to fear and ways fear can help you. Creative writing students can explore different ways that people show fear so their writing can describe what fear LOOKS like instead of simply saying, "he was afraid." Why not include this site when studying Poe's tales of terror or as a curriculum-related activity during Halloween season? Check out the "Dealing with Fear" section to help students struggling with anxieties and worry. Emotional or autistic support teachers and school counselors may also find this site helpful in allowing students to understand their body's reactions to fear. Health and psychology classes can use this site to explore the physiology of fear.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Neil Gaiman's Mouse Circus - HarperCollins
Grades
4 to 10
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Not only did Neil Gaiman's book Coraline become a movie in 2009, but his book The Graveyard Book, won the Newbery Medal at the same time. Explore the world of ...more
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Not only did Neil Gaiman's book Coraline become a movie in 2009, but his book The Graveyard Book, won the Newbery Medal at the same time. Explore the world of Nobody Owens, the main character in The Graveyard Book. But, if you want to know more about Nobody's creator, definitely explore this site. Listen to Neil read from his award-winning book. Read interviews to learn more about this fascinating man. Print posters, enjoy wallpapers, and play games based upon Gaiman's work. Enjoy video and audio of his books by clicking on "Extras."
tag(s): literature (218), posters (42)
In the Classroom
If you are doing an author study, this site is loaded with information about this award-winning author. Compare the movie version of Coraline with the book using Venn Diagrams. Why not try online Venn Diagrams, using a site such as "Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagrams," reviewed here. Compare and contrast this Newbery book with other recent Newbery books. Print posters of his books for an eerie Gaiman bulletin board at Halloween. Use an online poster creator, such as Padlet, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Halloween - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
4 to 12
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As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for Halloween. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Halloween vocabulary...more
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As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for Halloween. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Halloween vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.
tag(s): halloween (32)
In the Classroom
Share the puzzles on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students work with a partner to try out the puzzles on their own. Have students (or groups) create their own word puzzles to share as a class challenge as a student-run interactive whiteboard activity or share them on a class wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Elementary School Literacy - Thinkport
Grades
1 to 6
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This wonderful site has an extensive list of free video clips of favorite children's books, author interviews, and author documentaries. Users can open them with Windows Media or Real...more
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This wonderful site has an extensive list of free video clips of favorite children's books, author interviews, and author documentaries. Users can open them with Windows Media or Real Player (the listings tell which one is needed). Some clips offer both options. Get the plug ins from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page. This site MUST have a high-speed connection! It can be slow to load during "peak" times (11 a.m. to 2 pm Eastern time in the U.S.). Be patient while clips download, even on a peppy network. While the videos are downloading, you may not think anything is happening. TURN OFF your pop-up blocker (including the ones built into the Google and Yahoo toolbars) so you can see the video pop-up windows.
tag(s): literacy (116)
In the Classroom
Preview the video clips before recommending them to students or using in class, since the quality of video and audio varies significantly. None is designed for full screen projection, though some will project about half-screen. Share a partial video with the class or as a center to inspire children to read a book or allow them to watch videos after they have read books. (A Dark, Dark tale would be great for Halloween week). Remember to turn up speakers for group viewing or provide headphones at your center. If you are ready to try podcasting, use these dramatic readings as models for students to record some of their favorite selections as a podcast (and possibly illustrate with student artwork). Share this link with parents on your web page or in your newsletter to encourage reading at home. Most of the books will be in our school library, so students can follow along. School librarians should know about this site as well! ESL students and weaker readers always benefit from listening to different voices read the same story as they follow along.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Haunted House Treat Carrier - Cara Bafile
Grades
K to 5
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This website provides a lesson plan with detailed instructions, objectives, standards and more. Students are asked to make a haunted house carrier for their delicious Halloween candy....more
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This website provides a lesson plan with detailed instructions, objectives, standards and more. Students are asked to make a haunted house carrier for their delicious Halloween candy. Treat your students to this "yummy" lesson.
