BOO!

By Reading Girl XOXO

Guess what, everyone? Only 6 more weeks until Halloween! Time is flying! The month of October is going to be quite busy for me, (on the weekends that is) so I'm starting my Halloween fun this weekend by going to a corn maze with Sam and some friends of mine.  Can't wait!  Last year, we found our way through the maze pretty easily, but the year before that we were completely LOST, which made it even more fun!  In fact, we were the last group left in the maze that night, and had to be "rescued", which made me angry because it was more fun finishing without the help of the employees!

Speaking of Halloween, I thought I'd take some time now to share the Who Am I? Creative Halloween Writing project I created a few weeks ago.  This should keep me preoccupied while I am waiting to hear from Sam at work about San. Di. E. Go...Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!

For this creative Halloween writing assignment, students pretend to be a Halloween creature and write paragraphs of clues about themselves.  This is a great way to incorporate a lesson on inferences!  They must write two paragraphs of clues, the first full of adjectives and clues about their physical appearance, and the second with interesting verbs and clues about what they do/how they act!  This is such a fun way to review or intro adjectives and verbs towards the beginning of the year!
 

The above picture is an example of the finished writing assignment, which I always show to the children as we are working on their writing so they have a "picture" in mind about writing expectations.  This example can be projected on your board for easy review.  There is also a black and white handout version.  I love having students mark them up, circling adjectives, verbs, and interesting clues!

The above picture shows a list of writing ideas students can choose from, although they always think of additional creative creatures every year!

 Here is a graphic organizer for the pre-writing stage, focusing on adjectives and verbs. 

 The Who Am I? Rubric helps students to self-assess, edit, and revise before you score them.
 

 

 You will receive several posters with goals (learning objectives) and important vocabulary words. 

At the end of the assignment, students will decorate a haunted house by using the crayon resist technique and hiding their creature behind a front door that flaps open.  

This project is always such a big hit every year!  Students really get their creative juices flowing, and become so into keeping their creature identity a secret, they often use "offices" or "privacy folders" while writing!  I've even seen some cover clues on their rough drafts with post-it notes.  Haha, too funny!

Check out the Who Am I? Creative Halloween Writing project here.  Make sure to take a look at the preview for more details.

Hopefully I'll be back later today with San Diego updates!  Until then I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

XO <3, C