Haunted House Writing...Beautiful Beginnings/Hooks {Part 2}

If you didn't get to see or read Part 1...click HERE.  

Now that my students have finished their 5-senses circle plans, we got to tackle one of the best parts of these stories...the beginning!  Since they are writing for 8th graders, their creative juices flow like mad because they want to reel in the attention of teenagers.  We all know...and they will attest to this since so many of them have teenage siblings and cousins...how hard it is to keep teenagers entertained.  Ha!  

So, bring on the Beautiful Beginnings mini-lesson (thank you to my fellow teacher and pal, Ella Maya!) and anchor chart!!  

We actually already did our main lesson on this last month when they were writing their Superhero narratives.  But I like to use this opportunity to rewrite a whole new set of Beautiful Beginnings just to show them how much more they can do besides their typical (and I am not kidding you when I say typical)...hence why we have the Banned Beginnings side of our anchor chart in our classroom.

Let's just take a look at that Banned Beginnings side for a hot minute.  All of those came from writing my students have actually done.  After looking at their district benchmark testing and initial writing samples...these are the beginnings they over use...over and over again.  Sigh.  We've already had many many students trying to start their story with, "One spooky Halloween night..."  Gah!  Hence, this repeated mini-lesson on how to use those Beautiful Beginnings or hooks.  

I found my version of this chart from last year on my iPhone and I think those beginnings were waaaaaaaaay better!  But after modeling this, my students were already back at it getting rid of that boring, "One night..." lead.  Ick!  

Bring on the adjectives list!  Since they would be starting on their drafts, I wanted to make sure we interacted with the Adjectives list I include in the unit on Teachers Pay Teachers HERE.  

I ask my students to individually read through the list and mark 5-6 adjectives they have never seen or heard before.  Then, we do a sort of poll by raising our hands for each word.  The words the majority of the class are curious about are those that I highlight.  We bust out the dictionaries, just to get some extra reference source practice in.  I don't have them look up every single word because that would just waste a ridiculous amount of time...so I do like to use context clues and funny or scary scenarios to help them get the gist.  From there they definitely start attaching themselves to certain words they really want to use in their own writing.

And then from there I set them free to let those creative juices flow through their arms on to their paper.  And just like their planning stage...their heads stay down and pencils rapidly scratch across the paper the entire writing period.  I can't get enough out of walking around to stop and read their beginnings and seeing their ideas on paper!

Many students like to wait and use the adjectives until they revise or edit.  But I did have a large handful who wanted to tackle them as they were drafting.  Either way, I love not seeing the word "spooky" or "scary" overused.

Haunted House Writing...We are Obsessed! {Part 1}

We are knee-deep into our drafts and so I wanted to get this little ol' blog post together...finally!  I love this time of year in my classroom!  Even though I am a major Christmas time fan, there is just something about celebrating all things October in 5th grade.  At this grade level I can still get away with the scare factor without kids thinking it's cheesy.  Not only do I love October...my students become obsessed too!

One of the best parts of October though, is when I get to break out and introduce my Haunted House Expressive (Narrative) Writing Unit.  This was one of the first things I put together for Teachers Pay Teachers and it's for sale HERE.

Sure, I'm selling a product I've made and have used in my classroom for the last 6 years...but I really love sharing it here because students fall in love with it.  Year after year, I have seen a HUGE change in my students' voracity and enthusiasm with writing because they suddenly realize they can enjoy writing rather than deal with it.  So, I guess you could say this project is at the heart of why I enjoy this time of the year so much!  The best part is, it covers several of the Common Core Writing standards for narratives in grades 3-6.  Score!!

I like to introduce this assignment to my students in the most persuasive way possible...and that is by using a Promethean flipchart I found on Promethean Planet many years ago (I can't remember the source at all, so hopefully someone knows who I can thank).  This flipchart has great sound effects and some imagery that gets my students excited and feeling inspired.  It really does help it take off!

