1. Sunflower Words

On this cute sunflower page, students will write each spelling word 7 times on each petal. On the center of the sunflower, they will write the number of syllables.

2. Pumpkin Patch

Your students will love practicing their spelling words as they add one letter at a time to each of the adorable pumpkins. 

3. Spider Spelling

On these silly spiders, students will write the spelling word 4 times on the spider legs.

4. Web Writing

For this spelling page, your students get to write their spelling words repeatedly in each section of the creepy web. 

5. Bat Syllables

On this Bat Syllables page, students separate their spelling words into syllables. Students write each segment into the batwing, then the body, then the next bat wing. If the word is more than 3 syllables, students add the word to the spooky ghost at the bottom of the page. 

6. Candy Corn Spelling

In this Fall and Halloween spelling activity, students write their spelling words in the candy corn. Each candy corn is split into 3 sections. Students will write their spelling words 3 times in each of the candy corn sections. 

7. Acorn Spelling

Each of these cute acorns is split into 3 sections. Students write their spelling words at the top of the acorn. In the bottom 2 sections students write the number of vowels and the number of consonants. 

8. Fallicious Writing

For this fall page, students use their creativity and use the words from the box and their spelling words to write a fun fall story. Students underline their spelling words as they use them. 

9. Spooky Roll and Spell

Your students will have so much fun with this Spooky Roll and Spell! For this page, they will roll the dice and then write their words according to the number that they rolled. Some of the fun options include; writing the words in marker, writing the letters in ghosts, and writing the words in fancy letters. 

10. Pumpkin Shape Spelling

For this Fall and Halloween spelling activity, students write their spelling words along the inside of the different sized pumpkins once. 

11. Spelling Sentences

For this spelling sentences page, students write their spelling word in the box and then write a complete sentence with the word on the line. Then students circle the spelling word in the sentence. 

12. Spelling Codes

Your students will LOVE cracking these spelling codes! First, they will write their spelling word on the line. Next, they use the scary Halloween symbol that matches the letter to write their spelling word. 

Looking for a DIGITAL option?  

These same worksheets make great practice for the computer as well!  Google slides compatible.

I know that these Fall and Halloween spelling activities will help you incorporate the season into your word work time! It’s a great way for students to feel like they are enjoying the season without the thought of doing actual work!  Sometimes we need to be tricky as teachers…

I’d love to see how you use them in your classroom, so don’t forget to tag me in your pictures on Facebook and Instagram! 

The post Halloween and fall spelling activities that are perfect for word work centers appeared first on Elementary Island.

This Halloween STEM Activity pack includes four activities with planning, recording, and reflections sheets. In these four activities students will be:

• Constructing the tallest haunted house
• Creating a web to catch the most spiders
• Creating the most life-like skeleton
• Stacking candy corn to create the tallest structure

Take a Look at the Four Halloween STEM Activities

1. Spider Webs

In this activity, students will be constructing a spider web to collect the most spiders for their spooky Halloween scene. Students will be working in groups of three. Students may only use the materials given to them which will be: 6 popsicle sticks, tape, yarn, pipe cleaners, and scissors.

For the first step, students will use the plan sheet to determine what their spider web will look like. They can look to the internet for ideas and then record and sketch their ideas. Students will use the next sheet to record their data for their first and second attempts. The questions provided will help them to analyze their data. Finally, students will use the reflection sheet to determine what worked with their spider web, and what they would do differently next time.

This Spider Webs activity is sure to keep your students engaged and learning! It also has differentiation included for your lower-level learners and advanced learners!

2. Scary Skeletons

The next activity your students will love is the Scary Skeletons! In this activity, students will need to get creative to construct a skeleton out of Q-tips to help decorate the classroom. The challenge is that the skeleton needs to be realistic! The most realistic skeleton voted by the class is the winner!

Students will need to research skeletons carefully and then create their skeletons on paper. Students will be in groups of 2-3. The materials they will need are: Q-tips, scissors, glue, a skeleton head, and a piece of black construction paper. You may also print out a paper of the human skeleton if you would prefer to have your students stay off the internet.

Included is the plan sheet where students can design their skeleton. On the next page, students can collect and analyze their data by giving each group a number from 1-10 on how they would rate their skeleton. The reflection sheet allows students to analyze how they liked their skeleton and what they would do differently the next time. There is also a rubric where students can rate themselves on how well they feel they did on the project.

3. Haunted House Homes

For this exciting activity, students get to create a haunted house that will give the ghouls an area to spook! For this challenge, the haunted house must be free-standing, have three towers, and the tallest point must be at least one foot tall. They also only have 30 minutes to create their haunted house!

