Trick or Treat?

Happy Halloween! :-)

Halloween has its controversies, so it is a perfect holiday to write a persuasive essay about. The question is which side will your students take in each issue? Here are some possible issues:

• Trick-or-Treat - Should kids trick people who don't provide candy on Halloween? Why or why not? Support your position.
  
• Halloween Pranks - Do some people go too far with their pranks on Halloween? What are acceptable guidelines for pranks? Back up your position.
• The Mall or the Neighborhood - Malls around the country are providing "safe Halloween experiences" for trick-or-treaters. What do you think about this? Is it taking something away from traditional Halloween activities? Is it making Halloween better? Support your view.
• Over-Age Trick-or-Treaters - Is there such a thing? How old is too old to be going house to house for candy? Why do you think this? Support your position.
• Halloween in School - Halloween is considered a pagan holiday, so should Halloween-related activities be allowed in school? Consider the following: separation of church and state, respecting personal beliefs. Support your view.
• Halloween Festivities Out of Control - Some towns have a reputation for Halloween celebrations that go out of control. What do you think town officials should do to make sure Halloween is fun and safe in their town? Or should it be every goblin for itself? Support your ideas.
  

This Has Been a Public Service Message

News stations always make a point to remind us how to be safe on Halloween. Maybe it has something to do with walking around in the dark, impersonating someone or something else, and taking candy from strangers. Things we were warned not to do since we could walk, talk, and eat candy. We hear the same messages every year, and they just don't pack a punch anymore. Maybe it is time for a different approach, one that will get people's attention.

Students could write and act out an entertaining public service message / news story for one of the following:

• Getting the best candy in town
• Being visible to cars in the dark
• Ideal mobility in bulky costumes and masks
• Winning Halloween costume contests
• Making an uncool flashlight part of a cool costume
• Getting through Haunted Houses with dry pants
• Trick-or-treating in the north: staying warm without ruining your costume
• Best mall trick-or-treating
• Having the best Halloween party
• Avoiding tricks
• Where you should go for the best Halloween experience for different age groups
• Best creepy snacks for a Halloween party
• Staying safe on Halloween
• Decorating your house and yard and scaring the trick-or-treaters
• Healthier treats kids will actually eat
  

If your school has a TV news station, the best messages could be played for the entire school. They could also be performed on a stage as an assembly.

Only Available on Monster TV

Monsters can't always use products made for humans. They have special needs. Monsters may have horns or tails or fur or scales or huge claws or lumpy heads.

This assignment is to make up a product for the monster community, write a television advertisement for the product, and act out the ad in front of the class.

Variations

• Students could make print or radio ads.
• Students could work in groups (ad agencies).
• Students could pretend they are making a proposal to a potential monster product manufacturing client (the class). They could show story boards and describe the TV ads they have designed.
• Student-created ads could be used later as illustrations of particular advertising techniques.

Bats!

Janell Cannon's Stellaluna is a picture book that changes the reader's mind about bats. The story is heart-warming and entertaining at the same time that it provides interesting facts about fruit bats. The reader can't help but fall in love with the adorable main character, a bat named Stellaluna.

Some ideas for how this book could be used in the classroom:

• Read-aloud & discussion book
• Facts & Opinions about bats
• Research project (Students could do their own research on other creatures who have a bad reputation like wolves, snakes, sharks, rats, cockroaches, spiders, flies, scorpions, piranha)
• Storywriting (Students could write their own story that gives the facts about a creature with a bad reputation. This could be the second part of a research project -- or this could be one option for sharing research.)

Aliens!

May Swenson's poem “Southbound on the Freeway” is a lot of fun. The poem is from the alien’s point of view. The alien sees cars, and it thinks that cars are creatures on Earth. What the alien thinks are guts are really the people inside the cars. It thinks this, because it has never seen people before.

My class did a really great job of writing their own descriptions of what they saw as aliens.

Here are the instructions I gave them for the project:

• Choose a place or a thing that an alien might see on Earth. (Examples: a baseball stadium, a movie theatre, the mall, an animal, a roller coaster ride, etc.)
• Describe the place or thing from the alien’s point of view. What might an alien think of one of these things? (Use at least four sentences.)

