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October: More Than Pumpkins and Costumes!

Autumn, with its crisp air and changing leaves, brings some of the most engaging and culturally rich learning opportunities of the year! Whether you're learning about pumpkins, diving into the creative fun of Halloween activities, or teaching students about the beautiful traditions and deep cultural significance of Día de los Muertos, you'll find resources that strike a balance between celebration and substance. These tools are designed to honor diverse traditions respectfully while sparking curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking across all subject areas. Get ready to bring the magic of fall into your classroom in ways that are both educationally meaningful and wonderfully fun!

Grades K-3

Pumpkin Carving

This ABCya activity lets kids “carve” shapes and designs into a digital pumpkin and includes an undo feature and the option to add a virtual candle inside to illuminate their creation—perfect mess-free math and fall fun!

Grades 3-8

Bring Dia de los Muertos Activities to Your Classroom

Newsela offers Día de los Muertos activities and leveled articles that explore the holiday's cultural significance and history and the science behind various traditions. Another activity has students design a colorful sugar skull and write a paragraph.

Grades 5-8

History of Halloween

Turn Halloween into a history lesson with this History Channel site that traces its origins as an ancient Celtic festival to modern-day practices like trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving. Share hauntingly intriguing video clips and ghost stories.

Grades 3-12

Day of the Dead Resources

Explore this collection of learning materials and exhibitions that feature videos, songs, and stories that honor ancestors. Learn the meaning of the altar as part of Dia de los Muertos celebrations and tell the tale of the Lady of the Dead, La Catrina.

Grades K-12

Halloween Sheet Music

Download high-quality sheet music with a Halloween theme. Select from the available songs and choose the corresponding PDF to access it digitally or print it. Listen to and watch the selection through the online interactive or download and listen.

Grades K-8

FREE Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos Activity Pack for All Ages

View this collection of free resources for celebrating the Day of the Dead. Younger students can complete crafts, color sugar skulls, and access the art pack. Resources for older students include slide presentations, a project, and an ofrenda worksheet.

Grades 3-12

Halloween Escape

Genially's Halloween escape room template allows teachers to create and customize spooky digital breakout games with interactive puzzles, secret codes, animations, and sound effects—no coding required, just a fun way to engage students!

Grades K-5

Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos

This PBS site features a short video about the Day of the Dead (available in both English and Spanish). Scroll down on the right side to find supporting resources (discussion questions, a background essay, activities, and more) for teachers and students.

Grades K-12

The Halloween Collection

Explore the concept of fear through this Halloween collection that includes videos and lessons for students in Pre-K through high school. The activities and lessons include standards, and many also feature lesson support materials.

Grades K-5

Candy Pumpkin Catapults

Students will love learning about simple machines by building catapults to launch candy pumpkins. Challenge students to use limited supplies and see whose pumpkins fly the farthest. Along the way, students also explore other scientific questions.

This Week at TeachersFirst

We’re excited to share resources related to this week's celebration of Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Join us next Tuesday for our next free OK2Ask virtual workshop, and don't miss our newly added posts on our Infusing Technology Blog!