Students will be in groups of 2-3 and may only use the materials provided. The materials students will need are: construction paper, tape, Play-doh, two toilet paper rolls, ten popsicle sticks, scissors, and a ruler. There is also a page full of ghouls that students may use for fun!

Using the plan sheet students will design their haunted house and determine what they need to do to make it free-standing. They will also sketch out their haunted house and decide how they will use the materials to create their house. Next, they will use the Data Collection and Analysis page to compare each table’s haunted houses. The Reflection Sheet allows students to think about what worked in the design of their haunted house and how they could improve next time.

4. Candy Corn Stack

This last activity is sure to get your students thinking and having fun! For this last challenge, students will need to stack candy corn as high as they can! The challenge is it must be free-standing, they are only allowed to use the materials provided, and they only have 20 minutes! The group with the highest stack at the end of the time period wins!

The plan sheet will help help your students design their stack with questions such as; what their base should look like. On the Data and Collection Analysis page students will use a table to make comparisons of each table to see which group had the highest stack. This page also includes questions to analyze why a stack was high or why it wasn’t. Lastly, the reflection sheet gives your students a page to think about what they did differently at the beginning of the activity versus the end of the activity. Students will then use the rubric to grade themselves on how well they did in the activity.

As the Halloween season approaches, I hope you and your class can use these Halloween STEM Activities! I know they will keep your students excited about the holiday while still learning and challenging them implementing STEM in the classroom!

I’d love to see how you used these Halloween STEM Activities in your classroom! Take a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook!

If you’re looking for a FREE stem activity to try out in your classroom, you can try this Easy STEM activity to get your kids excited!  It’s a great introduction to the format of all my seasonal STEM activities.

The post Four Fun Halloween STEM Activities to celebrate the season using the STEM process appeared first on Elementary Island.

Pumpkins, skeletons, candy corn, ghosts, and haunted houses……you know what that means!  Fall is here and my FAVORITE holiday that comes with it……HALLOWEEN!

Although the holiday is around that haunted house corner, curriculum still looms near us like that creepy ghost! Bwahahaha!!!!

In an effort to get the kids excited for the season but still focus on our skills, I have incorporated a few “fun” activities into my plans the weeks leading up to Halloween and after.  I’ve got you covered for spelling, math, science and everything in between!

This activity is great for ANY (and I do mean ANY) part of your curriculum!  I am amazed at what rolling a paper up and securing it with a ring spider can do!!!!! Roll up those questions in any content area, secure, and you have INSTANT engagement!  I chose some review task cards for my scrolls and it was a HUGE hit! 

I’ve incorporated some holiday-themed spelling papers into my word workstations to keep the fun going!  Students work meticulously on practicing their spelling words for the week because….. don’t you know it’s FUN to write your spelling words in spider legs??

If you’re interested in all 12 activities to use with ANY list, click HERE.

Food?  Well YES, PLEASE!  Grab those candy corn bags off the shelf and use them to review greater than / less than!  They make the perfect symbols for your Halloween-themed assignments.  Simply grab dice and a handful of candy corn and….. your students are HOOKED!

Review, review, review!  We know how important it is to spiral our skills!  This pumpkin activity does just that!  Review those place value skills that you have tirelessly worked all quarter on.  The BEST part?  This can double as a cute hallway display!!!!  You can print the pumpkins on orange paper or have your students do the coloring! Connect some vines and….. VOILA!!! A cute place value pumpkin display that can last all fall!

Of course, I saved the BEST for last! STEM!  My oh my, do my students L-O-V-E STEM!  I love it too, but it has to serve a purpose.  These activities, available for fall or Halloween, will have your students 100% participating and creating!  Students are asked to research, design to meet a challenge, test the challenge, record their information, and reflect on the outcomes!   All of them, EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM, will be BEGGING for more STEM! 

I promise! 

Fall STEM: 
★ Collect piles of leaves to see who gains the most points
★ Create pumpkin boats to see how many pumpkin candies can be held.
★ Create a tool to move pumpkins from the Scarecrow
★ Create a route to move the pumpkins from the patch to the car for shipment in the fastest time

 Grab the Fall STEM lessons HERE.

Halloween STEM
★ Construct the tallest haunted house
★ Create a web to catch the most spiders
★ Create the most life-like skeleton
★ Stack candy corn to create the tallest structure
 

These awesome Halloween activities are available HERE.
 

Do you have favorite Halloween or fall activities that get your students excited?  I would LOVE to hear about them below!  

The post 5 Halloween/Fall Activities to Engage Your Students appeared first on Elementary Island.