Halloween Ideas

An AskERIC Response

January 2003


Question

 I am tring to find lesson plans, activities, or theme teaching ideas on the topic of Halloween. Any ideas?


Response

Hello,

In response to your request on teaching ideas for Halloween, I conducted a sample search of the ERIC database. Below I have appended my search strategy, 13 citations with abstracts, and directions for accessing the full text. These citations may represent an introductory, rather than exhaustive, search for information on your topic.

If you would like to conduct your own free ERIC database searches via the Internet, please visit the ERIC Database Help pages for directions or go directly to http://www.eduref.org/Eric/adv_search.shtml to search.

I have also attached some related resources that may be helpful.

Thank you for using AskERIC! If you have any questions or would like further assistance, please do not hesitate to send another message.

AskERIC Staff


Internet Sites:

* Creature Feature- Vampire Bats
Geared toward younger kids, this site includes vampire bat audio and video files, Fun Facts in the form of a brief but educational article, a map of vampire bat global distribution, links to bat-related Web sites.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/creature_feature/0110/vampirebats.html

* Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood
This extensive Web site offers a detailed look into the biology of blood and the "scientific developments that contributed to society`s understanding and use of blood." Engaging feature articles make up the bulk of this site, with the addition of video clips from the television series, an education section with lesson plans and a discussion guide.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/redgold/

* Halloween Teaching Theme-Halloween Help for Teachers
Halloween crafts, coloring sheets, recipes, songs and even downloads from Teach-nology.
http://teachers.teach-nology.com/themes/holidays/halloween/

* The Ultimate Halloween Resource for Teachers and Parents!
Here you will find many Halloween and fall activities, lessons, books and printables.
http://teachingheart.net/halloweenindex.html

* Halloween Lesson Plans.
Collection of links from lessonplanspage.com.
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/Halloween.htm

* SPOOKtacular Lessons for Halloween
Lesson planning article from Education World.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson283.shtml

* Reading - Thematic Unit on Halloweeen
An AskERIC Lesson Plan
http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Reading/RDG0018.html

* Halloween: The Fantasy and Folklore of All Hallows
This web page from the Smithsonian Institution's American Folklife Center gives a good description of the origins of Halloween and Halloween traditions, and also includes a selected bibliography on Halloween and related topics.
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/halloween.html

* Holiday Lesson Idea Menu
From PE Central; includes games and activities for grades K-5.
http://pecentral.org/lessonideas/holiday/holidayideasindex.asp

You may also want to trying searching the Gateway to Educational Materials and the keyword Halloween.

* GEM -- The Gateway to Educational Materials
The GEM Union Catalog provides one-stop, any-stop access to high quality Internet lesson plans, curriculum units and other education resources. Conduct full-text, subject, keyword, or title searches, then select desired grade or education level and submit the search. Retrieved records will link directly to the Internet resources they describe.
http://www.thegateway.org/

Below are several ERIC Citations that may be relevant to your question. For information on obtaining the full text of the materials cited below please refer to our document on how to obtain the full text of materials cited in ERIC at: http://www.eduref.org/Eric/Help/obtain.shtml
For more information about ERIC Citations, including an explanation of the abbreviations used for the field codes, click here: http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Qa/archives/fields.shtml

ERIC Database Citations through 12/2002:

Search Strategy: halloween (Keyword) AND 052 (Publication Type)

Click here to run this search in the ERIC Database:

Record 1 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: EJ640654
CHN: CS761925
AU: Hailey,-David-E., jr.; Grant-Davie,-Keith; Hult,-Christine-A.
TI: Online Education Horror Stories Worthy of Halloween: A Short List of Problems and Solutions in Online Instruction.
PY: 2001
SO: Computers-and-Composition; v18 n4 p387-97 2001
ISSN: 8755-4615
NT: Special Issue--Distance Education: Promises and Perils of Teaching and Learning Online.
DT: Guides-Classroom-Teacher (052); Journal-Articles (080)
LA: English
DE: *Adult-Learning; *Computer-Mediated-Communication; *Distance-Education; *Internet-; *Writing-Instruction
DE: Higher-Education; Problem-Solving
AB: Examines many surprising problems that arise in the process of distance education using the Internet and describes ways in which instructors and administrators can solve these problems. Notes that the solutions described are generalizable to other programs using online delivery for instruction. (SG)
CH: CS
FI: EJ
DTC: 052; 080
UD: 200207 (CIJE)

