OTT 149: 3 Fun and Educational Halloween Activities for Primary Classrooms
Halloween is an exciting time for young students, filled with costumes, candy, and, most importantly, an opportunity to learn in fun and engaging ways like Halloween STEM activities or a Halloween-themed activity. Halloween is a great opportunity to get kids engaged and learning.
In the latest episode of One Tired Teacher, we explore how to make Halloween both educational and entertaining for primary classrooms, and it doesn't have to include a Halloween party or the use of cookies!
Halloween Season Activities:
We dive into three innovative and time-efficient ideas that will captivate your students and simplify your planning. From fun Halloween science experiments to Halloween-themed Makerspace and rhyming activities, this episode is packed with resources and tips that will transform your classroom at the perfect time of the year to have fun- during the spooky season!
#1 Fun and Educational Halloween Activity: Spooky Science Experiments
First, we revisit some favorite past episodes that highlight Halloween-themed literature and science activities (for 1st grade science or 2nd grade science), setting the perfect spooky vibe for so much fun.
You can listen here- Episode 148: More Halloween Books to Love, Episode 50: 7 Sensational Halloween Books Kids Will Love , and OTT 147: Creative Halloween STEM Challenges for a Thrilling Primary Classroom Experience
The Halloween Matter Lapbook unit is a standout. This excellent opportunity to teaching matter involves hands-on experiments like Halloween Ooze and Frankenstein's floating and sinking, which not only meet essential second-grade science standards but also integrate meaningful math exercises making this a great addition for this time of year.
The Halloween Science unit also includes a standalone activity called "Trick-or-Treaters Explore Matter," where students use labeled balloons and plastic cups to infer the contents of trick-or-treat bags, which may or may not include warm water or creepy-crawly critters. This activity provides a tactile and engaging way for students to understand the properties of solids, liquids, and gases while allowing kids to time to be a mad scientist.
Halloween Matter Unit is a comprehensive and engaging way to teach matter using Halloween-themed experiments and activities. Students create a lapbook filled with mini flip books, vocabulary pockets, and hands-on experiments. The standalone experiment, "Trick-or-Treaters Explore Matter," is explained step-by-step, providing teachers with a ready-to-use activity that covers essential science standards and integrates math in a meaningful way and it is great science fun!
# 2 Halloween-Themed Makerspace Activities
Next, we delve into Halloween-themed Makerspace activities that blend literature standards with the engineering design process. These activities or simple Halloween crafts are, part of the Halloween Makerspace Moments in Literature bundle, focus on comprehension and problem-solving skills, making them a great way to whip up quick sub plans.
Students work through the engineering design process while engaging with Halloween-themed literature, enhancing both their reading and critical thinking skills, all while using simple household ingredients like popsicle sticks, simple supplies, a Halloween pumpkin candy or two, and a new book.
This approach not only reinforces literature standards but also introduces students to the basics of engineering and design and is a lot of fun.
# 3 Halloween Ryhming
Finally, the episode introduces a Halloween rhyming bundle designed for kindergarten to second grade, available in digital and print formats, making it the perfect independent work option.
This bundle contains a Halloween twist and is packed with games and activities that make learning phonemic awareness super fun. Rhyming is an initial stage of phonemic awareness, helping children hear and appreciate the rhyming nature of selected words. The goal is to develop an ear for language through meaningful interactive games and activities. The rhyming bundle includes various games like bingo, which are perfect for learning stations or centers and help students develop their phonemic awareness in an engaging way.
Halloween Makerspace and Rhyming Activities are the perfect addition to educational-centered activities. We explore how to integrate literature standards with the engineering design process through Halloween Makerspace Moments in Literature. These activities focus on comprehension and problem-solving extensions, making them great for sub-plans.
Moreover, the podcast offers a free Makerspace Masterclass Replay to help teachers create engaging content that can reclaim their valuable time. This masterclass provides additional tips and strategies for integrating Makerspace activities into your curriculum, ensuring that your lessons are fun and educational.
Summary of Great Ideas:
In summary, this episode and blog post of One Tired Teacher contains Halloween-themed educational ideas that will captivate your students and simplify your planning. Whether you're looking to incorporate STEM activities, set off science sparks, enhance literature comprehension through Makerspace, or develop phonemic awareness with rhyming games, this episode has something for everyone.