tag(s): halloween (32)
In the Classroom
Your students could also make these crafts as a service project for less-fortunate children and fill the carriers with small toys, stickers, and toiletry items to be shared with children in local homeless or domestic violence shelters. Consider making Halloween a time to share.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Literary Bash - Cara Bafile
Grades
3 to 12
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This website provides a lesson plan that was designed to use around Halloween. There are objectives, assessments, and standards provided. This lesson is all about throwing a "literary...more
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This website provides a lesson plan that was designed to use around Halloween. There are objectives, assessments, and standards provided. This lesson is all about throwing a "literary bash" in honor of your class's favorite piece of literature (Harry Potter is used an example). This activity is an excellent alternative to a traditional Halloween party.
tag(s): halloween (32)
In the Classroom
Use this lesson plan, and tailor it to fit your unit in almost any content area - math, english, history, science, etc. Though this lesson was intended just for Language Arts classes, most content areas also have books or common themes that this could apply to. Use this lesson plan after a test or towards the end of the year when students might need a break from the traditional classroom routines. This is a great way to make sure students get some substance of a "break" while keeping it academic! Be sure to save this as a favorite on your classroom computer to allow for easy reference later on.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Guess Who's Coming To Our Classroom - Cara Bafile
Grades
3 to 8
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This website provides a lesson plan, standards, reproducible worksheets and more. The lesson was designed to use around Halloween. The students are challenged to help Miss Terie (get...more
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This website provides a lesson plan, standards, reproducible worksheets and more. The lesson was designed to use around Halloween. The students are challenged to help Miss Terie (get it - mystery) research a new Halloween activity for her class. Everything is provided and excitement is guaranteed - kids love a mystery! This lesson integrates famous people from history, using technology, and solving a mystery.
tag(s): halloween (32)
In the Classroom
Use this as an alternative to the candy-filled holiday party. Ask parent volunteers to help out.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Halloween Lesson Plans - TeAchnology
Grades
K to 8
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This website offers a collection of Halloween lesson plans in various disciplines including math, science, language arts, creativity and others. ...more
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This website offers a collection of Halloween lesson plans in various disciplines including math, science, language arts, creativity and others.
tag(s): halloween (32)
In the Classroom
Save this site as a favorite, an reference it if in need of new lesson plans and activities for Halloween. There are a lot here, so be sure to peruse the many to find one that will best fit your classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Origins of Halloween and the Day of the Dead - EDSITEment
Grades
4 to 12
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This site offers a different perspective of the "festival of the dead" on October 31st. This site highlights Day of the Dead celebrations as they relate to Halloween. Although this...more
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This site offers a different perspective of the "festival of the dead" on October 31st. This site highlights Day of the Dead celebrations as they relate to Halloween. Although this site is text-heavy, it would be very useful in upper elementary grades and beyond. There are also video clips. The site includes background information, conclusion questions, and class activity suggestions. Very basic standards are included.
In the Classroom
If you are looking for a new twist to Halloween? Use this site for research and more. Divide the students into cooperative learning groups and have each group research Halloween in various countries (maybe even some countries not included at this site). Have the groups create multi-media presentations to share with the class on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students write a blog entry about Halloween in the country they researched, or create a video (with costumes, even better). Share the videos using a resource such as TeacherTube (explained here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kids Activities from A Celebration of Souls: Day of the Dead - Burke Museum
Grades
1 to 8
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Take a multi-cultural approach to Day of the Dead celebrations by trying some of these hands-on activities and crafts from Mexico. These would work well as part of a fall ...more
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Take a multi-cultural approach to Day of the Dead celebrations by trying some of these hands-on activities and crafts from Mexico. These would work well as part of a fall festival, multicultural days, or in a Spanish class. The activities include Making a Paper Marigold, a recipe for Bread of the Dead, art projects, and sugar skulls and papier mache floral skulls.
