Faculty+Involvement+Ideas

Send out via email Web Wednesday notes. I use things from TeachHub.com a lot but I have a fill I put good websites or apps into and on Wednesdays I send them out and call it Web Wednesday Tips. Here is part of one I sent before Halloween from Teach Hub: Use Halloween to Teach Literary Concepts

Take advantage of the season to teach foreshadowing, plot, or other literary analysis concepts. Concepts like foreshadowing and plot structure are important, but so boring to learn (or to teach!). Liven it up by using scary stories or movies.

Have students practice identifying the elements of a plot by outlining their favorite scary or Halloween-themed movie (What is the inciting incident in The Nightmare Before Christmas? What is the climax of Night of the Living Dead?). Using scary films to teach foreshadowing or suspense is obvious, but you can get creative – use Young Frankenstein or Shaun of the Dead to teach parody.

Use the Holiday to Inspire Student Writing

Spooky Story Writing Activities

Want students to practice using suspense, foreshadowing, or plot structure in their writing? Have them write a scary story or draft an outline for their own original scary movie to practice structuring plot (you may want to give them a “rating limit” – e.g. nothing worse than a PG-13 film – if you’re squeamish).

For something with more atmosphere and less potential “blood and guts,” ask them to write a descriptive paragraph that creates a creepy mood to develop skills in figurative language or foreshadowing.

How-to Halloween Writing

For younger kids, Halloween can be a great time to teach instructional or “how to” writing. Have kids write about how to choose the right costume, how to make your own costume, how to plan the best route for trick-or-treating, how to host the best Halloween party, etc. You’ll have higher student interest levels and give yourself some new topics for those “same old, same old” assignments.

Explore How the Media Can Affect Our World

"War of the Worlds" Activities

The ultimate Halloween trick may have been perpetuated in 1938, when a young radio actor/director named Orson Welles and his “Mercury Theatre” program broadcast “The War of the Worlds” – so effectively that many people thought Martians were actually invading. This Time War of the Worlds article describes some of the hysteria, painting a strong contrast between the easily-fooled folks of 1938 and people today.

Begin by having students listen to the actual broadcast, available here and teach them about what happened in 1938. Once they have the background, you can explore a variety of different topics, depending on the age of your students and the subject you’re teaching. For history students, the hysteria around the broadcast is interesting in light of world events at that time (the build-up to World War II, etc.).

If you’re looking for a thought-provoking discussion for older students, ask them: could this type of “hoax” be perpetuated today? How would it look different? It might be on the Internet, not the radio, and it probably wouldn’t involve Martians, but are we really less gullible? This can be a terrific springboard for conversations about the careful “consumption” of media.

Powerpoint Office 2007 from AASL in Conway