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Creating an Immersive Halloween Experience in my Classroom!

classroom management halloween in-person teaching online education online learning tech in the classroom tech tips Oct 24, 2020

Halloween is my favorite time of year as a teacher! I go all out and have way too much fun! 

I have all the lights off as the students enter. I have a fireplace projected on the front whiteboard and a YouTube video of a thunderstorm playing in the background. I have this fabulous raven that starts cawing as students walk in front of it. I have a stuffed doggy that looks like it is sleeping quietly. I even have a (fake) monkey's paw that I got last year! I fill a bowl with Halloween candy and my students and I read through a scary short story together! 

This year, things are going to look a bit different. I still plan on reading the scary story with the thunderstorm background and having my lovely raven nearby, but it really won't be the same. 

 

These kinds of immersive days full of different elements can be SUPER engaging for students so this is how I plan to replicate this for students: 

1. The Landlady by Roald Dahl with my 5th graders

This story is so creepy due to the subtlety of it! So, I plan to have a living room, fireplace scene shared as the students come into the room and I will have the thunderstorm playing as well. I will encourage them to turn off their lights at home and listen as I read through the story. I'll have my super lifelike stuffed puppy with me in the Zoom as well. 

2. The Outsider by H.P. Lovecraft with my 8th graders

This one has the fabulous surprise ending so leading up to that, I want to increase the tension as much as possible. Again I'll have the thunderstorm playing and on the screen, I will have an image of a super creepy castle. I will try to get my cool holographic portraits in the background of my Zoom too. 

3. The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe with my 6th graders

I love this version of the story because it has all the sound effects, but I also love reading it to my kiddos. As I read, again, we will have the thunderstorm going and a creepy image displayed and I will have my raven friend with me as I read. 

 

Obviously, we don't JUST read the stories, even though that is really fun. I always have my students do some sort of Language Arts activity with the stories. My favorite activity is Visual Vocabulary!

It is a great creative way to get the students engaging and learning with the content in the story. Here are some examples of what my students have made and you can click on any of those images to get your own copy of Visual Vocabulary!