As elementary and middle school teachers, we all know kids are totally wound up in the days leading up to (and after) Halloween. All the kids want to talk about is their costume, the candy, and trick-or-treating.
This year, why not lean into it and harness all that energy by hosting a Spooky Halloween Story Glow Party.
Step 1: Find a Narrative Writing Prompt
I find that kids really love writing narrative stories around this time of year. Murder mysteries, paranormals, and ghost stories are a big hit. My favorite kinds of writing prompts, though, are the ones that include both a photo and music to help set the scene. With the use of either Canva or Pixabay, it’s fairly easy to create this own your own. However, if you’re in a time crunch and need something ready made, both of these resources below from my TpT store are fun and low to no prep.
Last year, I’d totally forgotten about the Glow Party and we were busy trying to finish up our National Park research project. So I combined the two projects. Kids wrote scary stories that took place in the national park that they’d researched. They got to add lots of fun facts while still giving their stories a spooky twist.
Step 2: Find & Decorate Your Space
Once your students have independent or team writing pieces completed, it’s time to party. Find or create a dark space. For the past two years I took my kids to the Writers Lab but that space is currently occupied. This year, I’m hoping to team up with another teacher for a room transformation. One classroom gets a makeover and all the teachers take turns visiting the space. It’s a cost efficient and practical option. Or, transform your own classroom during your prep period or lunch. Consider asking your PTA for help with this.
Now that you have your space, decorate it up with cobwebs and hanging bats or skeletons. Add in some instrumental mood music or sound effects. Maybe add in a cauldron or fortune tellers crystal ball. You can find some great options on Pixabay, or Youtube, or Spotify.
Next, you need stuff that glows. You might want to check with your school or PTA to see if anyone has a black light you can borrow. Amazon sells Glow in the Dark Crepe Paper Streamers and Glow in the Dark Gaffer’s Cloth Tape, both are pretty inexpensive to pick up.
Now while a black light is ideal, if you don’t have one, no worries. All is not lost. I didn’t have access to one last year or the year before when I threw my Glow Party, and the kids still thought it was cool.
Instead, I picked up a bunch of glow sticks at the Dollar Tree and purchased finger lights from Amazon. This party favor set below comes with 48 lights for around $10.
Step 3: Set the Stage
Now that everything is all prepped, it’s time to set the stage and head off for your grand, spooky adventure. Be as theatrical as you can as you give directions and head off. Make sure everyone grabs their writing pieces and gets properly decked out in their glow garb. I strongly suggest you establish your expectations for behavior and explain consequences for misbehavior. If you have a large class, you might want to establish 2-3 large teams ahead of time, so that everyone gets a chance to read their story to an audience. Then off you go! It’s time to head into your Spooky Halloween Story Glow Party.
You can see from the picture below that my set-up wasn’t elaborate at all. It didn’t matter to the kids. They were just happy they got to take a “field trip” (even though we never left campus) and spend time trying to scare each other by sharing the stories they wrote. It was something new and novel and that made it an instant hit.
And with Halloween right around the corner, you still have time to gather your supplies and get ready to host you Glow Party. Here’s a quick Dollar Tree or Five Below shopping list to get you started:
- Glow Sticks
- Black light (Looks like Dollar Tree has some)
- Neon or Glow in the Dark items
- Flashlights, Finger Lights, battery-operated tea lights, or Lamps
- Spider webs
- Stuff that hangs from the doorway and ceiling (spiders, bats, skeletons, etc.)
- Black tablecloths to cover windows
- Music
That’s it! If you’re looking for Halloween-themed writing prompts or want to reward your writers with an editable coloring bookmark with their name on it, check out these resources I have in my TpT store. Be sure to turn your volume up when you watch this video.
iteachiwrite.com 