If you ask a student what her favorite holiday is, Halloween is probably right up there at the top. How can you beat getting loads of candy and dressing up in an adorable or scary costume?
I have written an easy Halloween BookBuilder story (Level C/3) for beginning readers to enjoy. Having your students read special holiday books, as long as they are at the right level, can be very motivating. They are already interested in the topic, which will get them interested in reading about it.
Pioneer Valley Books has a few Halloween-themed stories at various levels. My favorite is Bella and Rosie Trick-or-Treat (Level E/8), but there is also Trick-or-Treating (Level D/6), starring Little Knight and his friends. There are also other great read-aloud Halloween books for children on the market. Visit this site for a nice selection of Halloween books.
Children also love to write their own Halloween-themed stories. You can have your students write a story using the same structure as my new BookBuilder story. Ask them to draw a picture of themselves in their costume and then write, "Look at me," said ________. "I am a _________." Put them all together to make a class book.
Meanwhile, I will try to keep Bella away from the trick-or-treat candy this year!
Michèle Dufresne is author of many Pioneer Valley Books early readers (including the Bella and Rosie series), Word Solvers (Heinemann), and an early literacy and literacy intervention consultant.
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