Example
If an alien saw a baseball player, it might think that people had blue, plastic heads that lifted off (baseball caps). It might think that baseballs were hard fruits that different people were trying to crack open with a large stick (bat). What else might the alien think?

I landed on Earth today and got my first glimpse of human beings. They have blue heads which they remove when they are not trying to break a small, round, white fruit with a large stick. These creatures have two hands, but some of tem have one hand that is bigger than the other. I saw that one of the creatures had a face with metal stripes. People with striped bodies speak only in hand gestures.

Now, it’s time for you to describe “What the Alien Saw.” Answer the questions below to plan your writing.

1. Place or Thing the Alien Saw
2. Facts About the Place or Thing
3. What Will the Alien Think It Saw?

Noisy Neighbors

Noisy Neighbors is a story I wrote in the form of Mad-libs.

Have students write down words for the following parts of speech, then place the words in the appropriately numbered spots as they read the story. Funny words and funny stories can be shared with the entire class.

The Words

1. A Number
2. Plural Noun
3. Verb -ing
4. Plural Noun
5. Verb -ing
6. Plural Noun
7. Noun
8. Adjective
9. Adjective
10. Adverb

The Story
Our next-door neighbors are noisy. It sounds like (1) people are living in that house. There is always the sound of (2) (3) and (4) (5). At first, we thought they were renovating, but when we didn’t see any (6), we decided that the neighbors were just making noise for (7). After a year of (8) headaches and (9) sleep, we decided to move, but we are afraid that only a heavy metal band will be able to live (10) next to Mr. and Mrs. Poltergeist.

Variation
Students make their own Mad-libs from scary stories or poems they have written themselves.

Spooky Because Poem

These silly poems trace back reasons (or excuses) for something that happened, by repeating the last thing that was explained and then giving a reason (or excuse) for that explanation. This is repeated until you finish with a ridiculous reason for the thing that happened. (The poem should be at least 6 lines long.)

Example of a Spooky Because Poem:

The ghost scared the children, because he floated through the wall
He floated through the wall, because he wanted to get away fast
He wanted to get away fast, because the children had sticky candy
The children had sticky candy, because it was melting in their buckets
It was melting in their buckets, because the haunted house was hot
The haunted house was hot, because the ghosts liked it hot
The ghosts liked it hot, because they only wear sheets
They only wear sheets, because duh! that’s what ghosts do
So, the ghost scared the children, because duh! that’s what ghosts do

Here are some examples of spooky poem starters:

1. The mummy stopped chasing the children, because his bandages got stuck on something.
   
2. The witch turned the boy into a frog, because he played a trick on her.
3. The vampire was hungry, because he didn’t have any blood.
4. The monster went to the dentist, because it had something stuck between its teeth.
5. The ghost was grounded by his parents, because he failed the scare test.

Pumpkin Personification

This pumpkin needs some personality. Students start this activity by giving him or her a proper Halloween face. Then they can write about a day in the life of this pumpkin. What does it think, what does it feel, what does it do, what does it wish it were doing instead?

This pumpkin’s day can be written as a poem, a song, a rap, a narrative, a diary entry, or an interview.

Personification – an idea, object, or animal is given the characteristics of a person
Example: The tree whined in a harsh wind.

Creature Research Report

Students can write a research report on a Halloween creature. Here is a sample report outline:

A. Introduction

B. Physical description of the creature

C. Beliefs associated with creature

1. What will injure it
2. What does it like
3. What is it afraid of
4. What are its habits

D. “Birth” of the creature

1. Who first described the creature?
2. When was the creature first described?
3. What was the original description like?

E. Creature’s evolution

1. How have stories about the creature changed over time?
2. Who contributed to the changes?

F. How creature became associated with Halloween

G. Popularity of the creature today

1. Is this creature featured in books, movies, tv shows today?
2. Do kids dress up as this creature for Halloween?

H. Conclusion


CREATURES:

• Witch
• Ghost
• Vampire
• Warlock
• Poltergeist
• Dracula
• Demon
• Werewolf
• Vampire Slayer
• Frankenstein
• Zombie
• Goblin
• Black cat

SAMPLE RUBRIC:
10 points for each section A-H (total points = 80)
Proper Punctuation = 5 points
Complete Sentences = 5 points
Proper Paragraph Transitions = 5 points
Appropriate Topic = 5 points


VARIATIONS:

• Students could give an oral presentation on their creature.
• Instead of researching just creatures, students could research any Halloween costume.

