Boost Student Engagement with These Spooky Season Classroom Resources
YAYYYY for my favorite time of the year! Halloween is BY FAR my favorite holiday! I LOVE experimenting with face paint and fancy make up! And I LOOOVE getting to dress up at school!
Here are some old photos of some of my fave costumes!
I alllllso love SPOOKY season in the classroom! It comes at the perfect time of the year because October is always challenging, and legends make for AMAZING engaging, compelling content! I’ve put together all my favorite resources to help you bring the fun and fright into your classroom! These resources have been used as resources of the month for La Familia Loca PLC over the past few years and have been huge hits, and now they’re available to YOU!
So, whether you want to dive into eerie legends, or create creepy monsters, or get creative with pumpkins, I’ve got something for you and ALL your students! Most of the resources are available in English, Spanish, and French!
Legendary Creatures Resource: Perfect for Spooky Storytelling!
Did you listen to episode 76 of Teaching La Vida Loca?! It is all about the power of using LEGENDS in your class!
Student Engagement Spooky Resources
Here are some of my fave resources that facilitate you teaching about spine-tingling legends from around the world, including a couple you may not have heard of yet:
El Cucuy: The terrifying shapeshifter that haunts children by becoming their worst nightmare. This resource comes with a pretty epic “final project” idea that had my students producing their own Cucuys and writing about them! Check this one out! Obviously, this is the unedited version but pretty amazing what she can do with language after a year and a half of Spanish!!! She was only allowed to look up one word! Grab this mini unit and resources here!
Loup Garou: Louisiana’s very own werewolf, lurking in the swamps and transforming at will! Students LOOOVE this legend! Then, of course, we always have to follow up by playing Loup Garou! You can read about that here. Grab the Legend of the Loup Garou resources here!
Chupacabras: The blood-sucking creature who preys on farm animals—Vampires never go out of style y’all! Lots of kids have background knowledge of this one too, which makes it super fun! We love to compare the Chupacabras to legends and stories that students were told when they were little! I don’t teach these creepier legends to my younger students. You know your students best! You can decide what feels right and doesn’t!
Le Fifollete: A mischievous fairy-like creature from Cajun lore that loves to pull pranks and cause havoc, especially when you’re not paying attention! Viviana made this for La Familia Loca, and the slides are so pretty. Here’s a link to the resource in her store!
Madame Grands Doigts: Also made by my friend Vivi, this French Cajun legend is about a long-fingered lady who sneaks into children’s rooms, and for the good kids, she leaves treats, but for the naughty ones… watch out!! Her resource teaches the back story to Madame Grands Doigts! The slides are also printable so you could just print and laminate for your FVR library!
Low-Prep Activities for Sub Days, Whole Class Input, and Community Building or Individual Fun!
We all have days when we need something quick, fun, and engaging to fill class time. Something we don’t have to take tons of time to prep! These creative activities are ideal for those moments—and they bring tons of fun into the classroom! You can also leave them for a sub if you need some emergency sub plans!
Roll-a-Monster: This is a student favorite! Shane posted about how he was using it last week after coming home from a conference and needed something quick, easy, and compelling! Students roll dice to create their own monster, and then they write about it in the target language. You can even do this as a whole class, rolling giant dice and co-creating a monster to write a story together. Grab them from Vivi’s store here!
Pumpkin Glyph: Here’s a fun fall twist! Students answer personal questions and draw a pumpkin based on their answers. You can also co-create a pumpkin as a class using the included slideshow, and then write a story together. It’s a fun way to build classroom community while staying in the TL with NOVICE structures! Here’s a YouTube Sneak Peak of the resource! (The whole drop video comes with the Glyph in my TPT here!)
Both activities are friendly for elementary students, too! YAY!
Thanks for supporting ME, and allowing ME to support YOU and your students! I LOVE all of these resources soooo much, and with the exception of the pumpkin glyph, I’ve used them ALL myself with my kids in my classes! I know you’re going to have so much fun with them!
Grateful for you!
MUCH love,
Annabelle