Record 2 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: EJ636236
CHN: SO534177
AU: Greene,-Yvonne
TI: Funny Faces.
PY: 2000
SO: Arts-and-Activities; v128 n3 p20-21 Nov 2000
ISSN: 0004-3931
DT: Guides-Classroom-Teacher (052); Journal-Articles (080); Reports-Descriptive (141)
LA: English
DE: *Art-Education; *Childrens-Art; *Educational-Strategies; *Handicrafts-; *Printmaking-
DE: Art-Materials; Grade-1; Kindergarten-; Primary-Education; Student-Interests
AB: Presents a torn-paper and gadget-print activity for younger students, specifically pre-kindergarten to first grade, that can be done any time over the school year or at Halloween. Discusses how the students create their funny faces and lists the materials needed. (CMK)
CH: SO
FI: EJ
DTC: 052; 080; 141
UD: 200204 (CIJE)

Record 3 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED449490
CHN: CS014260
TI: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. [Lesson Plan].
CS: National Endowment for the Humanities (NFAH), Washington, DC.
SP: MCI WorldCom, Arlington, VA.; Council of the Great City Schools, Washington, DC.
PY: 2000
AV: Full text at: http://edsitement.neh.gov/lessonplans/sleepy_hollow.html.
NT: Small print in the column of text on the right side of the document may not reproduce well.
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
DL: http://www.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED449490
DT: Guides-Non-classroom (055)
CP: U.S.; District-of-Columbia
LA: English
GL: Federal
PG: 6
DE: *Language-Arts; *Literature-Appreciation
DE: Class-Activities; English-Instruction; Lesson-Plans; Middle-Schools; United-States-Literature
ID: *Legend-of-Sleepy-Hollow-(The)
ID: Irving-(Washington)
AB: Noting that Washington Irving's classic tale of the Headless Horseman has lately become a Halloween favorite, this lesson plan helps students explore the artistry that helped make Irving the United States' first literary master, and ponders the mystery of what happened to Ichabod Crane. Its 4 lessons seek to make students able to: (1) summarize the plot of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"; (2) adapt passages for a contemporary audience; (3) analyze the characterization of Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones; and (4) offer an imaginative response to the conclusion. Intended for grades 6-8, the plan offers suggestions on preparing to teach this lesson. It also notes subject areas covered (American Fiction/Literature/Language Arts), time required to complete the lesson, skills used and taught in the lesson, and lists of the standards developed by professional associations or governments that are related to the lesson. Activities to extend the lesson and further resources conclude the lesson plan. (SR)
LV: 1
CH: CS
FI: ED
DTC: 055
UD: 200107 (RIE)

Record 4 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: EJ617074
CHN: SO533020
AU: Szekely,-George
TI: Halloween Forms.
PY: 1999
SO: Arts-and-Activities; v126 n2 p23,54 Oct 1999
ISSN: 0004-3931
DT: Journal-Articles (080); Reports-Descriptive (141)
LA: English
DE: *Art-Education; *Childrens-Art; *Student-Interests; *Student-Role; *Teacher-Role
DE: Art-Expression; Elementary-Education; Relevance-Education; Role-of-Education; Teacher-Student-Relationship
AB: Stresses that art teachers should recognize the child as an artist and demonstrate the special nature of children's art. Explains that each art lesson should help children both see themselves as participants in the art world and sense connections between their art interests and the subject of the art lesson. (CMK)
CH: SO
FI: EJ
DTC: 080; 141
UD: 200105 (CIJE)

Record 5 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: EJ612418
CHN: UD522464
AU: Nelson,-Adie
TI: The Pink Dragon Is Female: Halloween Costumes and Gender Markers.
PY: 2000
SO: Psychology-of-Women-Quarterly; v24 n2 p137-44 Jun 2000
ISSN: 0361-6843
DT: Journal-Articles (080); Reports-Research (143)
LA: English
DE: *Gender-Issues; *Sex-Differences; *Sex-Stereotypes
DE: Fantasy-; Femininity-; Masculinity-; Pretend-Play; Sex-Role
ID: *Costumes-
ID: Halloween-
AB: Content analysis of children's Halloween costumes explored how children's fantasy dress reproduces and reiterates conventional gender messages. Both male and female costumes contained high proportions of heroes. Feminine costumes were clustered in a narrow range depicting traditional femininity, with higher proportions of animals and foodstuffs. Masculine costumes emphasized warriors and tended to feature villains. There were few gender-neutral costumes. (SM)
CH: UD
FI: EJ
DTC: 080; 143
UD: 200102 (CIJE)