Witch-like Poem

Below are the directions and format for a simile poem about witches.

Directions:

Imagine the parts of a witch’s face. What is another thing that each part is like? Is her hair more like moldy spaghetti, young grey snakes, Spanish moss, brittle sticks, silver-colored tinsel, or something else you have imagined?

Finish each line below with a simile to create a Witch-Like Poem. Finish the last two lines any way you would like.



_____________________________________ (poem title)

She had

Hair like _________________________________________

Eyes like _________________________________________

Eyelashes like _________________________________________

Nose like _________________________________________

Ears like _________________________________________

Teeth like _________________________________________

Lips like _________________________________________

Chin like _________________________________________

Skin like _________________________________________

Mole like _________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________


Bonus: Write another simile poem about a person or thing associated with Halloween.

Haunted Haiku

Haunted Haiku format:

First Line - 5 creepy syllables
Second Line - 7 scary syllables
Third Line - 5 frightening syllables

Example I wrote:

Gaping eyes and nose
Jack-o-lantern on the porch
Big, flickering smile

Here are some first lines students could use to get started. (They will only have to write the 2nd and 3rd lines.)

• Dark, abandoned house
• Black Halloween cat
• Halloween night dare
• Draping spider webs
• Moon casting shadows
• Flowing, ghostly girl
• Bubbling witch's brew
• Moonlight on werewolf

Life as a Piece of Candy

This is a creative activity that allows students to pretend they are a piece of Halloween candy and write their autobiography as that candy.

Here are some questions to get students feeling like candy:

1. What type of candy are you?
2. Where were you born? (made?)
3. Who were your parents? (be creative)
4. What have you done during your life?
5. Where have you traveled?
6. What have you seen?
7. Do you enjoy traveling?
8. Who or what have been your role models?
9. What are your goals for life? (be creative)
10. What mistakes have you made?
11. What successes have you had?
12. What is your personality like? (What are your ingredients?)
    
13. How do you think your life will end?

Create a timeline of your life as a piece of candy. This will help you write your autobiography, the story of your life written by you.

Varaition: Students could write the biography of a piece of Halloween candy.

Halloween Facts & Opinions

The following statements about Halloween can be used to teach about Fact and Opinion. After determining which statements are facts, students might enjoy finding out if the facts are true or not.

1. Jack-O-Lanterns were first carved out of turnips.
2. The world record for the biggest pumpkin is 1,337.6 pounds.
3. Candy is the best Halloween treat.
4. More candy is sold for Halloween than for Valentine’s Day.
5. Thirteen-year-olds are too old to go trick-or-treating.
6. Pumpkins are fruits.
7. Ghost costumes are the easiest to make on short notice.
8. Kids started dressing in costumes for Halloween in the 1900s in America.
9. Goblins are ugly and make a very scary costume.
10. The Monster Mash is a fun Halloween song.
11. Americans spend $2.5 billion during Halloween.
12. Silver Shamrock is the leading maker of masks in America.
13. Carving a Jack-O-Lantern isn’t easy, especially when the pumpkin is over 1,000 pounds.

Answer Key:

1. Fact
2. Fact
3. Opinion
4. Fact
5. Opinion
6. Fact
7. Opinion
8. Fact
9. Opinion
10. Opinion
11. Fact
12. Fact
13. Opinion

Answering Halloween's Whys

This writing activity is about creating myths to explain the whys of Halloween. Instead of explaining how the deer got his antlers, students can explain why witches have black cats.

Stories may be serious or silly. No research is required. Students should just use their imaginations to explain one of the following (or a "why" of their own).

