With Halloween coming around the corner, now is the time to use simple creative ideas to motivate students and keep them focused on their learning. Keep it simple, keep it academic and keep their attention!
Teach nouns and adjectives using a Pumpkin Cinquain Poem
Line 1: a noun
Line 2: two adjectives
Line 3: three -ing words
Line 4: a phrase
Line 5: another word for the noun
We decided to make Cinquain poems on paper pumpkins. We talked about the poems, then I did a quick mini-lesson on adjectives, -ing words, and what a phrase means. We traced the pumpkins on orange paper and wrote out the poem.
Teach the long vowel o using Ghoulish Ghost and the Looooooonng O!
Instead of just making a simple ghost and coloring it white, we discussed the vowel in the word ghost and wrote long o words in our ghost pictures. Simple, quick and fun. The kids wrote the words on the back of the ghost and made a ghoulish face on the front.
Teach the long a using the Sneaky Snake and the Long A
Another spin on the same idea is to make a snake with a train of long a words. I made a point to have them choose more words than the a_e pattern: they had to do at least one of each of the long a spellings. Then, after cutting it out, they told their partners their long a words in their most sssssnake-like voice!
Scholastic Resources
A great way to teach about health, attack reading comprehension, and brush up on writing skills this time of year is to use one of kids' most beloved fruits: pumpkins! Take a look at the scholastic.com Pumpkin Collection for resources and ideas.
Now, we just need one to carve one or make it into a pie to eat!
Happy Halloween Everyone! If you have more ideas, please share!
Thanks!
Eric
With Halloween coming around the corner, now is the time to use simple creative ideas to motivate students and keep them focused on their learning. Keep it simple, keep it academic and keep their attention!
Teach nouns and adjectives using a Pumpkin Cinquain Poem
Line 1: a noun
Line 2: two adjectives
Line 3: three -ing words
Line 4: a phrase
Line 5: another word for the noun
We decided to make Cinquain poems on paper pumpkins. We talked about the poems, then I did a quick mini-lesson on adjectives, -ing words, and what a phrase means. We traced the pumpkins on orange paper and wrote out the poem.
Teach the long vowel o using Ghoulish Ghost and the Looooooonng O!
Instead of just making a simple ghost and coloring it white, we discussed the vowel in the word ghost and wrote long o words in our ghost pictures. Simple, quick and fun. The kids wrote the words on the back of the ghost and made a ghoulish face on the front.
Teach the long a using the Sneaky Snake and the Long A
Another spin on the same idea is to make a snake with a train of long a words. I made a point to have them choose more words than the a_e pattern: they had to do at least one of each of the long a spellings. Then, after cutting it out, they told their partners their long a words in their most sssssnake-like voice!
Scholastic Resources
A great way to teach about health, attack reading comprehension, and brush up on writing skills this time of year is to use one of kids' most beloved fruits: pumpkins! Take a look at the scholastic.com Pumpkin Collection for resources and ideas.
Now, we just need one to carve one or make it into a pie to eat!
Happy Halloween Everyone! If you have more ideas, please share!
Thanks!
Eric
Teacher advisor Eric Antuna recommends engaging students in a research project at the end of the year after state testing.
This has been such an exciting year with so many twists and turns, flips, and fumbles. It has been a great year for me and it saying good bye is very, very bittersweet. Here are some highlights from the year that I really enjoyed:
To all mothers and moms-to-be, have a fantastic day! There is no harder job in the world!
In the few weeks before the school year ends, you may find that making a video not only provides students with worthwhile review, but also provides great material to preteach or reteach with next year's students!
Trick or treat around the curriculum with Halloween-inspired lesson plans and projects for math, science, reading, and writing.
