Classroom Teachers Need Fun Halloween Activities to Use For Homework Assignments

Halloween comes at the perfect time in the school year to give students a break. Teachers might give their students homework that includes fun Halloween activities without losing progress in their educational curriculum. Some teachers will take the time to create these on their own, others will purchase an activity to download. Here is a list of the sort of fun activities teachers should look for in products they create, purchase or download as a printable worksheets or games.

1. Word Search Puzzles These are easily created with programs found online or customized by hand using graph paper. Pre-made puzzles can be purchased, downloaded and saved for future use. The key here is to be sure the words are at the reading level of your students.Never just assign a word search puzzle without also including a way for the students to use the word independently. An example would be to write ten sentences, trying to fit two or three words in each sentence.
2. Fill in the Blank Word Puzzles These usually involve a particular word with some letters left blank and some additional activity to find the correct letter. It might be unscrambling. Often these worksheets include secret messages that are solved using letters from the words. Again in order to help build vocabulary, the students need to use the words from their assignments, may-be during an in class review or orally reciting a sentence as they go over homework in class.
3. Math Worksheets Normally math worksheets for Halloween are a worksheet pages decorated with pumpkins or ghosts and possible a secret word. What would be perfect for math Halloween homework is something different, where you might work with place value, or factors or review order of operations. Take the time to look for some quality math ideas to use as a fun Halloween activity assigned for homework.
4. Writing Prompts Teachers are always looking for new and different prompts to use for writing assignments. A motivating writing prompt pre-written on a Halloween designed worksheet that students to use for homework is an essential resource to have on hand.
5. Story Starters It is very common for higher elementary and middle school classes to begin the school year with a review of the plot chart. Halloween is perfect timing to put those to use and have the students write their own short story, with characters, conflict, the climax and a resolution. Using graphic organizers to plan out the plot elements ahead of time provides a great review of these terms. This is a perfect long term assignment, with the story due on Halloween.
6. Brain Teasers and Logic Puzzles Having a supply of Brain Teaser Cards to use with students during the week leading up to Halloween will give the students some problem solving opportunities. Sending each student home with some of these and challenge them to come up with solutions is a simple yet effective way to get them to use problem solving skills and to get their families involved as well.

Halloween comes once a year whether teacher like it or not. The closer the holiday comes, the harder it is to keep student focused. Having some fun Halloween activities to use as homework assignments may be just the thing needed to tap into that energy, and keep their brains focused on academics.

Sue Gnagy Fegan used a structured, sequential multisensory teaching approach for the past 34 years. She saw first hand the benefits of engaging students in productive, hands on activities in class. She created and has presented Make it Fun! Make it Challenging! Make it Multisensory! workshop at conferences across the country. At Halloween, teachers and parents will benefit from having a secret weapon available to them with a variety of well researched, fun and innovative ideas at their fingertips. Check out this link for more information about a Halloween games and activities that cover many skill levels.

Go to http://www.squidoo.com/HalloweenFunActivities Bring holiday fun into the classroom while keeping the curriculum in tact. For some teaching tips on making the classroom more fun in general check out http://www.thesue-teaching-tips.info/fun_teaching_tips.html

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