Tag: The Witches by Roald Dahl

Spooky Activities for the Middle School ELA Classroom

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There is something very fun and exciting about using seasonal reading and writing activities with middle school students. Even if they won’t admit it, many students enjoy reading creepy, spooky, and scary works because of the suspense.

Today, I want to share some festive resources that can be used in the middle school ELA classroom. Whether you choose to do an entire horror unit or you’re wanting a small activity for a day or two, there is something for every ELA teacher.

Spooky Read-Alouds

Read-alouds are my favorite activity to do with students. They are a great way to expose students to different types of novels and provide learners an opportunity to enjoy a book. Below are some popular spooky read-aloud novels:

Spooky read-aloud books for middle school.

Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe (there is also a graphic novel version!)

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

The Witches by Roald Dahl (there is also a really great graphic novel version!)

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Doll Bones by Holly Black

Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine

Tales of Mystery and Terror adapted by Marjorie P. Katz. These Edgar Allan Poe stories have been turned into a Great Illustrated Classics book.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adapted by Mitsu Yamamoto. This Great Illustrated Classics version does a wonderful job making this story easy to read for students.

I strongly suggest reading for about 10 minutes a day and then have students answer a question based on the reading for 2-3 minutes. Students can respond verbally, in a journal, on a Padlet, etc.

Spooky Short Stories

This age group is not into the “kiddie” scary stuff, but not quite ready for the adult world of horror. When choosing which short stories you use with your class, keep in mind the maturity level along with the reading level. Below are some of my favorite spooky short stories to use with middle schoolers.

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs. Resources are available here.

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. Resources are available here.

“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe.

“Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl. Resources are available here.

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. Resources are available here.

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

When using short stories, I usually have a main focus for each story. For instance, with “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” I focus on direct and indirect characterization. Instead of trying to focus on many different aspects of a work, by choosing just one I can dive deeper into the text with students.

Spooky Short Story Activities

Once you know what texts you’ll be using, it’s time to determine what learning activities to provide for your kiddos. This will vary based on your grade level, class time, etc., so feel free to make adjustments based on your classroom.

Dramatic Reading

Many students dislike taking turns reading aloud in class, so using dramatic readings with spooky short stories is a great way to read a text. A really great one is from G.M. Danielson and his reading of “The Tell-Tale Heart”. The laugh in the very beginning is chilling!

Using Goosebumps in an online tutoring session with an 8th grade student.

Film and Text Comparisons

I always use film versions of works with my students. I find that it helps with reading comprehension and higher order thinking skills, such as evaluating. This would be the perfect activity to do on celebratory days when kids are excited about outside festivities. A few of my favorite ones for the spooky season include:

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Disney. This can also be found on Disney+. Here is a constructed response resource.

“The Lamb to the Slaughter” from Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Here is a constructed response resource.

The Tell-Tale Heart from 1953. This is a great non-violent adaptation.

The Witches from 1990 with Angelica Huston. There is a more modern version from 2020 also available with Anne Hathaway. I haven’t had a chance to watch the new one yet.

Goosebumps “Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes” from the popular book by R.L. Stine. Here is an analysis activity focusing on the elements of horror.

Writing Spooky Narratives

Students can work independently, in partners or small groups to create their own spooky stories. Depending on your class, you may want to provide some scaffolding such as setting locations (grave yard, dark and story night, etc. When students are done, spend a day or two having students share their stories. If they don’t like to read aloud, encourage kids to act out their stories. Here is an example of a spooky narrative assignment.

Other Spooky Activities

While short stories are great resources, there are also various activities that can be quick and easy.

Descriptive Paragraphs

Halloween and costumes seem to go hand in hand for middle school students. Before students wear their costumes, have them write a paragraph describing their costume using figurative language. Allow some to read theirs to classmates and see if the audience can guess the costume.

Research Local Legends

Growing up in Long Valley, NJ, there are local legends about the Hooker Man and the mysteries of Shades of Death. I can still remember my dad sharing his version of the Hooker Man around a campfire when I was in elementary school. Encourage students to research local legends/myths (or to read about one’s from my childhood) to read about “real” spooky stories.

Create a Class Story

Whether students sit at their desks or everyone sits on the floor, this activity can be very engaging for young writers. I suggest typing the story as it’s being told and projecting it to make it easier for students to contribute.

There are so many short stories, movies, and books to help students celebrate the spooky season and still progress with their reading and writing skills in a fun way.

Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading, writing and home-based learning support tutoring services for students in grades 6-12. For more information head to my website.

5 Ways to Support Special Education Students One-on-One in Virtual Secondary English Classes

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A few months ago, I did a post about Accommodating Special Education Students in the Virtual Classroom, but what can teacher’s do who work one-on-one with students?

