Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Halloween Spooks - A Creative Writing Activity for Middle School

 By Deann Marin at The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs II

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington  Irving has always been one of my favorite tales.. When I was a child, we would often visit my Uncle Marty who had a farm near Tarrytown New York.  Whenever we were up there, I would think of the Headless Horseman because that’s where the story took place.  I could always visualize the Horseman with head in hand,  chasing poor puny Ichabod Crane.. He always scared the socks off of me, so when we drove through the wooded area up there, I would cover my eyes and spread my fingers just a bit so that I could see. My parents got such a kick out of this that they just went along with it.

This story is the inspiration for my Halloween Spooks Creative Writing Bundle for Middle School.  Kids this age just love to be scared. and they’ll have a great time with this activity.  Read the novel, to the class to set the tone. This is a version that everyone can listen to. Emphasize that there is nothing gory in the story, but it is still terrifying. If you don't want too much gore, let them know that you don't want blood and guts.
I've always liked working with collaborative groups, and this assignment lends itself quite well to this approach.  Complete lesson plans and a grading rubric are included.  There are 26 task cards and some blank ones for you to add your own ideas., as well as lined writing paper.  Everything has a scary theme.
 Of course your students are going to want to share their writing with the rest of the class. So set the stage by lowering or turning off the lights, closing the shades, and bringing in a flashlight or two. Then have everyone sit in a circle as if they’re around a campfire, or have them bring in blankets or beach towels and sit on the floor.  Turn off the lights and play some spooky music in the background.  Have fun.


Halloween Spooks at Socrates Lantern's Tpt Store


Painting by John Quidor 

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                                Halloween Math for grades 2-4

Please visit Socrates Lanterns Tpt Store for this Item


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 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  
Deann


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New and good things are happening. We’ve changed  the name of our Sharing is CaringTeacher Blogging Cooperative to Teacher Talk.  Each month we will bring you a variety of new topics  from our teacher bloggers. Stay tuned for October Teacher Talk which will be posted October 12th.
RCL


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