I feel like I'm going to be saying, "I just love it when...," in this blog post a ton!  But it's because I constantly look up or out at my class and get all giddy because of how much I see them wanting to delve in to something I provide for them.  Sooooooo...when I start going through the flipchart, it makes my heart skip a beat as I see smiles come across their face and I can almost see the wheels turning in their heads.  Sometimes I have to tell them to pump on the brakes because they want to start writing before I'm even done introducing the rest of the unit to them.  Around this time, I also tell them their audience will be 8th graders (this is the benefit of working at a K-8 school).  They get super nervous until I tell them about how much the 8th graders the year before truly enjoyed my previous class' writing pieces.

I've since inserted my own pages into the old flipchart I downloaded years and years ago so that it includes the paragraph plans you can grab up in the TPT product.

In fact, here is the paragraph (5-senses plan) I modeled in front of my class this year...

I should really preface this by saying I am perfectly open to my students getting gross and graphic (at a 5th grade level) as long as they stay within age-appropriate parameters.  The thing is, whether I like it or not, my students (in an at-risk urban area of Phoenix) watch rated R scary movies constantly. I've tried in my earlier years of teaching to put a stop to it, but it happens at home, and there's just nothing I can do to stop it.  So, because they have that background and it is just part of their life, I allow them to take it and run with it.  And...I have never had a student overstep boundaries because they know there are ground rules.  It is completely up to you, your student population, and your comfortability level.  For those who do not want to go scary, I let them know it is perfectly fine and just as much fun to write a funny story or even a combo of funny and scary.  I've had several kids write some hilarious haunted house stories that have made me laugh out loud.

Once we set everything up and I have modeled a paragraph plan or two, my students go for it.  By go for it...I mean GO FOR IT!  They are chomping at the bit and bubbling over with excitement to get to writing for the 8th graders.

I can't stop there though...I have to play Halloween music via my Spotify album I've been adding to the last 3 years.  I'm including it below so you can grab it up and use it in your classroom as well. My kids get all kinds of giddy when they hear the scary sound songs since it gives them inspiration for their 5-senses plans.  The looks on their faces when they hear their favorite scary movie song come on always cracks me up too (think Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween).  Let me know if you decide to use it...I'd love to find out it's being played across classrooms.  :-)

{source}

My students usually need up to 2 days to work on their five paragraphs/plans.  This year, I noticed more of my students really wanted to utilize the space to sketch a visual in order to help them form those ideas.  Talk about ownership!   

This year, I have two students whose families do not celebrate Halloween, so they are writing mysteries that take place inside of a house instead.  I really want to put together an extension to add to the original product...so I'll work on that soon.  I don't want any kids to feel left out. Definitely keep an eye out for that!

What do you think?  I hope this blog post helps those who have grabbed up my little unit.  Part 2 coming up tomorrow...stay tuned!

Best of Halloween...in the Classroom!

Back on my very old blog I did one of my favorite posts on what I love about Halloween as a teacher. Christmas might be my favorite holiday of all time, but there is seriously something about the month of October within the classroom walls.

So, I bring you the best of Halloween in my classroom...

Pumpkin Math:

Made by yours truly and sold on TPT for $2.50

One of my pride and joys is the first product I made for my Teachers Pay Teachers store...and actually, my first personally created lesson straight out of student teaching.  PUMPKIN MATH!  My students become elated (as do I) over it every single year.  My kids get into their groups and each group gets a pumpkin.  They get to estimate the weight, volume (using cups of guts), and circumference of their pumpkins.  We carve pumpkins using dice and then go back to see how close the estimations were. I invite parents to help us carve and students donate the pumpkins.  Our room stinks of pumpkin the rest of the day, but it is well worth it.  I try to take the seeds home and roast them for the kids to try the next day, since many of them have never had this chance.  

Haunted House Expressive Writing:

Also made by yours truly on TPT for $5.00

Possibly even higher on my favorites list than Pumpkin Math, is the Haunted House Expressive Writing Unit.  I started using it in my classroom several years ago.  I was tired of reading my students lackluster writing and wanted to figure out a way to get them to become more descriptive.  Thus, was born this unit after finding a cool idea online that included sound effects.

They are allowed to make it gory and scary OR funny if they'd like.  I play Halloween movie songs and creepy sound effects to help them get inspired while they are writing.  We play around with the 5-senses to figure out ways to make our audience feel like they are right there with us in that haunted house.  The kids work on trying to use descriptive words for sounds since they can't draw pictures.

