Could we not just have a rule that Halloween is always on a Friday or Saturday? The combination of full moons and the upcoming spooky celebrations might be leaving you scared for all the wrong reasons. You know what’s not terrifying? These super simple Halloween math activities.
Read on to see how you can add some spooky fun to your math class this week.
1. Set the mood for your Halloween math activities
Find a Halloween playlist and have it playing when your students enter. Dim the lights and throw up some caution tape to create a spooky mood.
If you are feeling extra spooky try adding some spider webs and a black light.
2. Add Halloween-themed treats to your math activities
Seriously. All you need to do is head to the dollar store, grab some mini erasers and small halloween treats for prizes and the middle schoolers will be happy.
3. Candy Corn Number Talks
What are your thoughts on candy corn? I’m not a huge fan but I like how it represents Halloween. Check out these estimation number talks from Estimation 180 to get your students thinking and talking about math.
4. Pumpkin Catapults
If you are feeling adventurous, why not try doing pumpkin catapults as one of your Halloween math activities? Have your students bring in the following materials:
- Rubber bands
- Popsicle sticks
- Plastic spoons
- Magazines/newspapers
- Cans
- Masking tape
Have them design their catapult and let them loose to build and create.
Once they have their catapult ready, let them test it. If you can find those pumpkin candies they work great but you can also use a pumpkin eraser.
Students can measure the distance their pumpkin launched and make some adjustments to their catapult.
Then, have a pumpkin catapult contest and see which catapult will launch the farthest!
5. Halloween Math Activities
One of my favourite things to do is to set up some Halloween math activities and games for students to do. You can set these up as centres and have students rotate through or let them choose which Halloween math activity they would like to try.
Halloween Card Games – This set of 4 card games will help your students to compare and represent rational numbers, all with a Halloween twist!
- Scare – a “fraction war” type game where students will need to compare rational numbers in order to decide which card is the greatest
- Tic-Tac-Boo – students work in pairs or groups to model rational numbers and try to get three game pieces in a row on the board
- Broom – like the game “Spoons,” students try to collect four cards that are greater than 1/2
- Pumpkin Patch – students are given a game board with a variety of rational numbers on it. Players try to be the first to fill their board with cards that meet the criteria
Here’s the most important thing to remember. Our kids just want a little bit of normal and a lot of time to chat with their friends. Whatever you do (or don’t do for Halloween math activities), it is enough!
Read this post for other math games you can try in your class.
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I’m Lauren, from “From Math to Music” – your go-to person for all things Math and Classroom Community.
Being a middle-school teacher and a mom of 3, I know how hard it is for busy teachers to create resources that allow for deep thinking and build classroom community. That's why I love sharing tips and tricks that you can you use in your middle school classroom right this minute.
