As the spooky season approaches, it’s the perfect time to bring some monster fun into the classroom! Themed activities are a great way to engage students and get them excited about learning. Countless fun and educational books and activities revolve around these creatures, so it took a lot of work to narrow it down to just a few.
Let’s explore some fun and exciting activities that will capture your students imaginations. From writing to crafts, I’ve got you covered with educational and entertaining ideas. So, let’s get started on some monstrously good fun!
Monster Books
I like to introduce this theme by reading the book “How I Meet My Monster“ by Amanda Noll and Howard McWilliam. This book tracks Ethan’s journey as silly creatures emerge from beneath the bed, vying to earn the official title by trying to frighten him into staying in bed.
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Monster Math
Elementary kids need to know how to skip count because it is a foundational math skill that helps them understand number patterns and relationships. Skip counting also helps with multiplication and division, as well as with counting money and telling time. It is a useful tool for building number sense and mental math skills, which are essential for success in higher math concepts. By incorporating fun and engaging activities like the monster-themed skip counting PowerPoint and worksheet, teachers can make learning math enjoyable and accessible for all students.
You can grab these FREE skip-counting activities in my free resource library.
Elementary students need to know how to mentally add and subtract 10 and 100 because it helps them develop number sense and mental math skills. These skills are essential for success in higher math concepts and everyday problem-solving. Being able to quickly add or subtract 10 or 100 from a number also helps with mental calculations involving money, time, and measurement. Additionally, understanding how to add and subtract by 10s and 100s lays the foundation for more advanced math concepts like place value and rounding.
Do your students need extra practice with mental math? Students use their understanding of place value and number sense to solve.
You can get a FREE copy of mental math in my TpT Store.
Writing Ideas
To write an imaginative narrative about when your pet monster went to school with you, students start by brainstorming some ideas for the plot. Consider what kind of school your monster would attend and how it would interact with other students and teachers. Think about any challenges or obstacles it might face and how it would overcome them. Remind students to use descriptive language to bring their story to life.
Remember to have students include a clear beginning, middle, and end to your story and a resolution that ties up any loose ends. I like to teach younger students to use first, then, next, and finally. Then, students revise and edit their story to ensure that it flows well and is free of errors. They can write a creative and engaging narrative about their pet monster’s adventures in school with practice and persistence.
Writing Super Sentences can be fun for students to practice crafting detailed sentences. In my classroom, a super sentence is a detailed sentence with the Who-Did What-Where model. It’s always exciting to see how imaginative they can be when creating unique sentences.
Students love to write super sentences. They like to stretch out their sentences and make them as detailed as possible. I like to model, model, and model with my students. We practice the basics and expand the sentences as they become more proficient.
You can get your free copy of super sentences by clicking here.
Contractions Worksheet FREE
Students need to know how to form contractions because it is a fundamental aspect of English grammar and communication. Contractions are used to shorten words and phrases by combining them with auxiliary verbs, which helps to make language more efficient and easier to understand. By understanding how to form contractions, students can improve their writing and speaking skills, as well as develop a better understanding of how language works.
Additionally, contractions are commonly used in everyday conversation and in written materials such as emails, text messages, and social media posts. Therefore, knowing how to use contractions is an important skill for effective communication in both personal and professional contexts.
Practice contractions with this FREE printable contraction grammar worksheet for first grade and second grade
Monster Crafts and Drawing Activities
Free Drawing Guide by Deep Space Sparkles
Younger students always enjoy drawing monsters. Monsters Love School by Mike Austin is an adorable book. It’s time for the biggest adventure yet as summer ends…Monster School awaits! These vibrant creatures are going to school for the first time, where they’ll dive into reading, writing, and learning about their heritage. Get ready for a whole lot of fun!
You can get this FREE drawing guide from Deep Space Sparkle.
Creativity by Cassie Stephens
These drawings were inspired by the street artist Phetus. Your class can create them by watching the YouTube video by Cassie Stephens. My students enjoy this craft that uses various lines such as vertical lines, horizontal lines, diagonal lines, curved lines, and zigzag lines and oil pastels. They can also be made using crayons if you still need a class set of oil pastels.
FREE Monster Kit from PJs and Paint
Make these adorable creatures using Play-Doh, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and felt. Read more about these creatures at Pjsandpaint.com.
Need more writing ideas? Check out this opinion writing post.