tag(s): spanish (106)
In the Classroom
Include these activities with your class to promote multicultural understanding. You could also share the ideas with parents to do at home with their children.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Moonlit Road - Craig Dominey
Grades
6 to 9
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Just in time for Halloween, you can introduce your students to real ghost stories originating in the American South. Historical origin of the stories provided on the story pages makes...more
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Just in time for Halloween, you can introduce your students to real ghost stories originating in the American South. Historical origin of the stories provided on the story pages makes the stories even more compelling. Stories can be read or listened to in streaming audio. If your students get interested, they can return to this site again and again since the stories change monthly. Message boards making comments about each story are available for further student participation. The audio fiules require Real Player. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): halloween (32)
In the Classroom
Reading these stories is a great jump off for an oral story telling project! If you have started to try podcasting, use this as the start of a new story collection on podcasts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History of Halloween - History Channel
Grades
5 to 8
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Turn Halloween into a history lesson with this History Channel site that traces its origin from an ancient Celtic festival to the modern-day practices of trick-or-treating and Jack-o'-lantern...more
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Turn Halloween into a history lesson with this History Channel site that traces its origin from an ancient Celtic festival to the modern-day practices of trick-or-treating and Jack-o'-lantern carving. Includes some hauntingly intriguing video clips (some with specific ties to American history), ghost stories, and recipes.
In the Classroom
This is a great site to show students how history can impact their everyday! One good project would be to use this site as an introduction to Halloween activities. Introduce the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector. There are several different "histories" on the site, such as the history of the Jack o'Lantern, or the origins of Halloween, or the origins of several ghost stories. Have students look at the site in pairs, and create a poster of what they thought were the most interesting facts. We recommend a site such as Padlet (reviewed here). Have students display their posters, and then use the free craft ideas offered to celebrate the holiday in your class!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Chocolate- All About Chocolate - Field Museum
Grades
4 to 8
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Suitable for Halloween, Valentine's, or any chocolate-covered holiday, All About Chocolate offers basics about how chocolate is made and an excellent collection of lessons in the "Educator's...more
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Suitable for Halloween, Valentine's, or any chocolate-covered holiday, All About Chocolate offers basics about how chocolate is made and an excellent collection of lessons in the "Educator's Resources" area (click at the right). Lessons delve into the South American cultures and environments in which the cacao bean grows. Students can explore chocolate's impact on the economies and environment of these countries, and can also examine chocolate's ancient cultural connections. Sweet!
tag(s): chocolate (4), halloween (32), south america (39)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans hosted on this site! Save this site as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval - a creative source for a cultural geography, history or earth science classroom! Use Google Earth, reviewed here, to explore the regions where chocolate grows and find photos to bring these locations to life on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Make natural resources a tasty lesson.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Anoka - Halloween Capital of the World - Anoka Halloween, Inc.
Grades
2 to 8
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This simple site provides historical information about Anoka, Minnesota. Do you know what makes Anoka so interesting? It has the unique nickname of the "Halloween Capital of the World."...more
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This simple site provides historical information about Anoka, Minnesota. Do you know what makes Anoka so interesting? It has the unique nickname of the "Halloween Capital of the World." Do you want to know why it is the capital? Visit the site and read all about the history, celebrations, and more. Suddenly a community's claim to fame can become a way to introduce your students to the process of tracing local history.
In the Classroom
Use this site when studying community and culture. There are many sites that offer Halloween games and printables, but this site offers some real history - check it out! Why not have students research the history of Halloween (or another holiday) in your hometown. Do they have a parade? If so, when did it begin? What year did trick-or-treating begin in your hometown?Assign cooperative learning groups different cities throughout your state, and have students do "Halloween" (or holiday) research on that particular town. Have the groups create interactive presentations to share with the class. Try having students create videos using Typito (explained here), to share using TeacherTube (explained here).
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