Add a little fun to Halloween with these five activities. First, students will practice reading a table of information and then have a trivia scavenger hunt to learn some interesting facts about Halloween. The interesting topics are fun to research and to learn about. Students will also learn how to write an analogy poem. Your students won’t grumble over this unusual writing assignment. A Halloween craftivity is included. The craftivity includes a writing space where students can add their own Halloween trivia or Halloween analogy poem. The end result makes a terrific bulletin board. Finally, activities for two Halloween picture books will add a little pizazz to your classes.
Get all activities in printable format along with the link to the Google Slides version by clicking on this button.
**~~ Halloween Activity #1 – Reading a Table ~~**
Chocolate is the most popular type of Halloween candy. It makes up about three-fourths of all trick-or-treat candy.
The Most Popular Candy Bars
| Candy Type | Sales | Average Price | Introduction | Company |
 |
$509.85 million |
$1.25 |
1928 |
Hershey |
 |
$500.82 million |
$1.15 |
1941 |
Mars |
 |
$456.91 million |
$1.11 |
1930 |
Mars |
 |
$324.63 million |
$1.05 |
1900 |
Hershey |
 |
$306.51 million |
$1.11 |
1935 |
Hershey |
 |
$116.13 million |
$1.56 |
1993 |
Mars |
 |
$101.27 million |
$1.12 |
1932 |
Mars |
 |
$100.70 million |
$1.02 |
1994 |
Hershey |
 |
$93.46 million |
$1.03 |
1923 |
Mars |
 |
$82.25 million |
$1.04 |
1946 |
Hershey |
Sample Questions from the Handout
Which company has made more money on their top-selling chocolates?
On the table, the candy bars are ordered by ____.
a.when they were first manufactured
b.total revenue
c.alphabetical order
d.companies
**~~ Halloween Activity #2 Trivia ~~**
Fifteen trivia questions are included for students to research. A printable, links to a Google Slides version and an answer key are included.
1. What does the M in M&M’s stand for?
2. What were Snickers candy bars named after?
3. Which candy tastes like a rainbow?
4. In 2020, what were the 5 most popular Halloween costumes for kids?
5. How many flavors of Jelly Belly Jelly Bean are there?
6. Why do Pop Rocks pop?
7. Approximately ___________ million pounds of candy are purchased during Halloween.
8. It takes an average of ___________ licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.
9. Ninety percent of parents say they sneak candy from their children’s Halloween bags. ________________ is their treat of choice.
10.The National Confectioners Association reported that more than ________________ pounds of candy corn are sold each year. That is nine billion kernels.
11. Over $_____________________ are spent on Halloween costumes for pets yearly.
12. Harry Houdini died on _________________________ from an appendicitis after receiving three stomach punches.
13. Approximately _________% of Americans dress up in Halloween costumes.
14. About ________% of Americans hand out Halloween candy, ________% carve pumpkins, ________% visit haunted houses, and ________% dress up their pets.
15. The first Jack O’ Lanterns was made out of _________.
**~~ Halloween Activity #3 – Analogy Poetry ~~**
Student Instructions
Step 1 Think of 6 Halloween words. Write them next to the numbers. On the lines next to each word write rhyming words to your first word. The first one has been done for you.
Step 2 ~ Write a poem that uses pairs of analogies. The last words in each analogy pair must rhyme. Use the rhyming words you just created to help you get started. Try to stick to a Halloween theme with your analogies.
Sample Poem
Casper the Friendly Ghost is to likeable as monster is to frightful.
Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin is to patient as Trick-or-Treating is to delightful.
**~~ Halloween Activity #4 Monster Cards ~~**
These cards pair well with Halloween trivia. First, read the ten interesting facts that are provided in the handout. Next have students research additional interesting facts. Students write them on the cards and then assemble the monster. These make a terrific bulletin board.
Examples ~~ 6th Grader
Example ~ 2nd Grader
This activity could even be adapted for kindergarten. I asked students to tell me something they liked to do on Halloween. I wrote their sentences on index cards. The students then copied the sentences onto their monster cards.
**~~ Halloween Activity #5 – Picture Books ~~**
Funnybones by Janet and Alan Ahlberg
For years this has been a Halloween favorite with my younger students. The repetitive lines make the story fun to read. I recommend the questions on the handout for approximately 3rd graders.
If you would like students to view a video of the book, check out these links from YouTube.
Activities on the Web
The Internet is full of skeleton craft ideas from using Q-tips for skeletal parts to drawing haunted houses and skeletons with pastels or chalk on black construction paper.
Check out Art Teacher in LA for some great Halloween ideas including oil pastel skeletons. The Spooky House Halloween Art Lesson also ties in nicely with the book.
Wiki How provides a printable skeleton to cut out and assemble with brads. The site includes step-by-step instructions with photos.
All for the Boys has a Printable Skeleton Game. Just print the game pieces, cut them apart, add 2 dice, and you’ll be ready to play.
The Laughing Skeleton has a very similar game to the one on the link above that uses two dice with skeletal parts drawn on them in place of numbers.
Sample Questions from the Handout
What did the illustrator do to show the dog was put together incorrectly?
In the song that the skeletons sang after reassembling the dog correctly, which words rhyme?
Which type of figurative language is “Wooooooooo?”
Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex
This book has 19 poems featuring Frankenstein, Wolfman, Dracula, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Bigfoot, Godzilla, and others. The activity on the next page goes with Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. If you don’t have access to the book, you can find this poem read on YouTube.
Sample Questions from the Handout
What is the rhyming pattern of the poem?
When Frankenstein prepared to dine _____
On ham and cheese on wheat _____
He found, instead, he had no bread _____
(or mustard, cheese, or meat). _____
Instead of saying Frankenstein wants to eat a sandwich, the author describes this as wanting to dine on ham and cheese on wheat. This is called —-.
a) figurative language
b) show, don’t tell
c) rhyme
d) poetry
Get all activities in printable format along with the link to the Google Slides version by clicking on this button.
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