Halloween Creative Writing Lesson Plan
Teach Elementary Students How to Use the Writing Process
Aug 13, 2009
Halloween is the perfect backdrop for a creative writing lesson since most elementary students’ imaginations are already in overdrive. Instead of trying to get kids to focus on something else teachers can capture their excitement and trepidation with a Halloween themed creative writing assignment.
Halloween Creative Writing Lesson Objective
Students will follow the steps of the writing process to compose, revise and edit a descriptive story about having an adventure at home alone on Halloween night.
Halloween Creative Writing Assignment
The teacher begins the creative writing lesson by reading the book John Pig’s Halloween by Jan L. Waldron [Puffin Books, 1998] to the students. In the story John Pig is too scared to go trick-or-treating with his friends and stays home on Halloween night by himself.
While he is working in his kitchen he hears a loud crash and discovers a witch and her friends have paid him a visit. To his surprise John Pig ends up having a fun adventure on Halloween night at home with his new visitors.
After reading the book the class discusses what happened to John Pig while his housemates were out trick-or-treating. The teacher uses the story as the basis for the Halloween creative writing assignment. She tells the kids that they are going to write their own stories about staying home alone on Halloween.
Creative Writing Lesson Pre-Writing Activities
The students begin the writing process by brainstorming ideas about what could happen on Halloween night. The teacher explains to the students that during brainstorming they are to write down all thoughts that they have whether or not they think they are good.
After the brainstorming lists are complete each student chooses their favorite Halloween night idea from the list and uses it to create an outline. The teacher checks the outlines to make sure that each has a clear and logical beginning, middle, and end.
The students use the outlines to write their first rough draft. While writing the sloppy copy they focus on getting their ideas down on paper and don’t stop to look up unknown spellings or correct mistakes.
How to Teach Elementary Kids to Revise and Edit
Once the rough draft has been written the students work on revising their Halloween stories. The teacher can create a rubric or checklist for the students to use as a guide for revisions.
Key elements to look when while revising include making sure there is a logical beginning, middle, and end to the Halloween adventure and making sure descriptive details are included. Students should also remove unnecessary sentences and rewrite anything that is unclear.
After the story has been revised, students concentrate on editing. They check their rough drafts for spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors and correct any mistakes they find.
The students rewrite their rough drafts so they can be reviewed by a classmate. During the peer review students switch stories with a partner and use a teacher-made rubric to revise and edit the piece. The reviewers make a note of their favorite parts and anything they read that was unclear. The writer and the reviewer conference to share their thoughts discuss any further corrections.
Halloween Creative Writing Final Project
After the revising and editing of the Halloween stories the students write and illustrate their final copies. Depending on the set-up of the classroom students may handwrite their stories or type them on the computer. Once the final creative writing stories are finished the students use art materials to add illustrations and share their stories with their peers.
Elementary students can use the steps of the writing process to compose a creative Halloween story. Teachers show students how to brainstorm story ideas and create an outline before writing a rough draft. After the sloppy copy is written the students and their peers revise and edit their work and write their final copies. The students then share their Halloween stories with their classmates.
The Halloween Reading Lesson Plan and Activity and the Pumpkin Pie Math and Science Cooking Lesson Plan can be used by teacher to create a Halloween themed unit for their students.
For more information on how to teach writing elementary teachers can read Writer’s Workshop for Elementary Kids.
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