Record 6 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: EJ568112
CHN: SP526847
AU: Lindquist,-Tarry
TI: Social Studies Now. This Halloween, Exchange the Hysterical for the Historical.
PY: 1996
SO: Instructor-; v106 n3 p112-13 Oct 1996
ISSN: 1049-5851
DT: Guides-Classroom-Teacher (052); Journal-Articles (080)
TA: Practitioners; Teachers
LA: English
DE: *History-Instruction; *Social-Studies
DE: Cooperative-Learning; Creative-Teaching; Elementary-Education; Experiential-Learning; Teaching-Methods
ID: *Halloween-
AB: A social studies wax museum can teach elementary students facts as they celebrate Halloween. A primary activity has students determine historic scenes to include in the wax museum, practice their poses, and put on a Halloween show. An intermediate activity has students research historic events, interpret information, create backdrops and props, and work cooperatively on the wax museum. (SM)
CH: SP
FI: EJ
DTC: 052; 080
UD: 199902 (CIJE)

Record 7 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: EJ556694
CHN: CS754530
AU: Mitchell,-Diana; Broderick,-Vincent-J.
TI: Halloween Is Coming: Ghostly Themes in the English Classroom.
PY: 1997
SO: English-Journal; v86 n6 p94-99 Oct 1997
ISSN: 0013-8274
NT: Theme: Writing and Rewriting: Issues and Practices in the English Classroom.
DT: Guides-Classroom-Teacher (052); Journal-Articles (080)
LA: English
DE: *English-Instruction; *Epics-; *Language-Arts
DE: Secondary-Education; Units-of-Study
ID: *Ghost-Stories
ID: Halloween-
AB: Describes how an English teacher uses ghost stories in his classroom to further students' interest in and understanding of epics. Presents a short unit in which all the class work focuses on scary kinds of things. (SR)
CH: CS
FI: EJ
DTC: 052; 080
UD: 199806 (CIJE)

Record 8 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: EJ552919
CHN: SE558552
AU: Wickett,-Maryann
TI: Investigating Probability and Patterns with the Thirteen Days of Halloween.
PY: 1997
SO: Teaching-Children-Mathematics; v4 n2 p90-94 Oct 1997
ISSN: 1073-5836
DT: Guides-Classroom-Teacher (052); Journal-Articles (080)
TA: Teachers; Practitioners
LA: English
DE: *Number-Concepts; *Patterns-in-Mathematics; *Probability-
DE: Elementary-Education; Mathematics-Activities; Mathematics-Instruction; Problem-Solving; Statistics-
AB: Presents an activity introducing probability and patterns to multigrade students. Uses the storybook "The Thirteen Days of Halloween" to demonstrate numbers, patterns, and probability. (ASK)
CH: SE
FI: EJ
DTC: 052; 080
UD: 199803 (CIJE)

Record 9 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: EJ551952
CHN: EA533836
AU: Haynes,-Charles-C.
TI: The Pumpkin Problem.
PY: 1997
SO: American-School-Board-Journal; v184 n10 p48 Oct 1997
ISSN: 0003-0953
DT: Journal-Articles (080); Legal-or-Legislative-or-Regulatory-Materials (090); Reports-Evaluative (142)
LA: English
DE: *Holidays-; *Legal-Responsibility; *Parent-Attitudes; *School-Activities; *School-Responsibility
DE: Christianity-; Elementary-Secondary-Education; Ideology-
ID: *Halloween-
AB: Halloween is becoming one of the most controversial days of the school year, due to parents' religious, educational, and safety concerns. Although Halloween celebrations do not violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, teachers should not use them as an occasion to teach about Druidism. Schools should have opt-out provisions and reconsider activities' educational merit. (MLH)
CH: EA
FI: EJ
DTC: 080; 090; 142
UD: 199803 (CIJE)

