selective focus photography of piled pumpkins
K-12

October and Halloween Wakelets

I’ve been working on my Wakelet collections so that I’ll eventually have one for every month. To be consistent, I split my Halloween/October collection into two different collections. So, there is now a Halloween one and an October one (which contains a link to the Halloween one as well.)

Some upcoming October holidays/celebrations that you can really have fun with in the classroom are Powers of 10 Day (10/10 of course!) and Global Maker Day on 10/18. I’m still adding resources as they show up on social media, so keep on the lookout for more ideas for those.

In the meantime, the Halloween Wakelet is loaded with lots of math, literature, and science ideas. Many of them can be modified easily to use for a fall theme if you are in a school where Halloween lessons are discouraged. There are free digital breakouts in the collection, a slow reveal graph about candy sales, and tons of puzzles. One of my favorite lessons that I used to do with my primary students was Monster Box, and you will find an updated link to that with a free link to a Google Slides presentation from SlidesMania with cute monsters. It uses the Visible Thinking Routine, “Step Inside,” and I am sure you can find other ways to adapt it.

Of course, don’t forget that September still has a few more fun days left, including International Podcasting Day. If you want to get a head start on October and celebrate International Podcasting Day at the same time, here is a wonderful list from @GladeJeff of Halloween Podcasts for grades PK-12.

red leaf trees near the road
K-12, Teaching Tools, Websites

October 2021

I’m a bit behind in blog posts, but the good news is that a little prep work from last year will pay off for this year! You can find all kinds of links for October activities, including Powers of 10 Day (October 10th) and Halloween, in this Wakelet I started last October. I’ve added a few new links that I got from MakerEd, TCEA, and Ditch That Textbook, and will continue to add more throughout this month. I also recommend that you check out the “Holiday Ideas” page on Big Ideas 4 Little Scholars, as Donna Lasher has a nice monthly list of activities that she keeps. If you find any broken links or want to recommend a resource I’ve missed on my Wakelet, please comment below!

green and white pumpkin on brown wooden table
Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com
Education, K-5, Problem Solving

Halloween Sudoku

I have a third grade student who brings a pad of sudoku puzzles out to recess each day. Any time there is a possible treat on the horizon, some of my second graders call out, “Can it be a sudoku puzzle?”

So if, like my students, yours also love these logic puzzles, here is a Halloween Sudoku you could try this week.  It could be fun whole-class on an interactive white board, or as a station.  Be sure to click on the settings gear on the bottom right corner, so you can choose the appropriate level.  Something that I like about this particular site is that, once you finish, you are given another challenge – so it’s not just a one-shot deal.

For more digital activities with an October theme, check out Laura Moore’s amazing Listly that includes some spooky magnetic poetry and more!

Halloween Sudoku