1. Why Witches Have Black Cats
2. Why Witches Cook in Cauldrons
3. Why Vampires Turn into Bats
4. Why Vampires Wear Capes
5. Why Ghosts Wear Sheets
6. Why Ghosts Can Float Through Walls
7. Why Houses Are Haunted
8. Why Kids Dress in Costumes for Halloween
9. Why Werewolves Change When There’s a Full Moon
10. Why Monsters Are Ugly and Scary
11. Why Witches Ride Brooms
12. Why Vampires Sleep in Coffins
13. Why Zombies Walk Slowly and in Unison
14. Why Poltergeists Are Noisy
15. Why Witches Have Warty Noses

Spooky Simile Poems

I wrote the following spooky, simile poems. Each describes one Halloween-related subject using similes. Students guess what each poem is about and give poems the appropriate titles.

They can also write spooky, simile poems of their own.


___________________________________

Like a grumpy, old man
Sitting on the front porch
Resting his chin on the rail
Scaring away trick-or-treaters
With his fixed stare
And his flickering grin


___________________________________

It felt like a cool, mountain cloud passing through the room
It sounded like a rusty windchime clanking in a whistling breeze
It looked like nothing was there at all
But I knew I was no longer alone


___________________________________

She had
Hair like moss, tangled, in the dell
Eyes like caves where bats would dwell
Eyelashes like webs a spider forgot
Nose like a sweet potato starting to rot
Ears like hornets nests that sag
Teeth like barnacles on rocky crags
Lips like dry, cracked desert land
Chin like kelp-covered dune of sand
Skin like earth after a hard hail shower
Mole rising like the Devil’s Tower
No need for her to stir brew and chant
One look at her would make one faint


___________________________________

She looked like a sculpture
Chipped from black onyx
On exhibit, in the middle of my path home

Her eyes were like two topaz stones
Shining like lighthouse beacons
Or a hypnotist’s medallion on the upswing

I stood there like an art critic
Admiring her chiseled form

Then she broke from the pose
Leaving the path, empty
And me, with bad luck

Scary Short Story

Have students write a short story about a time when they were scared.

This can be a true story or a made-up story or a combination of both.

If your students can't think of anything on their own, here are some prompts they could consider:

• A UFO lands on the top of the school. An alien grabs you and tells you to take him to your leader. What happens next?
• Someone dares you to knock on the door of a haunted house. When you knock, the door opens. What happens when you go inside the house?
• You are taking a walk and you get lost in the woods. It begins to get dark. You hear creepy noises and you see a greenish glow. What is glowing? What happens next?
• You find out that there is a ghost living in your house. Is it a nice ghost or a scary ghost? How do you know? What happens when you see the ghost?
• One morning, you look in the mirror and see that you have started to turn into a monster. What happened the day before that might have made you a monster? What will you do now? Do you want to be a monster? Will you do something to try to become human again?
• You notice a black cat following you. The cat crosses your path over and over again on purpose. Why? Do you get bad luck? What happens to you? What happens to the cat?
• You kill all the ants in an ant hill (accidentally or on purpose). The ghosts of all the ants start to haunt you. What do they do to you? What do you do about the tiny, angry, ant ghosts?
• Your science project goes horribly wrong. You've created a monster! What happens? Do you get first prize at the science fair?

Scary Excuse Letter

This is a fun way to review or introduce the basics of friendly letter writing.

Here are the instructions for the assignment:
Pretend you are a monster, a witch, a ghost, or another Halloween character. Write a friendly letter to a teacher, explaining why you did not do your homework. You should include clues / details that show that you are the Halloween character you chose.

The letter below is from a student who is a witch. Which words and phrases help you see that she is a witch?

Your real full name
Name of the school
The school address
October 31, 2006

Dear Ms. Mortal,

I am writing to explain why I do not have my homework today.

I had a very busy night. First I had to fly my broom to softball practice. Someone used my broom as a bat, and I lost a lot of bristles, so I had to walk all the way to the broom repair shop. (I haven't learned any teleporting spells yet.) It took an hour to fix the broom. Then I flew home to start on my homework.

It took me two whole hours to complete the worksheet you gave me, but I got it all done. Then my mother asked me to help her with the holiday brew. I was stirring the brew while I looked over my homework. Suddenly, our black cat jumped on my back. I dropped the spoon. My homework flew into the air. I tried to catch it, and I slipped and landed in the cauldron with the homework. The worksheet was ruined, and so were my new, black pumps.

