There is something about this time of year when I start getting excited about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and even Christmas! I love, love, love all of the fun and craziness that the holidays bring. In this post, I’ve shared some of my favorite Halloween math activities. I may have sneaked in a few language arts activities too:)
Halloween Math Centers
I’ve created nine Halloween math activities that review everything I have taught so far in math. These centers are designed for 3rd grade math. If you’re a 4th grade teacher, you can see math 4th grade version here. There is a cover page for each activity, and it can be glued to the front a file folder. Of course, this isn’t necessary, but I liked the uniformity of the centers. There are also student directions that can be attached to the inside of the file folders.
Array-ging Pumpkins
In this activity students make arrays for Farm Brown’s pumpkin patch. I’ve included little pumpkins students can use as a manipulative if needed. After trying this activity with my students, I found that they needed a hint on how many arrays they should be able to create for each number, so I added a hint to the task cards. A great extension to this activity is to tie in prime and composite numbers.
Who’s Hiding
Multiplication and Division Equations
Students often try to solve word problems without writing a number sentence, so they often have a difficult time explaining HOW they solved the problem. I’ve started requiring my students to write number sentences when they solved word problems. To provide more practice, in this activity students match a number sentence with a word problem. After students match the word problem with the correct number sentence, they can solve for the solution.
Representing Multiplication and Division
In two activities, students match different forms of either multiplication or division. For the multiplication set, students match a multiplication number sentence with an array and repeated addition sentence. In division, students match a division number sentence with an array and repeated subtraction sentence. As an extension, students can make their own cards to show each representation.
Patterns
I don’t spend a lot of time teaching patterns, so I try to slip them in whenever I can. This allows me to see who does and doesn’t understand the concept without using up too much class time.
Spooky Recipes
Spooky Recipes is definitely my favorite activity in the pack! It’s full of two-step word problems, where students use a recipe handout to solve the word problems. It’s definitely a challenge, but it’s a lot of fun!
Multiplication and Division Facts
There are two more multiplication and division games that allow students to practice their multiplication and division facts.
I have to say that I’m REALLY excited to start using these centers in my classroom! You can check it out for yourself here.
Halloween Word Problems
Halloween Writing Prompts
I know this is supposed to be a math post, but I did want to share these adorable October writing prompts. These prompts were designed to encourage creative and divergent thinking. These prompts can be used in many different ways: display on a projector, fold into booklets, or print one page at a time. You can just click here to download your booklet for FREE!
I’ve also turned the creative writing prompts into creative thinking or creative writing task cards. I always like having different options of formats, so the task card version might be helpful for you too. You can download the task card version here.
Halloween Measurement
I have one extra goodie for my math friends! It is a very brief, yet fun, pumpkin measuring activity. In this activity, students measure the weight, height, and circumference of two pumpkins and find the difference in measurements for each category. Just click on the picture for your copy!
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