Last year, we even had ourselves a writing contest!  I decided to choose the top 10 stories and pass them off to one of the 8th grade classes.  They read and voted for the top 5.  You wouldn't believe how hard the kids worked to make their writing entertaining for those older kids.  They grew leaps and bounds just in those couple weeks.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark:

from Barnes and Noble

You know the variety.  Many of you who are children of the 80s or 90s know these books quite well.  I used to read them cover to cover as a kid and couldn't get enough of them.

When I am done with our regular read-aloud, all during the month of October, I read stories each day from the Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz.  Several years ago I struck gold and found the 3-book treasury from Barnes and Noble.  I especially love to read the stories that give me a chance to jump out at them. It is better if I get them to scream loudly...but these days are sadly gone as my students seem to incredibly desensitized due to being allowed to see all the scary movies in theaters   I'll refrain from getting on a soap box about this one.  

One story in particular (actually there are about 2-3 like it in the books) where the ghost or ghoul is asking for something that the protagonist has stolen and at the end the ghost screams to give it back or something…anyway, I hide a fake bloody finger in the book as I read. Then, when I get to the part where the ghost screams loudly I throw it across the room and scare the living daylights out of the kids. ha ha ha ha It works every time...or at least it used to.

For the next week following Halloween, my kids beg me to continue reading out of it. But I tell them it is an October only special. After that, the kids are found checking this book out of my library time and time again.

House on Hackman's Hill and Wait Till Helen Comes:

 

Both images are from Amazon.com

Not only do I thoroughly enjoy reading the Scary Stories, but I read one of these two books (I switch back and forth every year) as our daily read-aloud.  Both are tried and true in the classroom to freak out students.  Although, I've noticed they are less and less scared each year....which takes all the fun away for me.  But both stories are still great reads that put us in the mood for the Halloween season.  

House on Hackman's HIll by Joan Lowery Nixon is a fantastically creepy story and I prefer it over the other.  There are several scenes where Anubis, the half man half jackal ancient Egyptian god, jumps out or does something ferociously scary, like scratching and sniffling at a door. These are the parts I love to overdramatize to get the kids riled up.

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn is one of those ghost stories where you know something bad is coming.  Even though it has a couple spine-tingling moments, it doesn't really have any of my favorite spots to jump out on.  Meh.  But no bother, it is still worth the creeps it gives some of my students.  

Halloween Picture Books:

I love to pull out my three favorite picture books as well, two of which I discovered as a student teacher and have stuck by since.  I have tried to read others and I always go back to these three.

Hallo-Weiner is by Dav Pilkey has a really nice theme to it as well as his hint of humor.  I can't resist doing a funny little German old lady voice for his mom.  The kids laugh and enjoy this one year after year.  

Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini is one of my all-time favorite picture books.  My copy has fallen apart twice and has been glued back together with glue.  My favorite part?  Doing the mean witchy voice, even though it hurts my throat every time.  Oh, and the very last page....you'll have to read it for yourself to see if the witch gets her Piggie Pie.  

The real photographs in Pumpkin Circle by George Levenson are gorgeous, colorful, and so detailed. I love reading this to students before we carve our pumpkins during Pumpkin Math.  It gets oohs and ahhs every time.

Garfield's Halloween Adventure:

You can even get yourself a vintage VHS copy on Amazon!

Even though we aren't allowed to show movies in class anymore, I still wanted to include this one in my Best of Halloween!  Garfield's Halloween Adventure is a favorite of mine from when I was a kid.  It used to scare the bejeesus out of my little brother and I.  The same scene that frightened us always gets my students too.  Can you say pirates rising out of the floor and then scaring Garfield in his hiding spot?...those of you who have seen it know what I mean!

This cartoon is never shown on T.V. any more, so I just love sharing it with them.  Since I can't show it in class this year, I'll just have to watch it at home by myself.  Candy, candy, candy, candy!

So, what are your Best of Halloween picks?  Do you love celebrating this in the classroom more than any other holiday?