Halloween in the Upper Elementary Classroom
Finding ideas for Halloween in and upper elementary classroom can be tricky.
They are still young enough to get excited about Halloween but are too mature for a lot of the cutesy Halloween activities out there.
No worries! I am here to help with many ideas that I use in my grade 4/5 classroom.
Here are picture book (yes, they love picture books still) recommendations, art ideas, and math activities (Freebies below!!!) all focusing on Halloween🎃.
Students always get excited when the Halloween books get brought out. It is important to include picture books at all reading levels but I want to share with you my top 4 books that students read over and over. Note that all book links are aff. links. You can always just search for them yourself if you don’t want to use the affiliate link.
- By far the most popular one at this grade level has been Cinderella Skeleton by Robert D. San Souci. There is always a waitlist for students wanting to read it next. This is a twisted tale on the classic Cinderella, Halloween style obviously.
- A funny one that is popular is Frankenstein Doesn’t Wear Earmuffs! by John Loren. A boy wants to be Frankenstein for Halloween but his parents insist he stays warm while trick or treating.
- A sweet, heartwarming book is Pumpkinstein Smash The Gentle Giant by Tanner Ryder Tateno Zam. Pumpkinstein is scary on the outside but is a gentle giant inside. This is a story about friendship, acceptance, and empathy. It makes for great social skills lessons and conversations.
- The latest book in my collection was an immediate hit. Hazel and the Spooky Season by Kyle Sullivan was released in 2023 and has already won many awards (see them on Amazon website). The illustrations are truly beautiful and perfect for this age group. Have a look at the photo below to see what I am talking about. Stunning, right?! Hazel loves Halloween when no one else in her town does. She meets a special character who helps her find the courage to be herself and follow her heart.
Another Use for Picture Books
A great way to practice reading fluency is to have students read Halloween picture books to younger students. Every year we read to our little buddies Halloween books students chose for them. Each student will pick 2-3 books that they think their little buddy will enjoy and then they practice reading for fluency. Little buddies love this time with their big buddies.
Spooky Art Ideas for the Classroom
Art is a great way to get students in the Halloween spirit but still sticking with curriculum. Here is a link to a variety of different Halloween art projects for elementary classrooms.
FREE Halloween Math!
A fantastic (and maybe the cheapest) way to keep students focused during the Halloween season is to incorporate Halloween themes into your regular work and lessons.
The week of Halloween is likely not the best time to introduce students to a new math concept so I use this week for review and I like to keep it simple but still educational.
Addition, subtraction, and rounding decimals are the perfect skills for this. I have created 3 engaging (mazes and cut and paste) math worksheets that you can get for FREE today and give to your students quickly.
Click the link below to get them FREE along with the math talk slides I will discuss next.
Halloween Math Talk
Have you tried Math Talks before? If not, today is the perfect time to start!
Math talks encourages students to look at numbers, shapes, or equations in different ways. Instead of finding one “correct” answer, students justify their thinking, listen to others, and explore multiple mathematical connections.
I love adapting math talks to the different holidays as they are a fun way to engage students in math in a relaxed, low risk activity. I project one slide on the board each morning as a way to start our day.
Just project each slide and ask “Which one doesn’t belong?”. Students will come up with many different answers to the same question.
You can get 8 math talk slides (along with the math worksheets from above) for FREE by clicking the link below. Some non math slides are included to allow for building confidence and allowing all students at varying levels to participate.
I hope these ideas inspire you to bring some Halloween fun into your classroom!
Cheers,