While being a virtual English teacher and tutor, I also I currently work with special education students in an out of district placement school as a Reading Specialist. All of my students are reading below grade level and have very specific accommodations. I mainly pull students out (virtually) weekly for 45 minutes of one-on-one instruction.

My role is to support my students in their English courses, and sometimes in other content classes where reading comprehension assistance is required. For those of you looking for ideas and resources in the virtual classroom, below are some suggestions that I have used with my students.

  1. Ebooks. I absolutely LOVE sharing my screen in Zoom with students, and using ebooks has been the easiest way for me to do this. I have a Kindle Unlimited subscription that has come in quite handy, and I also spend my own money purchasing books I know I will use with multiple students. Currently, I’m reading The Witches and Fantastic Mr. Fox with two high school students. By sharing my screen, students can follow along while we read and they can use the pictures to help with reading comprehension (which is why I chose these texts). These books don’t come across as babyish for my teenaged students, and have pictures and manageable vocabulary so they don’t feel like they’re struggling.
  2. Videos. I have always been a believer about using videos and movies in the classroom, and the same carries into my virtual one. Sometimes it’s not realistic to show a whole movie, so I like to keep a stash of short film versions on hand. One of my junior’s needs lots of support with reading comprehension and vocabulary, so Shakespeare’s Macbeth is definitely not an easy text for her. Sparknotes is amazing to begin with for my kids, but they now have video summaries of the text! The almost ten minute video touches on theme, plot and characterization in a visual way that is perfect for classified students.
  3. Verbal answers. Have you ever watched kids try to type? It’s actually quite painful sometimes because kids take foreverrrr to type a sentence, let alone a paragraph. I try to eliminate as much frustration as I can for my kiddos, so I do a lot of verbal responses to assess reading comprehension skills. I also use this method for working on quizzes and tests, and I will email the teacher what score the student earned. Teachers normally give me the assessment so they know the questions asked.
  4. Pictures. Vocabulary always seems to be an area that my students struggle with, especially when dealing with high school level texts. While reading Beowulf with a junior, she was struggling with comprehension because she didn’t know what armor was. While we read a modified version of this challenging story, I stop every so often and show her pictures of important objects in the story (sword, bow and arrow). We work a lot on visualizing to help with her weak reading comprehension, so this strategy really works well for her.
  5. Making connections. Personally, I find that encouraging my special education kids makes a HUGE difference in not only their reading comprehension, but also their higher order thinking skills they use for theme. I try to do a lot of text to self and text- to text (media) connections because those are ones kids are most familiar with. I find this works as a great pre-reading and during reading strategy.

Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading,  writing and home-based learning support tutoring services for students in grades 6-12. For more information click here.

5 Favorite Halloween Books for Kids

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October is just around the corner and it’s time to start busting out those great seasonal books. Whether you have a book basket in the living room, or a shelf displaying books, adding in some festive Halloween books is a great way to get in the fall spirit.

I LOVE that I can share some of my favorite childhood Halloween books with Molly, and I wanted to share a list of the ones that we will have in rotation over the next few years.

The Witches by Roald Dahl. This has always been a personal favorite Roald Dahl book of mine. Since Halloween is the time of year for witches, this book fits in perfectly. The plot is engaging and absurd as only Dahl could create. This chapter book is longer than other works by the author, so give yourself plenty of time to read it aloud to kids. I recommend this book for kids in grades 1-4.

The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat by Stan and Jan Bernstain. To me, Berenstain Bears a staple in children’s literature, so reading one of their seasonal books is a must. As with all other books in this series, Trick or Treat includes an important lesson about right and wrong. I recommend this book for kids in grades P-2.

Arthur’s Halloween by Marc Brown. I can still remember when Arthur was afraid to touch the bowl of spaghetti that was meant to be brains. I really like how this story shows kids how creative Halloween can be, and that things can look much scarier than they really are. I recommend this book for kids in grades P-2.

Llama Llama Trick or Treat by Ann Dewdney. Since becoming a mom, I have fallen in love with Llama Llama books. I LOVE reading these books with Molly because of the simple sentences and great illustrations. This quick-read board book is ideal for NB- 5 year olds.

EEK! Halloween! by Sandra Boynton. Similar to the previous book, I became familiar with this author when Molly came along. This book throws in some great humor and wacky illustrations that will entertain kids and adults. I recommend this board book for NB- 5 year olds.

So, as the weather turns chilly, snuggle up with one of these great books and read with your kids with a bowlful of candy.

Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading,  writing and home-based learning support tutoring services for students in grades 3-12. For more information click here.