Autumn Is Here
Autumn is unfolding here in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Throughout my neighborhood, October’s leaves are turning to beautiful shades of gold, red and orange. I love the feel of the crisp air while I work in my garden picking the last tomatoes, peppers and basil. Yesterday, I planted garlic for next year.
Halloween decorations are going up on homes and in stores, costumes are displayed and a buffet of candies are offered in the store aisles.
Because of these signs of festivities in October, my posts will focus on Halloween ideas for the classroom. I am currently updating and adding activities to our three Halloween songs and learning modules.
Click each player to hear a sample of the song.
The Trick-or-Treat Street song was written with role-play in mind. The lyrics are based on dialogue and the chorus is a fun part for the whole class to participate. It’s an excellent source for singing, dancing and role-playing with the Lesson Plans reinforcing these activities. The learning module also includes activity sheets to develop interpersonal communication, writing, reading, spelling and listening skills. Currently the learning module consists of the following:
- MP3 audio file of the Trick or Treat Street song
- MP3 karaoke file (just melody, no vocals) for the kids to the song or for customized lyrics
- 6 worksheet Activity Pages (to be copied for each student)
- 6 Lesson Plan pages (30-60 minutes of activities per Lesson Plan)
- 12 vocabulary flash cards, additional web-links to learn the song gestures and other activities
I did a lot of role-playing and drama when I taught English, then incorporated those skills and techniques into my school’s curriculum when I ran my English School. I taught these skills and techniques to my teachers during their teacher-training period and found the teachers and their classes had more success while using role-play and drama. In that same spirit, I am excited to update this module by including these new scripts!
- Director’s Script with stage and acting directions
- Actor’s Musical Script that matches the song
- Actor’s Drama Script that extends and adds additional dialogue based on the song
I discovered its always better to plan for activities with specific instructions of what to do and say during class. So I made sure to include stage and acting directions in the Director’s Script along with a link to an instructional video showing dance and movement suggestions. These should prove useful!
See you next week and have a nice weekend! Remember: the best teachers are all students! Keep learning!