I hope you will understand why I do not have my homework. I also hope you will give me another day to complete it. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Hazel Witch (This can be a made-up name.)

Creating Radio Plays

Once your students have been exposed to how radio plays look, sound, and work, they might want to try creating their own spooky, Halloween radio plays. (It would probably be helpful to write a very short radio play as a class first.)

Here are some guidelines you could use:

1. Work in groups of up to 4 people or you may work alone. Every person in the group should contribute equally to the finished product.
2. Use the proper radio play format.
3. Give instructions that describe how lines should be read by characters. Examples: whispered, yelled, frightened, laughing
4. Include important sounds that let the listener know where you are and what you are doing. Scary sounds like wind blowing, thunder, and music set a scary mood.
5. Make sure your story has all plot parts: exposition (tells the listener who is in the story, where and when the story takes place, why characters are where they are); rising action (a few, small events that catch the listener's interest); climax (the big event that scares your listener out of his or her seat); falling action (what happened to the characters right after the big, scary event); resolution (an ending that wraps up any loose ends).
6. Your radio play must be a minimum of 25 lines (the speaker changes 25 times).

Sample Rubric:

	Excellent	Good	Needs Work
Proper formatting	20	19	18
Instructions for reading lines	20	19	18
Important sounds	20	19	18
Plot Parts	20	19	18
25 lines	10	8	7
Punctuation	3	2	1
Spelling	2	1	0
Working together	5	3	1

Radio Plays to Play in Class

War of the Worlds was performed by Orson Welles for a Halloween special in 1938. The broadcast caused panic and chaos, because so many people thought they were listening to an actual news report about aliens attacking the planet. The original broadcast is available on CD now. (For more about War of the Worlds, check out this Wikipedia article).

Ann Petry's The Bones of Louella Brown is a great ghost story that addresses racism in the 1920s. This story is available as a radio play from Scribbling Women. Lots of resources for teachers are available at the Scribbling Women website.

Maco Light - QAR Questions

Here are some QAR questions I created for "Maco Light" from Richard Walser's North Carolina Legends. Select stories can be found at: http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/kidspg/legends.htm.

1. Where did Joe's head land? (RIGHT THERE)
2. When did President Cleveland see the ghost? (RIGHT THERE)
3. What does Joe carry with him? (RIGHT THERE)
4. How many years after the accident were the tracks removed (THINK AND SEARCH)
5. The narrator gives a couple different reasons why Joe's ghost may haunt the tracks. Which do you believe? (THE AUTHOR AND YOU)
6. Do you think President Cleveland really saw the ghost? (ON YOUR OWN)
   

Maco Light - Radio Play

MACO LIGHT - RADIO PLAY
(adapted from Richard Walser's North Carolina Legends. Select stories can be found at http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/kidspg/legends.htm.)

Narrator 1: On a night in 1867, at the small Brunswick County station of Maco fifteen miles west of Wilmington, a slow freight train was puffing down the track.
(puffing noise of train)

Narrator 2: In the caboose was Joe Baldwin, the flagman. A jerking noise startled him (banging noise), and he was aware that his caboose had become uncoupled from the rest of the train, which went heedlessly on its way.

Narrator 3: As the caboose slackened speed (puffing noise of train slows), Joe looked up and saw the beaming light of a fast passenger train bearing down upon him. (sound of a second train) Grabbing his lantern, he waved it frantically to warn the oncoming engineer of the imminent danger. (metal creaking)

Joe: (frantically) Stop! Stop! Can't you see my lantern? Stop!

Narrator 4: It was too late.

Narrator 5: At a trestle over the swamp, the passenger train plowed into the caboose. (crashing noises) Joe was decapitated. His head flew into the swamp on one side of the track (thump). His lantern fell on the other side. (crash of metal)

Narrator 6: It was days before the destruction caused by the wreck was cleared away. And when Joe's head could not be found, his body was buried without it.

Minister: (solemnly) "Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust."

Woman: (whispering) You say they never found his head?

Narrator 7: Thereafter on misty nights, Joe's headless ghost appeared at Maco (ghostly wailing) (creak of a lantern), a lantern in its hand.

Narrator 8: Anyone standing at the trestle (footsteps) first saw an indistinct flicker moving up and down, back and forth.

