Halloween

[MsCoffeeLover]

My team has a pretty interesting mix of kids. We thought about having a Halloween contest, but don't think the administrators will go for it. These are 7th graders, and one of our classes will definitely be willing to dress up. Dag, they may even be willing to pay money to do so and have a contest. It could be a great fundraiser.

How can a halloween contest be aligned with a standard? My partner teaches math, and I teach science. It is probably easier said than done for ELA and SS. Our third teacher, the ELA teacher is all for it. While our fourth, SS teacher, will probably go along because she is out voted. She doesn't get into these things like the rest of us do.

Help!

[muinteoir]

I teach science and I do Halloween every year. do all sorts of chemical and physical properties & changes (mostly as demos) for the kids.

You can pack a LOT of science and Halloween into a block of dry ice!

[Boxcar]

Oobleck is science, and it is a lot of fun.

Pumpkin carving could be geometry, literary charactors or themes, or historical.

[Ima Teacher]

Our kids dress up as book or historical characters. That makes them squirrelly all day, but we do the best we can that day. I don't always dress up, but we have a "good & evil" theme this year. I'm the Wicked Witch of the West.

[Boxcar]

We aren't allowed to dress up, but I'll do the colors of orange and black. There is a cute glow-in-the-dark tee from David & Goliath that says "Come over to the Dark Side. We have cookies!" that I love. It has a nice monster on the front. I could wear that.

One neat video you can watch is Monsters Inc. I know it is a little children's video, but big kids like these things too. You could use it as a jumping off point for electricity lessons.

[Clearly Canadian]

For LA, I always do a presentation that mixes a witches brew, using the overhead and a glass pie plate. The plate has vinegar in it, and then during the course of the story you mix in food colouring for different animal bits, or slime or whatever, and at the end of the story, you tell the students that the if they listen carefully they can hear the cauldron bubbling with the witches brew, and then add baking soda. Because the pie plate is see through, the mixture bubbles and turns black, the kids can hear it hissing.. That's science-ish. I teach LA, so the story is full of good adjectives. At the end we review the adjectives that made the story interesting, making a list on the board. The assignment is then for students to develop their own recipe for a spooky Halloween, using really good words with the help of a thesaurus. It must include ingredients, and cooking instructions. We use these (in good copy) to decorate our door for Halloween. If you're interested in the whole story and all the stuff that goes in the brew, let me know.

I didn't intend for this post to be so long winded. I hope it all makes sense at the end!

[BuBerry3]

Clearly Canadian...what a wonderful idea! I would absolutely love the story and the ingredients for the brew!!!

[upnorthteacher]

I would love to get the story and directions also. Sounds like a great activity!

[landreth2007]

I did a great demo with dry ice last year that my students loved. Most of my ideas came from www.stephenspanger.com. Social Studies could be covered by having the students dress as historical figures or go global and dress in native costumes from various countries. Plan a special day or half day where the students rotate from activity to activity. Math is easy with estimating candy, etc. Incorporate nutrition by reading labels, etc. Search the internet for great ideas.

[Dhe Poet]

Happy Halloween to all of you

[upnorthteacher]

Clearly Canadian- I used the activity yesterday and my students loved it! I added an ingredient for the baking powder, though-ground dragon's bones. Thank you so much for this fabulous activity!

[Clearly Canadian]

Oh that's a great idea!...Do you mind if I steal it?

CC

[upnorthteacher]

Of course you can use it! :D Thanks for the great activity!