Record 10 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED406673
CHN: CS215788
AU: Joy,-Flora; and-others
TI: The Big, Bad Wolf Goes Trick-or-Treating.
PY: 1994
SO: Storytelling-World; v3 n1 p38-40 Win-Spr 1994
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
DL: http://www.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED406673
DT: Guides-Classroom-Teacher (052); Journal-Articles (080)
CP: U.S.; Tennessee
LA: English
PG: 5
DE: *Audience-Response; *Class-Activities; *Classroom-Communication; *Story-Telling; *Student-Participation
DE: Creative-Expression; Elementary-Education; Learning-Activities; Verbal-Communication
ID: Communication-Across-the-Curriculum; Halloween-; Three-Little-Pigs
AB: This adaptation of the "Three Little Pigs" story is suitable for performance in elementary grades, especially around Halloween. The story comes with step-by-step directions for how to dramatize the action for maximum audience participation and response and with suggestions for optional learning activities that can be used with the story. Some of the activities that go with the story are making hand shadows (illustrations are provided), working on language arts by pinpointing adjectives in the story, and discussing story creation (the story is a combination of 2 different stories). An activity about product brand names and another activity about health habits are also included. (NKA)
LV: 1
CH: CS
FI: ED
DTC: 052; 080
UD: 199709 (RIE)

Record 11 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: EJ535936
CHN: FL526485
AU: Mollica,-Anthony; and-others
TI: Teaching Culture in a North American Context: Halloween Revisited.
PY: 1996
SO: Mosaic-; v4 n1 p18-22 Fall 1996
ISSN: 1195-7131
DT: Reports-Descriptive (141); Journal-Articles (080)
LA: English; French; Italian; Spanish
DE: *Cultural-Context; *Dialogs-Language; *Narration-; *Second-Language-Learning; *Speech-Communication
DE: Foreign-Countries; French-; Humor-; Italian-; Spanish-; Teaching-Methods
ID: *Canada-; *Halloween-
AB: Notes that information presented in dialog form in a foreign language lends itself more easily to conversation than does intricate narrative prose. Using background information on Halloween, the article adapts the text to present information about the target culture as well as to humorously present facts about the North American festivity. (Author/CK)
CH: FL
FI: EJ
DTC: 141; 080
UD: 199705 (CIJE)

Record 12 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED402223
CHN: SO026145
AU: Bell,-Michael-E.
TI: Rattling Chains and Dreadful Noises: Customs and Arts of Halloween. Third Edition.
CS: Rhode Island Heritage Commission, Providence.
PY: 1994
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
DL: http://www.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED402223
DT: Guides-Non-classroom (055)
CP: U.S.; Rhode-Island
TA: Teachers; Students; Practitioners
LA: English
PG: 13
DE: *Cultural-Activities; *Folk-Culture; *Material-Culture
DE: Art-Activities; Holidays-; Interdisciplinary-Approach; Intermediate-Grades; Junior-High-School-Students; Oral-History; Social-Studies; Western-Civilization
ID: *Halloween-
AB: The U.S. celebration of Halloween has worldwide connections. Although Halloween originated in the pre-Christian European celebration of summer's end, many of the customs associated with the event derive from both pagan and Christian beliefs and practices throughout the world. This document gives a historic overview of Halloween customs and traditions. Suggestions are given for interdisciplinary classroom activities and discussions appropriate to middle school students. Contains 14 references. (MM)
LV: 1
CH: SO
FI: ED
DTC: 055
UD: 199704 (RIE)

Record 13 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: EJ458475
CHN: SP521795
AU: Kepler,-Lynne
TI: Bumps in the Night. Hands-on Science.
PY: 1992
SO: Instructor-; v102 n3 p24-26 Oct 1992
ISSN: 1049-5851
DT: Journal-Articles (080); Guides-Classroom-Learner (051); Guides-Classroom-Teacher (052)
LA: English
DE: *Class-Activities; *Elementary-School-Science; *Science-Instruction; *Writing-Across-the-Curriculum
DE: Cooperative-Learning; Elementary-Education; Teaching-Methods
ID: *Hands-on-Experience
ID: Halloween-
AB: Presents elementary school science activities with a Halloween orientation. One activity teaches students to appreciate and understand bats. A second activity has students group and classify monsters by individual characteristics. Activities for integrating science across the curriculum include creating monster myths, conducting surveys of nocturnal animals, and researching animal monsters. (SM)
CH: SP
FI: EJ
DTC: 080; 051; 052
UD: 199306 (CIJE)


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