John: You see it? See it there?

Jennifer: Where? (pause) Oh! Over there? I see it!

Narrator 9: Then the beam swiftly moved forward, growing brighter and brighter as it neared the trestle.

Jennifer: (frightened) It looks like it's coming closer! Let's go!

John: Don't worry. It'll stop before it gets to us.

Jennifer: It better!

Narrator: About fifty feet away, it burst into a brilliant, burning radiance. After that, it dimmed, backed away down the track, and disappeared. (cry of a ghost)

Jennifer: (gasps)

John: See? Show's over. Let's go. (footsteps walking away)

Jennifer: (whispers) What was it?

Narrator 11: It was Joe with his lantern, of course. But what was he doing? Was he looking for his head? Or was he trying to signal an approaching train?

Narrator 12: In 1889 President Grover Cleveland, on a political campaign, saw the mysterious light, as have hundreds of people throughout the years.

Cleveland: (giving a speech) I want to appeal to the American people to do the right thing and support me as I - (ghost howl) (whispers) What- what was that?

Narrator 13: But in 1977 when the railroad tracks were removed (metal noise) and the swamp reclaimed his haunting grounds (buzzing of insects, frog noises), Joe seems to have lost interest in Maco. At least, he has not been seen there lately. (ghost howl)


Notes:

• I used 13 narrators in this story, because I had a large class, and I wanted to make sure as many students as possible got a chance to participate.
• I made sure some of the parts were just one line, so my reluctant readers were more willing to participate. (It worked!)
• Students enjoy making the sound effects which makes reading this story even more fun.
• Many stories can be adapted in this way.
  

North Carolina Ghost Stories

Here's the link to some North Carolina Legends and Ghost Stories: http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/kidspg/legends.htm. They are all from Richard Walser's North Carolina Legends.

I used the stories "Girl at the Underpass" and "Maco Light" in my classroom.

I made "Maco Light" into a Radio Play that I will post tomorrow.

Here are some QAR questions I created for "Girl at the Underpass":

1. Where did the man meet the hitchhiker? (RIGHT THERE)
2. What time of year was it? (RIGHT THERE)
3. Where is the man's home? (RIGHT THERE)
4. What clothing was the hitchhiker wearing? (RIGHT THERE)
5. Why did the man slow down his car before he saw the hitchhiker? (THINK AND SEARCH)
6. What do you think the word "resplendent" means? (YOU AND THE AUTHOR)
7. What happened to the hitchhiker? Where did she go? (THINK AND SEARCH)
8. Who was the woman who answered the door when the man knocked? (THINK AND SEARCH)
9. Will the hitchhiker ever make it home? (YOU AND THE AUTHOR)
10. If you quarreled with someone, would you ask them to drop you off at the place where the hitchhiker was dropped off by her date? Why or why not? (ON YOUR OWN)

Halloween LA Activities

I began teaching mid-year, in October. My 6th graders had been through several subs and one teacher at that point, and they thought Language Arts = Wrestling 101. (The walls of my trailer were filled with holes from kicks, punches, and body slams.) So, I used creepy, hopefully engaging Halloween activities to try to compete with the previous weeks' "lessons."

The first activity I'd like to share is: Monster Exchange.

I found this activity online. There is a reading and a writing aspect. Classrooms partner with other classrooms at the website. Then each student draws a picture and writes a description of his or her monster. The written description must be very detailed, so that the partnering class will be able to draw the monster from the description.

Descriptions are exchanged between classes. Then, your students read the partnering class' monster descriptions and try to draw their monsters.

Original drawings and redrawn monsters are scanned and swapped between classes.

This is a great way for kids to see if they are describing in the best way possible for their audience. It's nice for students to have a different, online audience. And students practice following directions skills when they try to reproduce monsters from written descriptions.

Variations

• Don't want to partner with a class online? You can always swap monster descriptions between the classes you teach -- or between your class and another teacher's class in your school.
• Just want to focus on the reading part for now? You can write a monster description yourself. Then have students draw the monster from your description. They can work alone or in groups.
• And if you are more interested in practicing listening skills, read the monster description out loud slowly. Kids can draw from what they hear.